Samsung Galaxy S5 Release Date Coming: ‘Unpacked 5’ Teaser Suggests New Or Updated User Interface

Samsung has announced that its Samsung Unpacked 2014 Episode 1 will take place on Feb. 24 at the World Mobile Congress in Barcelona, and now the Korean manufacturer is giving the public more clues as to what can be expected at the event.

Notably, Samsung’s initial invitation for “Unpacked 5” was sprinkled with clues that the Samsung Galaxy S5 might be unveiled. Its latest teaser attempts to be a bit more ominous, but may also give away some clues about the upcoming Galaxy S5. Samsung shared on its blog on Tuesday an image depicting several icons with "5" superscripts. The icons, simple in their design, represent Speed, Outdoor, Curiosity, Fun, Social, Style, Privacy, Fitness and Life, to the fifth power. Several sources have proposed that the icons may be a preliminary look into the new or updated user interface, which has been rumored for the Samsung Galaxy S5. A number of leaks have surfaced in the past weeks supposedly depicting a new UI for the Galaxy S5, including two for Samsung’s S Health and S Voice apps, which feature a simplistic design similar to the teaser icons.

The theme of simplicity has been a constant in the Samsung Galaxy S5 pre-release. A Samsung executive stated in January that the manufacturer plans to go “back to the basics” with the Galaxy S5. Samsung will also reportedly be shying away from the theatrical route it took last during for the unveiling of the Samsung Galaxy S4. As said, the upcoming Unpacked 5 event will take place at WMC during the month of February, similar to the Unpacked event that unveiled the Samsung Galaxy S2 in 2011.

While many clues can be deciphered from Samsung’s teasers, there may be many things that the public has not yet figured out. In an attempt to keep the mystery in its teaser, Samsung includes a quote by the great physicist Niels Bohr.

“Prediction is very difficult, especially if it's about the future.”

Even so, Samsung has been particularly obvious with its clues in the past, such as the “be ready 4” tagline, which promoted the Galaxy S4, and the “Note the date” tagline which promoted the Galaxy Note 3. In addition, Unpacked events are known for unveiling new flagship devices of either the Galaxy S or Galaxy Note series.

Samsung Galaxy S5: Updated UI Rumor History

Recently, Samsung announced its Galaxy Note Pro and Galaxy Tab Pro tablets with the new tablet-specific Magazine UX. It was following this unveiling that rumors of a new user interface for the Samsung Galaxy S5 began to surface. Other UI leaks notably resembled the tiled interface seen on the Windows Phone UI, which has also been compared to the Magazine UX for tablets, as well as with Google Now. However, amid Samsung and Google’s recent cross-patent deal, the manufacturer has reportedly agreed to tone down development of its own branded apps, many of which overlap with Google’s Android apps. A report from Re/Code indicated that Google was not happy after seeing Samsung’s Magazine UX unveiled on the Galaxy Note Pro and Galaxy Tab Pro at the 2014 International CES, stating that the UX deviated too far from its stock Android system base. Samsung's TouchWiz UI overlay also includes many duplicate apps and features originally found on Android. Perhaps some clue to Samsung’s UI plans lies in its reinforced relationship with Google. According to the teaser; however, the truth will be revealed on Feb. 24.

Do you think the latest ‘Unpacked 5’ teaser does a good job of keeping the Samsung Galaxy S5 a secret? Let us know in the comments below.

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