Samsung Galaxy S4 Vs S5 Mini

At a Glance

Our Verdict

The Galaxy S5 mini adds a reasonable amount of upgrades compared to the Galaxy S4 mini. These include better components, more than storage, a waterproof blueprint and newer software. Let'due south non forget the fingerprint scanner and heart rate monitor either. It'southward worth the extra £120 if you can afford it and volition make use of those additional features.

Information technology'southward now a habit for smartphone makers to launch a mini version of flagship devices and Samsung has announced a Galaxy S5 mini smartphone which is smaller and cheaper than the flagship Galaxy S5. Just how does information technology compare to its predecessor, the Galaxy S4 mini? Read our Samsung Galaxy S5 mini vs Milky way S4 mini comparison review to discover out what the difference is. Encounter also: The 35 all-time smartphones: The best telephone you can purchase in 2014.

Samsung has officially announced the Galaxy S5 mini, just the firm is launching it first in Russia to be followed by a global release. This means we don't yet know when it will get in in the Uk but it should be within a couple of months. For now nosotros can compare the two on price and specs – whether you're thinking about upgrading from the old to the new or deciding between the two as a new purchase.

Read: Samsung Galaxy S5 vs Galaxy S5 mini comparison review and Samsung Galaxy S5 mini review.

Samsung Galaxy S5 mini vs Galaxy S4 mini: Cost

Since the Galaxy S4 mini has been around for about a year, you can pick it upwards at a much lower cost compared to when information technology launched. It's at present available, at the time of writing, for effectually £250 which is pretty inexpensive.

Unfortunately, at that place'southward no Britain price for the Galaxy S5 mini even so merely y'all can be assured that it volition be more expensive than its predecessor. Somewhere around the £350 mark is out bet matching the HTC One mini two and Sony Xperia Z1 Compact. While writing this comparison, Mobile Fun put the Milky way S5 mini up for pre-social club at £369.

You're probably looking at a £120 difference between the two so read on to observe out if it will be worth spending the extra on the new model or not.

Samsung Galaxy S5 mini vs Milky way S4 mini: Design and build

As per usual, the Galaxy S5 mini is exactly what you'd wait when compared to the Galaxy S5 – a smaller version and the aforementioned is true of the Milky way S4 mini likened to the Galaxy S4. The mini versions haven't escaped the trend of size increase though, then the Galaxy S5 mini is bigger than its predecessor.

It'southward 65 x 131 mm confronting 61 x 125 mm. Information technology not much but nevertheless it'due south bigger which may or may not delight you. The Galaxy S5 mini both thicker and heavier than the S4 mini at nine.1 mm compared to 8.9 mm and 120 g against 107 g. Again, pocket-sized differences.

The Galaxy S5 mini comes in the same colours as the total-size version – blackness, white, gold and blue – and has the same build quality pregnant it is plastic. However, it comes with IP67 certification meaning information technology is dust- and waterproof so can be fully submersed in h2o. That'due south something which you don't become with the Galaxy S4 mini.

Samsung Galaxy S5 mini vs Galaxy S4 mini: Screen

As we've already mentioned, the Galaxy S5 mini is bigger than the Galaxy S4 mini. This is partly downwards to a larger screen at 4.5in – the S4 mini's screen is slightly smaller at 4.3in. It's a trend which seems unavoidable.

The resolution has also been increased from qHD (540 x 960) to HD (720 x 1280) which means a squeamish pixel density heave from 256ppi to 326ppi – matching the iPhone 5s. Both phones utilise Samsung'south Super AMOLED engineering science.

Samsung Galaxy S5 mini vs Milky way S4 mini: Processor and retentiveness

The Milky way S4 mini has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 processor (ane.7GHz dual-core) with 1.5 GB of RAM. The amount of RAM stays the aforementioned with the Milky way S5 mini but it'south got a quad-core processor clocked at 1.4GHz – Samsung hasn't confirmed what the chip is but Mobile Fun (see price) states it'southward an Exynos.

That's a nice, if fairly pocket-size upgrade. The Galaxy S5 mini is likely to offer improved performance.

Samsung Galaxy S5 mini vs Galaxy S4 mini: Storage

There'southward a definite upgrade when information technology comes to storage as the Galaxy S4 mini only offers 8GB of internal capacity. Meanwhile, the Milky way S5 mini doubles this to 16GB. Both take a microSD card slot capable of accepting upward to 64GB cards.

Samsung Galaxy S5 mini vs Galaxy S4 mini: Fingerprint scanner and middle rate monitor
Two of the keys features of the Galaxy S5 are the fingerprint scanner and heart charge per unit monitor and you lot might be surprised to learn these remain on the Galaxy S5 mini. So there are ii reasons which might swing your determination to the new model or persuade yous to upgrade.

Samsung Galaxy S5 mini vs Galaxy S4 mini: Other hardware

There's actually no different when information technology comes to remaining specs as both the Galaxy S4 mini and Galaxy S5 mini offer Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS, NFC, an IR blaster and 4G LTE back up. Note that some models of the Galaxy S4 mini don't have NFC built-in.

Samsung Milky way S5 mini vs Galaxy S4 mini: Cameras

Photographers don't really take whatsoever reason to upgrade since the Galaxy S5 mini has an 8Mp rear facing photographic camera with machine focus and an LED flash – exactly what the Galaxy S4 mini features. Both tape video in up to Full HD while offer extras similar HDR and panorama.

Things have improved slightly when it comes to the front photographic camera equally the Galaxy S5 mini offers a two.1Mp shooter, upwards from 1.9Mp. Video quality remains at Total Hd, though.

Samsung Milky way S5 mini vs Galaxy S4 mini: Software

The Galaxy S4 mini runs Android 4.three Jelly Bean if it's upgraded and reports advise an update to 4.iv KitKat will make it this month. Meanwhile, the Galaxy S5 mini will ship with KitKat pre-loaded and the latest version of Samsung's TouchWiz user interface.

I thing to acquit in mind is that the older model is less likely to exist updated with the latest software in the futurity – for example Android 50 which will arrive subsequently this year. But the Galaxy S5 mini volition certainly receive the upgrade.

Samsung Galaxy S5 mini vs Milky way S4 mini: Battery

You lot can remove the battery on the Milky way S5 mini and Galaxy S4 mini and the capacity has increased on the newer model. It'south rated at 8Wh (2100mAh) compared to seven.2Wh (1900mAh) only the higher res screen and beefier processor are likely to residuum things out on overall battery life.