Overall and Final Verdict

As a bigger guy I have always been a fan of the Galaxy Note series. Not only does the larger size fit my hands better, but typically the larger phone has taken advantage of its size with features like a larger battery capacity. This generation was no different, the battery life of the Note 5 was one of the best tested, even figuring in the extra power that the larger screen pulls. Speaking of the larger screen, I was really impressed with its overall quality. The color reproduction was great and even though the Note 4 shares the same resolution as the S6 with a lower PPI the detail was just as good. Really my only complaint with the screen was that I was really hoping they would jump up to 4K for the Note 5’s screen, but given how much power it would have taken to push that resolution I understand why they didn’t.

Speaking of the phones performance, overall the Note 5 did well in our tests with the exception of a few benchmarks where the phone seemed to throttle back the multicore performance in comparison to the Galaxy S6 that shares the same internals. Even with those slowdowns, the Note 5 was still faster than every other non-Samsung device tested.

As always I felt that it was the Samsung exclusive apps that helped the Note 5 stand out. This time though Samsung only included their S Health app. The app takes advantage of features like the built in heart rate monitor to help track your daily movement, food intake, and other factors. You basically get a free Fitbit. Sadly, Samsung dropped the built in IR Blaster and with that the remote control app that was always my favorite Samsung app this time around. I know that not everyone used the IR Blaster, but it was always a nice feature to have. Especially being able to control all of your household TV’s and other home theater devices with the same device.

Beyond that the Note 5 did have a few other issues that might cause pause for some people. The external speakerphone faces out the bottom of the phone and many times I found myself accidentally covering it up. This caused for lower ring volume when I put the phone in my pocket with it facing down as well. A front facing speaker would be a big step forward. In addition, I ran into a few issues with the rear facing camera washing out in high light.

Overall the pro’s still outweigh the cons and the Note 5 is a good phone. But if high quality photos are at the top of your list of phone features you might need to pass. Even with that issue though the Note 5 has the power, styling, and performance to justify an upgrade from your 1-2 year old phablet. If you are wondering if the larger device is for you, you should be sure to try one in person though. While the size is amazing for me, when my wife used the phone it was much harder for her to hold on to the phone and reach everything on the screen.

fv4recommended

Live Pricing: HERE

Author Bio
garfi3ld
Author: garfi3ldWebsite: http://lanoc.org
Editor-in-chief
You might call him obsessed or just a hardcore geek. Wes's obsession with gaming hardware and gadgets isn't anything new, he could be found taking things apart even as a child. When not poking around in PC's he can be found playing League of Legends, Awesomenauts, or Civilization 5 or watching a wide variety of TV shows and Movies. A car guy at heart, the same things that draw him into tweaking cars apply when building good looking fast computers. If you are interested in writing for Wes here at LanOC you can reach out to him directly using our contact form.

Log in to comment

garfi3ld's Avatar
garfi3ld replied the topic: #37352 02 Dec 2015 20:35
Today I check out the Note 5, it shares a lot of features with the Galaxy S6 but does stand out with its larger size and stylus

We have 1801 guests and no members online

supportus