Samsung unveils water and dust resistant Galaxy S5 with heart-rate monitor

South Korean giant Samsung on Monday unveiled the much awaited successor to its flagship Galaxy S4, the Galaxy S5, at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Samsung also unveiled a smartwatch, the Gear Fit, and launched the Gear 2. Pics Inside

South Korean giant Samsung on Monday unveiled the much awaited successor to its flagship Galaxy S4, the Galaxy S5, at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

The Galaxy S5 has a fingerprint scanner; a 5.1-inch full high-definition display; a water and dust-proof exterior and a 16 megapixel camera. The phone also has a heart rate sensor. It runs on the Android 4.4 KitKat.

While the design doesn't have a very radical change, the rear has a perforated pattern for better grip. The Galaxy S5 will come in four colours other than covers in other colours.

Samsung also unveiled a smartwatch, the Gear Fit. The Fit has a sleek design and a curved screen. Other than syncing the data from the user's phone, the Fit reads their heart rate.

The South Korean electronics giant revealed the new watch in an unexpected announcement on the eve of the February 24-27 Mobile World Conference in Barcelona, Spain.

The watch, available in two models -- the Gear 2 and the Gear 2 Neo, which has no camera -- will be powered by the Tizen operating system developed by Samsung with various partners to break free of the Android dominance.

Samsung spent nearly 4.6 trillion won ($4.3 billion) in advertising in the 12 months through September, about four times the $1.1 billion Apple spent in the same period, the latest for which figures were available. Although Samsung also makes TVs, refrigerators and other products, analysts believe much of the marketing is for newer products such as phones.

The only other company that comes close to matching Samsung's muscle is Apple. The iPhone's debut in 2007 showed the world that phones can do much more than calls and messages. Since then, each new iPhone release has taken on an aura of a rock concert, with the most devoted Apple fans lining up at stores for hours or days to buy one.

Samsung has been updating phones by making their screens larger. The S4's display measures 5 inches diagonally, compared with 4.8 inches on the S III and 4 inches on the original S from 2010. The iPhone's screen has stayed steady at 4 inches since 2012.

The new Samsung devices will be available in markets across 150 countries from April 11.