The Samsung Galaxy S5 global launch date is getting closer by the moment, but it appears there might be trouble in paradise for at least some folks eager to get their hands on the device when it finally goes on sale due to technical difficulties in the production process.
Last week, we reported that Samsung was having problems with molding the complex 6-element optics to be precisely centered. Apparently, that issue was quickly dealt with, but now problems with the 16 MP ISOCELL camera’s lens module and the coating process have popped up which could result in the company facing some low yield concerns out of the gate.
As a result of the initial molding difficulties, only 20-30% of the needed Galaxy S5 units were being produced, and even though production is back in full swing, there’s still a lot of catching up to do. The initial goal was to have between 5 to 7 million units ready at launch, but now it looks like there will be somewhere in the neighborhood of 4 to 5 million. How this will affect customers in certain locales is a story yet to be told, but it doesn’t necessarily sound like there’ll be a shortage of the devices altogether, it might just be a little harder to find one at first than Sammy would like it to be.
In case you’ve somehow managed to miss the specifications list, this year’s rendition of Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S device will come toting a 5.1-inch Super AMOLED 1920—1080 resolution display giving you a 432 pixel per inch experience. Under the hood, it’s rocking a 2.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM, and either 16GB or 32GB of internal storage. The device’s 2800mAh battery and the interesting addition of Lucid’s PowerXtend battery savings software should be more than enough to carry you through the day. The camera — which seems to be the root of many headaches for Samsung — is a 16-megapixel rear-facer with LED flash, ISOCELL, and 4K video recording, so expect to see some beautiful images and video captures taken with this device.
With Galaxy S5 pre-orders already happening for most major carriers, we can only hope Samsung gets caught up with supplies before what will surely be one of the biggest smartphone launches of 2014. The device is expected to be available in most markets in early April. As for our readers, we want to know how many of you are eyeing up the S5 as your next device. Also, do you think these production issues should be a cause for major concern, or will everything smooth itself out in the end? Drop us a comment in the thread below!