Samsung Galaxy S5

Galaxy S5 could arrive in January due to slumping S4 sales

Samsung may not wait as long to launch the Galaxy S5 as it did the S4 and S3. We could see the S5 revealed as earlier as January simply because of sluggish Galaxy S4 sales.

Apparently, Samsung is slightly disappointed with the Galaxy S4′s sales figures — despite it being one of the company’s hottest selling handsets ever. Nevertheless, there’s been plenty of talk from reviewers and fans alike about Samsung falling into a rut and failing to deliver a truly killer device.

There may be other reasons S4 sales have tailed off, too. It’s not as if Samsung is only selling a single model anymore. Customers who want a Samsung phone may also be turning to the S4 mini, S4 Active, and S4 Zoom — or even the much more powerfulGalaxy Note 3.

Then there’s the recently-launched iPhone 5S and 5C to consider. Samsung could be thinking about moving up the launch of the S5 in an attempt to rain on Apple’s parade.

As for what parts Samsung plans to cram into Galaxy S5, that’s still very much up in the air. Early rumors suggest that Samsung is rolling with an octa-core Exynos processor instead of using a competitor’s chip in certain variants like it did with the GS4.

A 16MP rear camera with OIS has also been talked about, as have a few design changes. Two non-plastic options have been mentioned for the back of the GS5: stitched, faux-leather like the Galaxy Note 3 or possibly even aluminum.

There’s also been talk of a curved display like that of the Galaxy Round. Its arrival has kicked off new speculation and with good reason. It’s quite possible that Samsung wanted to give the curved, plastic screen a trial run on a non-flagship device before deciding on whether the world was ready for a gently-arched Galaxy S5.