[Review] Samsung Galaxy Note 5

With the arrival of the new Galaxy S7 family, the Galaxy Note 5 might no longer be the latest from Samsung, but it’s still one of the best. We’ve already pitted the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 vs the Galaxy S7 in a quick look, but we also felt now was a great time to the Note 5 review up to the front of the index. For those who prefer big screen phones, there’s really few better than the Note 5.

Over the past few years, Samsung has followed a release cycle featuring two major flagships, under the Galaxy S and Galaxy Note monikers. Apart from the obvious difference in size, there has always been some separation in design, build quality, and features between the two series, and the mainstream acceptance of large display smartphones led to the Galaxy Note series emerging as the more compelling option in recent times.

With a new, yet controversial, design language, and some enhancements underneath the surface, does the latest addition to the Galaxy Note family continue the legacy of the series? We find out, in this comprehensive review of the Samsung Galaxy Note 5!

Design

Perhaps the most important part of the new Galaxy Note 5 is that it feels like we’ve been here before, and that starts with the design. Though much of the Galaxy design language remains as familiar as ever, the just-released Galaxy Note now takes its build quality cue from the latest Galaxy S series flagship, offering a metal and glass construction. Glass panels are kept together with a metallic frame, and all color options include translucent effects that literally make the phone shine and reflect.

The use of glass means that the Note 5 is also the most fingerprint prone Note device we’ve seen, which is another trope that it derives from the Galaxy S6. But, unlike the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+, the Galaxy Note 5 manages to be just a bit more than a blown up Galaxy S6, with its subtle curves along the sides of the back, that actually help with the handling of this large phone.

Of course, much of what we all remember from Samsung devices returns here. The buttons are all where one would expect them, with the fingerprint scanner integrated into the tactile home button up front. The scanner now works with a simple touch, which is a far better implementation than the swipe version found with its predecessor. Down at the bottom is the microUSB port, the headphone jack, the speaker grill, as well as the S-Pen, nestled very neatly into the bottom right corner.

The S-Pen also gets some real updates in design, as is evident when you pop out the top, which has been done in order allow the pen to be flush with the body, making it look and feel sleeker than before. The click on the top is yet another toy to mess with, and any avid S-Pen user will probably take advantage of it as they gather their thoughts in between taking down any notes.

This is also a good place to address the “Pengate” controversy that has been making the rounds – while it is true that you are able to put the S-Pen into the slot backwards, that is certainly not a reason to do so. Even if the S-Pen could have fit backwards without affecting the sensor, I think all users should still be wary of how they are inserting this stylus, and the problem goes away.

The new design language of the Note 5 brings one very significant change that is quite the point of contention, and that is the lack of a removable back cover, and all that it entails. That means no expandable storage via microSD card, and no user-replaceable battery. These were two features that previously made Galaxy Note devices the go-to phones for power users, and that is unfortunately not the case anymore. Sacrificing these two features does make for the thinnest, most beautifully constructed Galaxy Note smartphone ever though. Handling might suffer from a pretty slippery glass design (up until the fingerprints and smudges slow it down), but the Galaxy Note 5 still manages to have one of the most appealing aesthetics, even if it now feels overly familiar.

Display

The Galaxy Note 5 comes with a 5.7-inch Super AMOLED display with a 2560 x 1440 resolution, which is, on paper, identical to the display of its predecessor. However, the display has been incrementally enhanced to improve on an already fantastic viewing experience. Quad HD makes a lot of sense on a larger display, resulting in an excellent pixel density of 518 ppi, despite the large size. The high saturation Super AMOLED construction proves to be as great as ever, allowing for vibrant, vivid colors, and plenty of brightness for comfortable viewing in broad daylight. You do have the option to tone down the saturation though, if that better suits your tastes.

What we think is the most important about this panel, however, is the really small bezel ratio. There is very little space on the sides of the display, which helps tremendously with the handling experience. For a phone that deals with text and writing, the screen really shines, but fire up a very colorful game or video and using this display will be an absolute joy.

Performance

Performance is a high-point for the Galaxy Note 5, thanks to Samsung’s use of its in-house processing package, which has been optimized for the toned-down TouchWiz. The octa-core Exynos 7420 processor, clocked at 2.1 GHz, returns from the Galaxy S6, where it really shined, bringing with it an additional gigabyte of RAM, for 4 GB in total. That combination allows for some strong multi-tasking, and that’s great, given the availability of the S-Pen and all of its features.

There is no doubt in our minds that this processing package is a great performer, as a whole week of above-average use has yet to slow down this phone, on which we’ve installed apps, used trackers, watched videos, played games, and taken lots of pictures and videos with. The Galaxy Note 5 succeeds where the Note line has always excelled – being the fastest and best iteration of the Galaxy experience in any given year.

Hardware

In hardware, some familiar additions return with the Galaxy Note 5. On the back of the phone, right next to the camera package is where the heart rate monitor can be found. It works about as well as ever, thanks to a streamlined S-Health app, but this is not a feature you will probably use very often.

The device packs a standard suite of connectivity options, including NFC, which will be a part of the upcoming Samsung Pay ecosystem. Phone calls come in loud and clear, and I had no dropped calls during my usage with the T-Mobile network. Speaking of audio, the single speaker unit on the bottom benefits from a better placement from before, but provides the expected quality. It gets pretty loud, but without much body in the sound, but we’re glad it doesn’t overdo the high ends though.

Fingerprint reading is a thing of the future, and Samsung makes it work quite well in the Galaxy Note 5. Setting it up for Web sign-in credentials is possible, but, for the most part, the primary use of the fingerprint scanner will be to unlock the phone. The scanner’s usefulness will also see a bump when Samsung Pay officially launches later this year.

On the storage front, the Galaxy Note 5 comes with 32 GB or 64 GB options, without the possibility to expand the storage, leaving power users dependent on choosing the larger version, along the premium it entails. As was the case with the Galaxy S flagships, the storage in the Galaxy Note 5 is UFS 2.0, which is a standard that can rival speeds of SSDs, and that helps with maximizing speed. That, of course, might not be reason enough to warrant the removal of expandable storage, but the smooth performance of the device can definitely be attributed to optimized internals, over a myriad of unknowns coming from microSD cards. A lot of people won’t be convinced, but it’s something we thought should be considered.

Finally, when it comes to the battery, the Galaxy Note 5 packs a 3,000 mAh unit, and that capacity does seem a little bit small at first glance. In our testing, we found that the device could still handle a full day of work without any problems, though getting anything more than that is a stretch. Screen-on time never really got beyond 4.5 hours, but with an impressive standby time, if the device remains unused a lot, it might by easy to get more than a full day out of it.

In attempting to keep the latest Galaxy Note phone as thin as possible, Samsung hit a hard limit on the battery size of the Note 5, and focused on charging it as fast as possible instead. For example, the Note 5 boasts faster wireless charging, although the high speeds are only available with Samsung’s own wireless charger. It is also nice that the device supports both the PMA and Qi wireless charging standards out of the box, but the cordless life that Samsung seemed very excited about at the launch event still feels a little far off.

The Note 5’s fast charging capabilities will prove more useful for most users, as the device requires only 10 to 15 minutes to get back to decent battery life, and only about an hour to be fully charged. Granted, fast charging does feel like a consolation prize for losing true longevity. But it shouldn’t be difficult to find 15-minute charging windows throughout the day, so that you aren’t worried about running out of juice.

Camera

The Note 5 retains the quality in the camera department, quite literally in this case: the camera on the device is basically the same with the Galaxy S6′, with its 16 MP rear shooter with a f/1.9 aperture and 4K video recording capabilities, along with a 5 MP wide angle lens front-facing camera.

By far, the best part about the camera experience is the ability to bring it up by simply hitting the home button twice, which will quickly and easily launch the camera app. The manual controls of the mostly familiar app have been given a few more options, such as being able to change the Kelvin reading in the white balance slider, which isn’t available with the Galaxy S6 camera.

There are all the usual modes as well, with everything from slow motion, to a new video collage mode that is fun to use. Live broadcasting is also now available, with YouTube as the platform, which is basically a Periscope built into the app. We think it isn’t something most users will use, and even then, more established streaming services like Snapchat or Periscope might still take priority. Shooting in the app is nice and quick in most situations, and though there is some spot metering when tapping to focus, a slider for changing the exposure does appear if you need it.