If the Samsung Galaxy S5 has a rival it's the Sony Xperia Z2 and put it this way, both are pretty nice devices that pack a punch.
The Sony Xperia Z2 has a very polished finish, with glass back and aluminium frame that is dust and water resistant.
If there's one weakness to the Samsung devices it continues to be the plastic finish. It has tried to enhance the appearance of the plastic in later models but plastic is plastic, and it would help enormously if Samsung incorporated a bit more metal into its design. Add to that the rounded edges and it has an altogether less impressive look than its closest competitors.
Thankfully for Samsung it has built up a dedicated following among users who have found it to be reliable and solid.
And that's what they'll get with the Samsung Galaxy S5. The device is also dust and water resistant, but its IP67 certificate means that it is slightly better in resisting dust than the water. Just a little tip there.
The plastic also makes the device a lot lighter in the hand than the Sony Xperia Z2 - 145g vs 163g.
And it has a great display, 5.1 inches, 1080x1920 Super AMOLED, and 432ppi. There's not much between the two phones though, as the Sony Xperia Z2 comes with a 1080x1920 IS LCD display, with 424ppi, and just a touch bigger at 5.2 inches.
Both phones are pretty powerful but there could be a tangible difference for people who are heavy app users as the Sony Xperia Z2 comes with 3GB of RAM, as opposed to the 2GB that you get with the Samsung Galaxy S5.
The processors on both are fast - the Z2 offering 2.3 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801 and the Samsung Galaxy S5 using only a slightly bigger 2.5 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 801. It's the extra RAM in the Z2 though that will keep the device running smoothly when the apps are kicking in.
The Samsung Galaxy S5 has ramped up its main camera to 16 megapixels but the Xperia Z2 still packs in a few more megapixels at 20.7mp, the same camera as its predecessor had.
They can shoot the same video quality at 1080p and the frontfacing cameras are also more or less the same at 2Mp on the Galaxy S5 and 2.2Mp on the Xperia Z2.
The Galaxy S5 comes with a very fast auto-focus function but a nice touch on the Xperia Z2 is the dedicated camera button to launch the camera app and quickly and easily take some snaps. It's touches like that and the addition of stereo speakers that just make a nice difference to how the device is used day to day.
Samsung has packed in an awful lot of features into the device like a fingerprint scanner and a heart rate monitor. The fingerprint scanner can be used to access private mode and authorise mobile payments. There is also a function to limit the access that children have to the device.
The interface is also looking a lot tidier than it did before and features like the Magazine, multi-window and smart pause. The Magazine is launched by swiping off the main homescreen but users either live by it or ignore it completely.
If features are your thing you'll probably find the Sony Xperia Z2 a little unstimulating in this respect as it sticks more to the necessaries.
At the end of the day there is a lot going for both phones and they excel in slightly different ways so which one you go for will come down more to what is more important to you and how you want to use the device. But whichever one you go for, you can be sure you've still got a great phone.
