The Top 10 Questions About the Samsung Galaxy S5

After much speculation, Samsung finally announced the Galaxy S5 at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week. The smartphone has not yet landed stateside, and some of you might be wondering if the Galaxy S5 is the device for you. Read on for the top questions about the new phone to see if you should pick one up.

How is the Galaxy S5 any different than the S4? Though early rumors tipped a radical departure from the Galaxy S4 $199.88 at Amazon with the S5, the new smartphone looks pretty similar to the S4, save for the textured plastic back with a stipple pattern. As is usually the case with many smartphone upgrades, the real differences are on the inside. On the Galaxy S5 that includes a better camera, more stunning display, and that rumored fingerprint sensor.

Is the fingerprint sensor like the one on the iPhone 5s? Yes, like the iPhone 5s$124.99 at Best Buy, the Galaxy S5's sensor is housed in the home button, and you can use it to unlock your device. But the GS5 sensor also allows for secure payments via PayPal and other mobile wallets like Isis and Google Wallet. Samsung will also have an SDK so third parties can use it for authentication, so expect its functionality to expand.What type of camera upgrades are we talking about? The Galaxy S5 features a 16-megapixel camera, up from the 13 megapixels in the S4, though the 2-megapixel front-facing camera remains. During his hands on with the S5, PCMag's Sascha Segan found the camera to be "very fast," and mentioned the 0.3-second autofocus, which makes "sharp pictures feel instant." It also includes live high-dynamic range (HDR) preview, the first time Segan had seen that in a phone, so you can see what the popular HDR effect will do to your images and video. It also records 4K video at 30 frames per second, though you'll need a 4K device (Samsung has a few 4K TVs) to view your 4K content. Meanwhile, Samsung has consolidated its countless camera "modes" to make it easier to find one that works for you.

And the display is better? It's not much bigger than the S4 (5.1 inches vs. 5 inches). But Samsung included a custom image chip that dynamically adjusts the color gamut and contrast based on ambient light. "It's a big step up from the standard automatic brightness control, and it makes the colors really pop under different lighting conditions," Segan found.

So should I get this if I have an S4? If your contract is up and you have the $200 it will probably cost to get the S5, go for it. But the upgrades are not really significant enough to warrant paying a hefty early termination fee if you're only one year into a two-year contract. Unless you're really serious about having the latest and greatest smartphone, might be best to wait for the Galaxy S6.

If I'm on iOS, is this worth making the switch to Android? In our experience, people are usually solidly in Camp Android or Camp iOS. But switches have been known to happen; our junior analyst for mobile, Eugene Kim, gave up his iPhone for Android just last year. And while the S5 is a lovely phone, it's not such a huge step forward in smartphone innovation that it would warrant ditching your iPhone 5s, for example, which already has a nice camera, brilliant screen, and a fingerprint sensor. If you're undecided, though, you can check out our spec comparisonbetween the Galaxy S5 and iPhone 5s.

Will my carrier offer the Galaxy S5? Like earlier Galaxy phones, the new Galaxy S5 will be widely available. AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless, MetroPCS, and U.S. Cellular have already committed to offering the new smartphone. And the phone will be on sale at Samsung Experience Shops in Best Buy, Amazon, Costco, RadioShack, Sam's Club, Target, and Walmart.

When can I buy it? Thus far, Samsung has only promised that it will be available "this spring." Exact release dates are usually up to the carriers. Last year, Samsungrevealed the Galaxy S4 in mid-March, and it started arriving on U.S. carriers in late April, so look for the Galaxy S5 in mid-April.

How do the new Gear smartwatches fit into this? Samsung was also at MWC to unveil its next-gen Gear smartwatches, the Gear 2, Gear 2 Neo, and Gear Fit. The big news? The devices ditch Android (and the Galaxy moniker) to go with Tizen. But unlike the Galaxy Gear $229.99 at Amazon, which only worked with the Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014 Edition) at launch, the new Gear devices will work with "dozens" of Samsung Galaxy smartphones when they arrive this spring - including your new Galaxy S5. Functionality is similar, though, offering alerts and the ability to complete certain smartphone functions on your wrist.