Galaxy S5 to arrive 24 February, but questions remain over Samsung's future

An update to the premium Galaxy S range might fail to boost Samsung's profits as Apple continues to control high-end market

The Galaxy S4 smartphone (pictured) has sold more than 40 million units.

Samsung is likely to unveil the latest handset in its best-selling Galaxy S range on 24 February.

The South Korean company has sent out invitations to an event titled ‘Unpacked5’ at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, all but confirming the rumours that the Galaxy S5 will be going on sale in the next couple of months.

The new handset will arrive at a difficult time for the company. Although Samsung is still the number one player in the smartphone market (with Apple close behind, shipping a record 51 million iPhones in the previous quarter) there are new challenges from Chinese company Lenovo.

The world’s top PC maker recently purchased Motorola’s hardware division from Google and is now looking to expand into mobile devices. Like Samsung it will be targeting the lower end of the market – the only segment where demand is still growing, driven by emerging markets in the Asian Pacific region.

The Galaxy S5, however, will be challenging Apple’s iPhone as a premium device. Various rumours and leaks suggest the smartphone could have a 64-bit processor like the iPhone 5S, as much as 4Gm of RAM and a full HD 5- or 5.2-inch screen.

A leaked image supposedly showing the updated TouchWiz sysmtem. Credit: @evleaks.

These hardware specifications are all within normal expectations, though leaked images of the S5 also show that the phone will be visually refreshed. A big difference between Samsung devices and Apple’s has been the build quality, and it’s been suggested that the S5 will drop the plastic case in favour of leather and aluminium, bringing it closer to the polished metal design of the iPhone.

Samsung’s TouchWiz interface also looks like it will be revamped to include Google Now-style cards on the home screen, using big pictures and a clean, light font to put key information such as calendar events, feedback from health apps and emails front and centre.

However, some analysts believe that Samsung’s sales strategy (launch expensive hardware with solid profit margins for early adopters; discount for average customers; rinse, and repeat) might be running out of steam: the company posted its first profit decline in nine quarters last year.

Apple has traditionally dominated high margin sales, but it has an impressive software infrastructure to add value to its ecosystem, as well as finely tuned advertising to lure in customers. Samsung so far has concentrated on delivering hardware, and the S5 might need more than a spec boost to succeed in the market.

Read more: Lenovo jumps to the top table with $2.9bn Motorola purchase from Google

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What will the new Samsung Galaxy S5 look like?