The Samsung Galaxy S5 Active has just been approved by the FCC carrying the model number SM-G870A. The last alphabet in the model number indicates that it’s a carrier variant (possibly AT&T) which makes sense given that the Galaxy S4 Active was launched by the same operator in the U.S.

It’s still quite hard to discern how different this will be from the standard Galaxy S5. If you recall correctly, the Galaxy S4 Active was unique because it was water and dust resistant while the Galaxy S4 wasn’t. So this raises a few questions in our mind as to what differentiating feature this smartphone will bring to the table given that the Galaxy S5 is already water and dust resistant.

This is most likely a midrange device bringing most of the features from the premier Samsung flagship, barring a few of them in order to cut costs. Samsung has employed this same strategy over the past few years to attract wider segments of the market, and it has served them well.

With the device being certified by the FCC now, we might not have to wait long to get an answer for our questions.