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Galaxy S5 Active sports customizable hardware button in new video

Another leaked video of the still-rumored Active version of the GS5 shows button you can program to perform different tasks.

Lance Whitney Contributing Writer
Lance Whitney is a freelance technology writer and trainer and a former IT professional. He's written for Time, CNET, PCMag, and several other publications. He's the author of two tech books--one on Windows and another on LinkedIn.
Lance Whitney

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YouTube/screenshot by Lance Whitney/CNET

More potential details about Samsung's alleged Galaxy S5 Active phone continue to spill online.

A new video posted on Wednesday by TK Tech News reveals a dedicated hardware button just above the volume keys dubbed an "Active Key." The appeal behind the Active Key is that it's customizable, meaning you'd be able to program it to perform different functions.

You can make that key do just about whatever you want, according to TK Tech News, including launching an app or triggering the camera. For example, a brief press of the button might launch a new screen called the Activity Zone with access to a flashlight, compass, stopwatch, and other handy apps. A longer press of the button could snap a photo.

The phone's camera might also include optical image stabilization (OIS), at least based on the smoothness of the videos. Adding hardware-based OIS to the Galaxy S5 Active and not the flagship S5 would seem a strange move, according to Sammobile. However, the alleged Active S5 would be positioned as a more rugged phone for outdoor use, thereby requiring better image stabilization.

The new videos follow one leaked by TK Tech News on Tuesday taking us on a hands-on tour of a purported S5 Active.

Samsung has yet to even announce a Galaxy S5 Active, so these videos are decidedly unofficial and unconfirmed at this point. But the company did launch an S4 Active last year, so a follow-up certainly seems a safe bet.

(Via Sammobile)