Last week, it was rumoured that Samsung was working on a waterproof version of the Galaxy S5. While that in itself isn’t astonishing, Samsung is said to be targeting around 20 to 30 percent of total Galaxy S5 sales to come from this device. The move is believed to arise from a need to sell more handsets that are dust and water resistant. An anonymous source confirmed the same, stating that waterproof and dustproof will be two “basic features” of all upcoming Samsung premium smartphones launched this year.
There might actually be something to this rumor, as Samsung is said to have cancelled its order of 5 million LDS antennas, and is instead going to use IMA (in-mold antenna) technology in its handsets. LDS antennas are usually fused onto the back plate of a device and are thin, but do not allow a device to be waterproof. IMA allows a device to be water resistant, but is thicker in size. This is why the Galaxy S4 Active was bulkier when seen against the Galaxy S4.
However, a manufacturer by the name of Daesan Electronics is said to have created an IMA antenna that is almost as thin as an LDS antenna, so it is likely that Samsung would use this antenna technology in the Galaxy S5 Active. Samsung is said to be manufacturing around 5 million units of the Galaxy S4 Active initially, with further production to be based on consumer interest in the handset. While there is no word of an official launch date, the device is rumoured to hit store shelves sometime around May.
