Time flies by pretty quickly these days, doesn't it? Today is the first day in February, which means we are one day and one month closer before some of the most anticipated flagships of the year are revealed. One particular device that I'm really keeping my eye on this time of year is, of course, Samsung's Galaxy S5. 

While we're not entirely certain whether Samsung will name their next device the Galaxy S5 or not, I think at this point we can be fairly confident that it's at least something close to that nature. As the successor to Samsung's popular Galaxy S4, which was a strikingly similar to the Galaxy S III, the Galaxy S5 has about as much pressure to be perfect as ever. Where the S4 differed more in software and internal specs rather than in hardware design, people will be expecting something much different from the Galaxy S5 this time around.

It doesn't seem too far-fetched to assume that the Galaxy S5 could take on the same design as the Galaxy Note 3. The Galaxy Note 3 still uses plastic backing, but with a textured twist that makes it look like leather rather than the smoothed back that Samsung typically used on their flagship smartphones. However, there have been rumors spreading that perhaps this year Samsung might ditch the plastic altogether and run with a more metallic design. 

And as much as I like to give Samsung grief for using polycarbonate to cover their devices, I'm a little worried that a full-metal design might be too much of a change that people won't like. 

I personally wouldn't mind it. I've found that I much prefer a metal unibody design over anything. It's true that metal isn't perfect, and it can dent pretty easily if you don't properly protect your device with a case of some sort; however, it's been my experience that plastic has a nasty tendency to crack and break, which to me is a lot harder to deal with than a few dents plaguing the device. A little ugly? Yes, but as long as things are functioning I guess I don't really mind. 

I do feel like an all-metal design would be smarter in the end, but I do realize that thus far Samsung has been able to build their empire using the plastic design, which obviously shows that most people rather like the way things are. So I have to wonder that if Samsung does end up changing things up and go with a metal design whether it would lose more interest rather than gain it. 

Really, there's only one way to find out, and that's just to do it. The HTC One was often praised for its remarkable beauty among other Android devices on the market, so I imagine that the same praises would be sung about a Samsung device if they ended up taking that route as well. I do think that the Galaxy S5 needs to differ greatly in design from the Galaxy S4 and the Galaxy S III in order for people to really pay attention to it. People don't just want upgraded software and internal specs, they want the whole buffet. It needs to be able to completely set itself apart (in a good way) from its predecessors, and fortunately for Samsung it's easy to do so just by switching the material the phone is made out of. 

But I must ask you, readers, what your thoughts are regarding Samsung's potential material switch on their next Galaxy S device. Would you prefer the Galaxy S5 to be made out of metal, or do you hope for Samsung to stick with their "plastic is fantastic" motto that they've been using the past few years? Share your thoughts and opinions with us in the comments below!

Images via Hasan Kaymak Innovations, CNet