Amazon Fire Phone vs. Galaxy S5: What’s the Best Phone?

(Amazon)

The Amazon Fire Phone has lots of smartphone shoppers intrigued, but can it stand up to the powerhouse that is the Samsung Galaxy S5? The Amazon Phone has some great built-in features, but there’s a reason that the Samsung Galaxy S5 sold 11 million units in its first month. If you can’t decide between these two cool smartphones, we’ve compare these two phones so you don’t have to.

1. Amazon Fire Phone vs. Samsung Galaxy S5: Price

(Samsung)

Comparing the base price of the Fire Phone and Galaxy S5 models is a little bit like comparing apples and oranges. The base model of the Galaxy S5 costs just $99 with a two-year contract from most carriers. The Amazon Fire Phone, exclusive to AT&T, starts at $199. That being said, the base Fire Phone is 32GB, compared to the 16GB you get with a basic Galaxy S5.

2. Amazon Fire Phone vs. Samsung Galaxy S5: Specs

(Amazon)

Both phones run Android, though the Amazon Fire Phone actually runs a Amazon-specific variant of Android called Fire OS. Fire Phone has a 2400mAh battery, compared to Samsung’s 2800mAh battery. The Fire Phone has a 4.7-inch display, versus the GS5’s 5.1-inch display.

The Fire Phone processor is a 2.2GHz Quad-core Snapdragon 800 CPU, with Adreno 330 GPU and 2GB of RAM.

The Samsung Galaxy S5 offers a Snapdragon 801 processor, with Adreno 330 GPU and 2 GB RAM.

3. Amazon Fire Phone vs. Samsung Galaxy S5: Special Features

(Getty)

Both the Amazon Fire Phone and the Samsung Galaxy S5 have a suite of unique features. The feature set that most appeals to you will have a lot to do with your hobbies and lifestyle. Broadly speaking, the Samsung Galaxy S5 has the edge when it comes to fitness features. That’s because the phone plays nice with Samsung’s range of fitness wearables, including the Samsung Gear Fit. Plus, the phone has a handy heart rate monitor and IP67 water-resistance.

While the Amazon Fire Phone isn’t exactly a bad fit for fitness fanatics, the phone clearly has a larger appeal to fashionistas and other people who love mobile shopping. The Firefly button makes it easy to snap a picture of a product in real life and buy it online (or just get more info.)

Additionally, the Fire Phone may have an edge when it comes to pleasing TV fans and film buffs. The Fire Phone comes with a free year of Amazon Prime, which gives users access to tens of thousands of TV and movie titles, as well as Kindle lending library titles and music.

4. Amazon Fire Phone vs. Samsung Galaxy S5: Camera

Both the Amazon Fire Phone and Samsung Galaxy S5 claim to have excellent cameras. While both offer pretty solid photography abilities, there are a few differences between the two phones.

On the GS5, the rear camera is 16MP, while the front camera is 2MP. The Samsung Galaxy S5 boasts a selective focus lets you adjust the depth of field like a professional photographer. There is also an auto-focus that works in .03 seconds. The camera boasts HDR, which allows for more rich colors in photographs.

The Amazon Fire Phone has a 13MP camera sensor, which seems a little less impressive than the camera on the S5. That being said, good photos are about more than just megapixels. The image quality appeared to be quite good at the phone launch. Plus, there are extra cameras on the device to facilitate the 3D technology used in the phone. Also worth noting: the Fire Phone gives users free, unlimited photo storage.

5. Amazon Fire Phone vs. Samsung Galaxy S5: Final Thoughts & Conclusion

(Amazon)

With a fairly similar base of apps, roughly similar specs, and battery life that’s roughly equal, it’s hard to choose between these two phones. Amazon’s Mayday customer service is good for less techno-savvy smartphone shoppers, and the 3D features look to have some impressive implications for gamers. This may make this phone perfect for you, particularly if you are crazy about Amazon’s other tech products like the Fire TV or Kindle Paperwhite.

However, if you prefer a phone with a larger screen, slightly better specs, and more expansion options, the Samsung Galaxy S5 may be the right choice for you.

Want more detail? Check out CNET’s breakdown of the specs for the Amazon Fire Phone, Samsung Galaxy S5, and iPhone 5S.

Buy the Amazon Fire Phone here.

Buy the Samsung Galaxy S5 here.

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