So there’s this thing about Samsung that has been kind of bugging me the past year or so. Without getting too fluffy about the subject, simply put, I think that they’ve taken a good thing and really tried to play it out past its prime. The Galaxy S III was a great phone, even managing to dethrone Apple in a couple of ways; but after that? It’s like Samsung let everything get to their heads. With the release of the Galaxy S4, there wasn’t just one Galaxy S4; there were, like, four of them all sharing the same name somehow. The original Galaxy S4, the Galaxy S4 Active, the Galaxy S4 Zoom, and the Galaxy S4 Mini. That’s a lot of different variations of one phone.

I don’t know why, either. Maybe it was because they assumed anything with Galaxy S4 slapped on it would be great. Maybe it was because they really thought these products were innovating and people would really love them. What I do know is that it seemed like an awful lot was going on there, just like an awful lot is going on now with the Galaxy S5. We’ve already got the Galaxy S5 and the S5 Mini on the way, and the Galaxy S5 Active has also been rumored; the Galaxy "S5" Zoom is now the Galaxy K Zoom (which is good considering the phone isn’t really a Galaxy S5 at all) but now you also have the Galaxy S5 Prime that may or may not be on its way to shelves as well.

I don’t think the focus features are a bad thing, per se. I think that anything that improves a phone is a good thing, but I also think that Samsung keeps splitting up these features unnecessarily. These features should all be featured in one device. That is what could make it a kick butt phone.

Obviously there would be some exceptions though, like with the Mini. You can’t make a big and a small phone, so that’s whatever. But looking at the Active and the Prime? The features in both of these devices are what could have made a great phone even greater. The Galaxy S5 might be waterproof and dustproof, but is it tanky? Will it last as long as the Active would? Probably not. And the rumored high-res display and metal back on the back of the S5 Prime? Would that not have been decent additions to make to the original Galaxy S5? (Honestly, though, my outlook on aluminum is starting to wane. I kind of liked the band-aid backing and texture of the S5.)

It’s clear that Samsung thinks these are all good features to have in a phone, but I think it would help them out immensely if they tried to include all of these features worth their merits into one super phone. It would be less confusing for consumers, and it would make the company seem less desperate to keep the Galaxy S name alive in people’s minds as the months wane on. If you make a really great phone, people will keep talking about it. I mean, look at the HTC One. It had been a while since HTC came out with a phone people talked about in a good way, but that one phone was making headlines for months without coming up with 3 or 4 variants.

It just seems like it would make more sense to make one really awesome phone, that’s all.

Readers, what do you think? Do you think Samsung should keep splitting the S5 up into different niche devices, or should they try and roll it all into one super phone? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

Images via Trusted Reviews, Digital Trends