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Samsung Galaxy S5 could be first metal Galaxy phone

Reports suggest the Samsung Galaxy S5 -- follow-up to the smash hit Galaxy S4 -- could boast the Galaxy line-up's first metal body.

Richard Trenholm Former Movie and TV Senior Editor
Richard Trenholm was CNET's film and TV editor, covering the big screen, small screen and streaming. A member of the Film Critic's Circle, he's covered technology and culture from London's tech scene to Europe's refugee camps to the Sundance film festival.
Expertise Films, TV, Movies, Television, Technology
Richard Trenholm
2 min read

Like rebellious teenagers in bedrooms across the world, it seems Samsung could be about to go through a metal phase. Reports suggest the Samsung Galaxy S5 -- follow-up to the smash hit Galaxy S4 -- could boast the first aluminium body in the Galaxy line-up.

Android Geeks reports the as-yet-unreleased S5 will be encased in an aluminium unibody like the iPhone and HTC One, styled under a new philosophy dubbed 'Design 3.0'.

Exactly what that involves remains to be seen, but word on the street suggests the S5 will be the first of many high-end Galaxy smart phones to be made of metal.

The current S4 is made out of -- to paraphrase Nicolas Cage in The Rock -- glass and plastic, glass and plastic! Plastic is certainly tough, but lacks the premium feel you'd expect from a phone you've dropped a monkey on. And with the S4 taking stick for looking identical to the S3, it could be time for a new look when the next S phone comes along.

Aluminium certainly gives a phone a weighty, premium feel, and is tougher than plastic. Plastic does have other advantages, though. A metal body generally precludes a removable battery, a criticism of unibody blowers like the iPhone, HTC One or Nokia Lumia phones.

If you're bothered by the build quality of the S4, there is another option: the waterproof, drop-proof Samsung Galaxy S4 Active, a toughened spin-off of the S4 expected to arrive in July.

Still, the actual S4 is pretty 'ard -- hit play below to see the S4 take on the iPhone in a head-to-head, no-holds-barred fight to the death in our brutal destruction test:

Watch this: iPhone 5 vs Samsung Galaxy S4 destruction test

Are you happy with the S4's plastic build? Should Samsung switch to metal? What's the best-built phone in your opinion? Ride the lightning in the comments, or take the highway to hell and throw horns on our very metal Facebook wall.