Samsung's new Galaxy Note5 breaks away from how Samsung typically designs its Note devices and instead follows the company's flagship smartphone, Galaxy S6. The phablet comes with an improved S-Pen stylus capabilities for better multi-tasking, new productivity features and enhanced video capabilities. We used the phone for a few weeks to find out if it's a worthy successor to the Note 4...
Premium design
Samsung Galaxy Note5 looks like a bigger version of the Galaxy S6 complete with a metal frame and glass panels at the front and back. However, the back is curved at the edges to enhance grip. This is critical especially since the Note5 is a large device though the phone's width is slightly lesser than that of the Note 4.
Thanks to the super-thin bezel, Samsung has been able to fit the 5.7-inch display in a relatively smaller body which means the phone doesn't feel unwieldy though not exactly optimum for one hand use. It's undoubtedly a premium device and feels great to hold but the back is very prone to smudging. Also, it felt a bit slippery.
You no longer get access to the phone's battery as the phone has a unibody design and a non-removable back and this is slightly disappointing. It also doesn't feature a microSD card slot so you have to live with the built-in flash storage.
On the metal-clad edge, you'll see the power button on the right, volume rocker keys at the left, sim card slot at the top and the micro-USB port at the bottom along with the S-Pen slot and 3.5mmm headset jack. The bottom edge of the phone would remind you of the iPhone 6/6S. There's no Infrared port unlike the Note 4 so you won't be able to use your phone as a remote control.
The front of the phone features the 5.7-inch display with the physical Home button just placed below it. The button also integrates a fingerprint sensor. Two capacitive navigation keys are located next to it.
The back features a shiny Gorilla glass panel. There's a camera module with the lens protruding out a bit along with an LED flash and a heart rate sensor.
Vivid display
The Note5's 5.7-inch Quad HD (1440x2560p) or 2K resolution Super AMOLED display offers vibrant albeit slightly saturated colours, deep blacks and excellent viewing angles. It's one of the most pixel-dense phones offering super sharp text and images.
Streamlined TouchWiz software
Of recent, we've seen Samsung trying to make its software bloatware-free and less heavy when it comes to hogging system resources. This continues with the Galaxy Note5 and the company has fine-tuned the TouchWiz UI that sits on Android 5.1 Lollipop to offer a streamlined user experience. In fact, we can safely say the Note5 offers the smoothest software experience we've seen on a Samsung Android phone.
Visually, there's not much change though some of the app icons now look much better and Material Design is integrated with some system apps. The UI navigation stays loyal to stock Android with homescreens that can have app shortcuts and widgets and an app launcher. The first screen comprises of Briefing that offers news highlights powered by Flipboard. You can easily turn off the Briefing screen.
Multitasking has always been a major highlight of the Samsung's Note phones. The app switcher facilitates split screen view mode to run two apps on the same screen simultaneously. Apps can be resized, closed and minimized through windows controls that can be displayed by simply swiping from the top edge. The phone also supports some motion gestures including flip to mute, vibration alerts for missed calls and messages when you pick up the phone or swipe your palm to capture a screen shot.
The Samsung apps bundled with the phone include S Health, S Note, S Planner, S voice, Smart Manager, Scrapbook, SideSync and Galaxy Apps app store. The phone comes with Microsoft Office apps including Word, Excel, Powerpoint, OneNote, OneDrive and Skype.
The phone also supports themes and comes with marketplace to download them.
The new S-Pen
The major highlight of Galaxy Note phones is the S-Pen and we found that it lives upto Samsung's claim of the stylus feeling more solid and balanced in the user's hand, and offering improved writing capabilities through variety of tools. It snugly fits into the phone till you push to eject it out through the new spring-loaded mechanism.
It features a clicking mechanism to offer a better experience and you can now quickly jot down ideas or information even when the screen is off without even unlocking the phone through the Screen off memo. The direct pen input lets you scribble text with the S-Pen instead of using the touch screen keyboard in any text entry field. For instance, you can reply to a message or post a tweet by scribbling instead of typing.
The 'Air Command' feature has also been given an upgrade; now an icon hovers for instant access to all of S Pen tools from any screen at any time. You can also annotate on PDF files and capture lengthy web articles or long images at once via 'Scroll capture.'
The Air View feature lets you preview information including pictures and web links by just hovering the S-Pen over the screen.
The S-Pen is a great tool for people who love scribbling instead of typing and makes life easier for them as writing on a pad is more natural.
Great camera
The Samsung Galaxy Note5 sports a 16MP rear camera with f1.9 aperture and Optical Image Stabilisation, and a 5MP wide-angle lens equipped front-facing camera.
The phone also comes with improved video capabilities including Steady Video, which provides Video Digital Image Stabilization on both the front and rear cameras and Video Collage Mode, which allows users to record and edit four short videos of 6 seconds length in various frames and add effects. The Galaxy Note5 also features 4K(UHD) video filming and Live Broadcast, which lets users instantly live stream Full HD video straight from the phone to any individual, group of contacts, or even the public through YouTube Live. Slow motion, fast motion, selective focus (bokeh), panorama and 360-degree virtual shot modes are also present.
We can safely say that the Note5 has the best camera on the Android side of things. Pictures shot with the rear camera look vibrant with vivid colours, outstanding level of detail and great contrast. HDR mode pictures look even better albeit a bit artificial and over-processed. Low light pictures also look good but are slightly noisy.
Selfies shot with the phone also look great and the Beauty options help you look good.
The phone can record video in 2K and 4K resolution but Samsung has set a limit of 5 minutes for these clips and you can't remove this restriction. Quality of videos recorded with the phone was excellent and it captured even distant sounds.
Top-end specs, smooth performance
Samsung Galaxy Note5 is powered by a Samsung Exynos octa-core (2.1GHz Quad + 1.5GHz Quad) 64-bit chip and 4GB RAM (LPDDR4).
Thanks to all the power under the hood, we did not notice any lag or stutter while launching and switching between apps, editing photos, browsing the web, clicking pictures, watching high definition videos or playing graphics-heavy games.
We did not experience any lag whatsoever and were able to play casual games like Leo's Fortune and Temple Run 2 and graphics heavy games like Asphalt 8 and Modern Combat 5. We were able to play videos of popular file formats without any hiccups.
The sound output through the phone's speaker grill was also loud and clear.
It comes in 32GB and 64GB storage variants but there's no microSD card slot for expansion. We got a 32GB storage variant and about 25GB is available to the user.
In terms of connectivity, the phone supports WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, MIMO(2x2), Bluetooth 4.2 LE, ANT+, USB 2.0, NFC, GPS/GLONASS, and 4G LTE Cat.9 / LTE Cat.6 options.
Call quality was very good and the phone works well even in weak signal areas. We also observed that the phone catches signal even weak Wi-Fi signals. Galaxy Note5 also supports Indian LTE bands and we were able to use Airtel's 4G networks in Delhi (on 2,300MHz) in areas with good signal.
It also comes with NFC connectivity to initiate file transfers to other NFC-enabled phones and receive data from NFC tags. These features worked as promised.
The Galaxy Note5 also comes with a fingerprint sensor and heart rate monitor. It's backed by a 3,000mAh battery that supports fast charging with both wireless and wired chargers.
With moderate to high usage, including about one to two hours of making calls, playing games, checking Twitter and Facebook feeds, clicking some pictures, listening to music and browsing the web, the phone lasts just about 11 hours (with 3.5 hours screen-on time) if you put the screen brightness at the highest level and keep 4G turned on. While the battery backup could have been slightly better, fast charging ensures you get a full-charge in about an hour and a half.
Worth a buy?
If you're hunting for a productivity-focused phablet that looks super-premium, sports great build quality and offers great performance, the Samsung Galaxy Note5 could easily be the device of choice. Even the camera is top-notch and can replace your point and shoot.
At Rs 53,900, the Note5 is cheaper than the Galaxy S6 edge+ and the iPhone 6S Plus. While it shares the same hardware as the Galaxy S6 edge+, the Note lacks the dual-edge screen. In our opinion, the S-Pen and its features offer more utility than the edge screens and you'd be better off choosing the Note5.
The iPhone 6S Plus also doesn't support stylus input and doesn't offer any special features that leverage the large-screen. Also, at a starting price of Rs 72,000 for the 16GB variant, it's not a pocket-friendly option.
If you own a Galaxy Note 4, it doesn't really make sense to upgrade - you get a smaller battery and lose the ability to expand internal storage through the microSD card. It's likely that the new S-Pen features could be extended via a software upgrade in the future.
Premium design
Samsung Galaxy Note5 looks like a bigger version of the Galaxy S6 complete with a metal frame and glass panels at the front and back. However, the back is curved at the edges to enhance grip. This is critical especially since the Note5 is a large device though the phone's width is slightly lesser than that of the Note 4.
Thanks to the super-thin bezel, Samsung has been able to fit the 5.7-inch display in a relatively smaller body which means the phone doesn't feel unwieldy though not exactly optimum for one hand use. It's undoubtedly a premium device and feels great to hold but the back is very prone to smudging. Also, it felt a bit slippery.
You no longer get access to the phone's battery as the phone has a unibody design and a non-removable back and this is slightly disappointing. It also doesn't feature a microSD card slot so you have to live with the built-in flash storage.
On the metal-clad edge, you'll see the power button on the right, volume rocker keys at the left, sim card slot at the top and the micro-USB port at the bottom along with the S-Pen slot and 3.5mmm headset jack. The bottom edge of the phone would remind you of the iPhone 6/6S. There's no Infrared port unlike the Note 4 so you won't be able to use your phone as a remote control.
The front of the phone features the 5.7-inch display with the physical Home button just placed below it. The button also integrates a fingerprint sensor. Two capacitive navigation keys are located next to it.
The back features a shiny Gorilla glass panel. There's a camera module with the lens protruding out a bit along with an LED flash and a heart rate sensor.
Vivid display
The Note5's 5.7-inch Quad HD (1440x2560p) or 2K resolution Super AMOLED display offers vibrant albeit slightly saturated colours, deep blacks and excellent viewing angles. It's one of the most pixel-dense phones offering super sharp text and images.
Streamlined TouchWiz software
Of recent, we've seen Samsung trying to make its software bloatware-free and less heavy when it comes to hogging system resources. This continues with the Galaxy Note5 and the company has fine-tuned the TouchWiz UI that sits on Android 5.1 Lollipop to offer a streamlined user experience. In fact, we can safely say the Note5 offers the smoothest software experience we've seen on a Samsung Android phone.
Visually, there's not much change though some of the app icons now look much better and Material Design is integrated with some system apps. The UI navigation stays loyal to stock Android with homescreens that can have app shortcuts and widgets and an app launcher. The first screen comprises of Briefing that offers news highlights powered by Flipboard. You can easily turn off the Briefing screen.
Multitasking has always been a major highlight of the Samsung's Note phones. The app switcher facilitates split screen view mode to run two apps on the same screen simultaneously. Apps can be resized, closed and minimized through windows controls that can be displayed by simply swiping from the top edge. The phone also supports some motion gestures including flip to mute, vibration alerts for missed calls and messages when you pick up the phone or swipe your palm to capture a screen shot.
The Samsung apps bundled with the phone include S Health, S Note, S Planner, S voice, Smart Manager, Scrapbook, SideSync and Galaxy Apps app store. The phone comes with Microsoft Office apps including Word, Excel, Powerpoint, OneNote, OneDrive and Skype.
The phone also supports themes and comes with marketplace to download them.
The new S-Pen
The major highlight of Galaxy Note phones is the S-Pen and we found that it lives upto Samsung's claim of the stylus feeling more solid and balanced in the user's hand, and offering improved writing capabilities through variety of tools. It snugly fits into the phone till you push to eject it out through the new spring-loaded mechanism.
It features a clicking mechanism to offer a better experience and you can now quickly jot down ideas or information even when the screen is off without even unlocking the phone through the Screen off memo. The direct pen input lets you scribble text with the S-Pen instead of using the touch screen keyboard in any text entry field. For instance, you can reply to a message or post a tweet by scribbling instead of typing.
The 'Air Command' feature has also been given an upgrade; now an icon hovers for instant access to all of S Pen tools from any screen at any time. You can also annotate on PDF files and capture lengthy web articles or long images at once via 'Scroll capture.'
The Air View feature lets you preview information including pictures and web links by just hovering the S-Pen over the screen.
The S-Pen is a great tool for people who love scribbling instead of typing and makes life easier for them as writing on a pad is more natural.
Great camera
The Samsung Galaxy Note5 sports a 16MP rear camera with f1.9 aperture and Optical Image Stabilisation, and a 5MP wide-angle lens equipped front-facing camera.
The phone also comes with improved video capabilities including Steady Video, which provides Video Digital Image Stabilization on both the front and rear cameras and Video Collage Mode, which allows users to record and edit four short videos of 6 seconds length in various frames and add effects. The Galaxy Note5 also features 4K(UHD) video filming and Live Broadcast, which lets users instantly live stream Full HD video straight from the phone to any individual, group of contacts, or even the public through YouTube Live. Slow motion, fast motion, selective focus (bokeh), panorama and 360-degree virtual shot modes are also present.
We can safely say that the Note5 has the best camera on the Android side of things. Pictures shot with the rear camera look vibrant with vivid colours, outstanding level of detail and great contrast. HDR mode pictures look even better albeit a bit artificial and over-processed. Low light pictures also look good but are slightly noisy.
Selfies shot with the phone also look great and the Beauty options help you look good.
The phone can record video in 2K and 4K resolution but Samsung has set a limit of 5 minutes for these clips and you can't remove this restriction. Quality of videos recorded with the phone was excellent and it captured even distant sounds.
Top-end specs, smooth performance
Samsung Galaxy Note5 is powered by a Samsung Exynos octa-core (2.1GHz Quad + 1.5GHz Quad) 64-bit chip and 4GB RAM (LPDDR4).
Thanks to all the power under the hood, we did not notice any lag or stutter while launching and switching between apps, editing photos, browsing the web, clicking pictures, watching high definition videos or playing graphics-heavy games.
We did not experience any lag whatsoever and were able to play casual games like Leo's Fortune and Temple Run 2 and graphics heavy games like Asphalt 8 and Modern Combat 5. We were able to play videos of popular file formats without any hiccups.
The sound output through the phone's speaker grill was also loud and clear.
It comes in 32GB and 64GB storage variants but there's no microSD card slot for expansion. We got a 32GB storage variant and about 25GB is available to the user.
In terms of connectivity, the phone supports WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, MIMO(2x2), Bluetooth 4.2 LE, ANT+, USB 2.0, NFC, GPS/GLONASS, and 4G LTE Cat.9 / LTE Cat.6 options.
Call quality was very good and the phone works well even in weak signal areas. We also observed that the phone catches signal even weak Wi-Fi signals. Galaxy Note5 also supports Indian LTE bands and we were able to use Airtel's 4G networks in Delhi (on 2,300MHz) in areas with good signal.
It also comes with NFC connectivity to initiate file transfers to other NFC-enabled phones and receive data from NFC tags. These features worked as promised.
The Galaxy Note5 also comes with a fingerprint sensor and heart rate monitor. It's backed by a 3,000mAh battery that supports fast charging with both wireless and wired chargers.
With moderate to high usage, including about one to two hours of making calls, playing games, checking Twitter and Facebook feeds, clicking some pictures, listening to music and browsing the web, the phone lasts just about 11 hours (with 3.5 hours screen-on time) if you put the screen brightness at the highest level and keep 4G turned on. While the battery backup could have been slightly better, fast charging ensures you get a full-charge in about an hour and a half.
Worth a buy?
If you're hunting for a productivity-focused phablet that looks super-premium, sports great build quality and offers great performance, the Samsung Galaxy Note5 could easily be the device of choice. Even the camera is top-notch and can replace your point and shoot.
At Rs 53,900, the Note5 is cheaper than the Galaxy S6 edge+ and the iPhone 6S Plus. While it shares the same hardware as the Galaxy S6 edge+, the Note lacks the dual-edge screen. In our opinion, the S-Pen and its features offer more utility than the edge screens and you'd be better off choosing the Note5.
The iPhone 6S Plus also doesn't support stylus input and doesn't offer any special features that leverage the large-screen. Also, at a starting price of Rs 72,000 for the 16GB variant, it's not a pocket-friendly option.
If you own a Galaxy Note 4, it doesn't really make sense to upgrade - you get a smaller battery and lose the ability to expand internal storage through the microSD card. It's likely that the new S-Pen features could be extended via a software upgrade in the future.
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