# Samsung Galaxy S5

Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/samsung-galaxy-s5/

8 people recommended Samsung Galaxy S5 in Hacker News comments, 2 had mixed feelings and 4 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 5 of 12 months, in 5 threads. It does not meet the Hacker Approved badge rule.

5 of the 8 people who recommend it commented in one thread, “All phones sold in the EU to have replaceable batteries from 2027”.

**Verdict:** Recommended for its IP67 water resistance, user-replaceable battery and reliable performance, though critics note bloatware reinstalled by updates.

Summary written by Claude from 17 comments.

## Why people recommend it

- User-replaceable battery (7 comments in the sample): "Galaxy S5 was IP67-rated (1 metre depth, 30 minutes) and had a user-replaceable back cover / battery" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47834576)) "but lost the IR blaster, replaceable battery, eventually μSD housing, eventually headphone jack." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47843724)) "The Galaxy S5 was only 8.1mm including camera bump, removable battery and IP67 rating." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47099985))
- Reliable performance over time (1 comment in the sample): "But it never skipped a beat." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47835184))

## What people warn about

- Updates reinstall bloatware or break apps (2 comments in the sample): "every update it would reinstall all the bloatware like facebook and paypal" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47432309)) "one random app upgrade and they just decided nope" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48902152))

## Other smartphones people recommend

- [Apple iPhone](https://hackerapproved.com/p/iphone/): 438 recommend, 190 mixed, 789 criticize
- [Fairphone](https://hackerapproved.com/p/fairphone/): 110 recommend, 42 mixed, 94 criticize
- [iPhone 13 mini](https://hackerapproved.com/p/iphone-13-mini/): 105 recommend, 32 mixed, 44 criticize
- [Apple iPhone Pro](https://hackerapproved.com/p/iphone-17-pro/): 90 recommend, 45 mixed, 138 criticize

## The badge

A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged.

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Samsung Galaxy S5", https://hackerapproved.com/p/samsung-galaxy-s5/ (8 recommend, 2 mixed, 4 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026).

Counts updated 2 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.