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[Schlep]

Couldn't care less about non-removable battery or even SD card, tbh. Biggest loss to me is the IR blaster, but I'll put up with that to gain: instant note ability, Samsung Pay, better fingerprint sensor, more RAM, faster processor, and better battery.

To me, the complaining about non-removable battery and micro SD reminds me of no backwards compatibility in game consoles and when Apple removed the floppy drive from iMacs. Not that there's absolutely no case for it, it's just hard to see either of those as anything but niche. The main thing they did miss was not releasing a 128GB version. Then again, Apple sells a 16GB iPhone, lol. We're in a transition period when it comes to storage.

Tried ordering from T-Mobile on JUMP this morning, and they're trying to extort $25 overnight shipping where new customers get it for free. Will wait for Friday.

 

[EnVy_CaLiBeR]

Couldn't care less about non-removable battery or even SD card, tbh. Biggest loss to me is the IR blaster, but I'll put up with that to gain: instant note ability, Samsung Pay, better fingerprint sensor, more RAM, faster processor, and better battery.

To me, the complaining about non-removable battery and micro SD reminds me of no backwards compatibility in game consoles and when Apple removed the floppy drive from iMacs. Not that there's absolutely no case for it, it's just hard to see either of those as anything but niche. The main thing they did miss was not releasing a 128GB version. Then again, Apple sells a 16GB iPhone, lol. We're in a transition period when it comes to storage.

Tried ordering from T-Mobile on JUMP this morning, and they're trying to extort $25 overnight shipping where new customers get it for free. Will wait for Friday.

It depends on what people need out of a phone, but the transition will happen to where there are even fewer phones with those two features. I know some people who use microSD cards but they hardly ever use up the memory that is onboard on the actual phone so it ends up being pointless and I actually don't know one person that actually swaps out the batteries (outside of me when I had my Note 3). Portable chargers seem like they are more of a thing than that (I personally have two). It's nice to have more options, but it's far from necessary for most people. Look no further than the iPhone sales for proof of that. People from reviewers to people who owned Samsung phones complained so much that Samsung phones feel cheap and not as premium as other phones (namely the iPhone). As soon as they sacrifice a couple of features to deliver a premium device, people still complain. Samsung loses no matter what.

The way I see it is if you need expandable storage and a removable battery, the Note 4 is still a great phone and the LG G4 is great as well (my brother has one). However, the Note 5 looks improved in just about every other aspect, which is why I'm picking one up.

Here's Phone Arena's review

http://www.phonearena.com/reviews/Samsung-Galaxy-Note5-Review_id4059

 

[The Faceless Master]

Couldn't care less about non-removable battery or even SD card, tbh. Biggest loss to me is the IR blaster, but I'll put up with that to gain: instant note ability, Samsung Pay, better fingerprint sensor, more RAM, faster processor, and better battery.

To me, the complaining about non-removable battery and micro SD reminds me of no backwards compatibility in game consoles and when Apple removed the floppy drive from iMacs. Not that there's absolutely no case for it, it's just hard to see either of those as anything but niche. The main thing they did miss was not releasing a 128GB version. Then again, Apple sells a 16GB iPhone, lol. We're in a transition period when it comes to storage.

Tried ordering from T-Mobile on JUMP this morning, and they're trying to extort $25 overnight shipping where new customers get it for free. Will wait for Friday.

if they had a 128GB version it would make it ... not so bad ... but a sealed battery on a phone is a non-starter. i go thru 2-3 batteries on a device, already got a pair of replacements for my Note 4 and had 2-3 on previous devices.

no IR is just icing because the IR port on my Note 4 has been amazing.

 

[alpinestars1980]

Coming from a Note 4, this Note 5 is stupid good.

Worlds better.

I can't even believe how smooth it is.

 

[totoro'd]

I was interested in upgrading from an S4 i've had for over 2 years now, i love it but want a phablet (mainly because i spend most of the time on my phone watching Netflix, youtube, or browsing the 'net, so i like having as much real estate as possible), and was almost positive at getting a Note 5, but not anymore. Now i think i'm either going with a Nexus 6 or just getting a Note 4 since it will be cheaper, has the same screen size, and has removable battery and expandable storage

 

[Schlep]

Coming from a Note 4, this Note 5 is stupid good.

Does it feel smaller in-hand than the Note 4? How about compared with the Edge+?

 

[alpinestars1980]

Does it feel smaller in-hand than the Note 4? How about compared with the Edge+?

Yes, much smaller.

The huge screen is in such a tight frame that my friends at work didn't believe it had the same sized screen or that it was physically smaller than the Note 4 in every dimension. Until they held it.

As for how it compares to the Edge+ I can't say.

I only held the Edge+ at Best Buy and it was hard to tell. The Edge+ still felt really good, though, considering it had that security thing on it. Looks amazing in person, too.

 

[SyenceLabb]

just bought the Note 5 .... Black Sapphire 32GB... coming from the LG G3. If I don't like it I'll sell it and consider iPhone 6S+

 

[FallingEdge]

picking up the note 5 in an hour or so. can't wait.

 

[GifGafIsTheBestGaf]

nvm, i can see people selling in amazon

 

[Neverforget]

No SD and No removable battery? Thank god I bought a note 4! This is exactly what I was afraid of.

Samsung, you're losing your winning edge.

 

[Skel1ingt0n]

Any details on that 30 day trial period? Can I sign up now?

Always wanted to tinker with a Note. May as well give it a shot.

 

[Jazzy Network]

picking up the note 5 in an hour or so. can't wait.

Battery impressions please.

 

[Schlep]

When I picked mine up from the store 3h15m ago, the battery was at 56%. 2h15m of screen on time later, it's 13%.

I've been installing tons of apps and going through logging in, etc. No gaming, but pretty heavy usage.

 

[alpinestars1980]

My battery has been fairly good.

Something like an average of 3.5 hours of SoT. And that's while not being on wifi most of the day and with multiple accounts syncing, brightness at around 60%(and not on auto), and GPS/Bluetooth on always.

I'm really happy with it. I get about 2-3 phones a year sometimes and this is easily my favorite phone already. I usually knock Samsung over some of their decisions but they killed it with this phone.

 

[Negaduck]

Had the note 3 for a while now and am actually switching to my gf's company (att to T-Mobile) but was waiting for the phone to drop.

I should be able to switch already and get the note 5 correct?

 

[alpinestars1980]

Had the note 3 for a while now and am actually switching to my gf's company (att to T-Mobile) but was waiting for the phone to drop.

I should be able to switch already and get the note 5 correct?

Yes, T-Mobile has released it as well. Should be able to walk into a store.

 

[Schlep]

Having this phone reminds me of how badly the 5.0 update screwed over my Note 4.

 

[GifGafIsTheBestGaf]

ordered one from ebay, should be here on the 31th. the only worry i have is the lack of rhino shield

 

[luxarific]

Make sure you don't put the stylus in the wrong way. You can break it permanently.

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015...ards-s-pen-can-permanently-damage-the-device/

 

[Rubenov]

Reviews have been slow coming out for this? Read The Verge one but anantech and engadget haven't posted theirs yet.

 

[alpinestars1980]

Make sure you don't put the stylus in the wrong way. You can break it permanently.

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015...ards-s-pen-can-permanently-damage-the-device/

I saw someone at Android Central mention that they did this. I can't see how you wouldn't notice. Seems crazy to me.

 

[luxarific]

I saw someone at Android Central mention that they did this. I can't see how you wouldn't notice. Seems crazy to me.

If you're distracted or have kids I can totally see this happen. My Note 2's stylus is unable to be inserted improperly. It's really an unacceptable design flaw with any phone, let alone one this expensive.

 

[Funky Papa]

That's pretty incredible. Even my ancient HTC was designed so that couldn't happen.

 

[wanderingprostheyltite]

Hey anyone with a Note 5 wanna weigh in on their 3d performance? Mine seems quite underwhelming which is making me concerned due to plans for picking up a gearvr when it lands next month. What tipped me off initially was Google Earth running very sluggishly with 3d cities enabled.

Did some benchmarks using 3dmark. Ice Storm Unlimited netted me a score of 23413, and Slingshot using ES 3.1 gave me a 1081, the latter giving me extremely low fps (4-7) throughout. At the end of the Slingshot benchmark it had a message along the lines of "your device is powerful yet it's getting lower than expected performance".

Would be nice to see some comparisons of what others are getting to see if I've got a lemon or not.

 

[mysocksarepink]

Love my note 5. Battery kind of sucks. Only a week old. What do?

 

[ShadowKingpin]

For pretty, people go with iPhones anyway.

Or for durable phones and an OS that isn't garbage. I can't recall having one good moment with any of my Android phones. I have had five and I moved to iPhone. Never going back.

 

[Jazzy Network]

Or for durable phones and an OS that isn't garbage. I can't recall having one good moment with any of my Android phones. I have had five and I moved to iPhone. Never going back.

 

[wanderingprostheyltite]

Yeah that glass on both sides sure is durable! I'd never use the 2015 line without a case.

 

[Rodney McKay]

Or for durable phones and an OS that isn't garbage. I can't recall having one good moment with any of my Android phones. I have had five and I moved to iPhone. Never going back.

I laugh every time I read stuff like this. Having had iOS and android devices (currently have an iPad and a Note 4), they really aren't that massively different from an OS perspective.

The only meaningful differences to me is that I need to use iTunes to get files and videos on my iPad and you have to send it directly to a specific app (which you can transfer between apps with iOS 8 I think), whereas Android I can just drag and drop and any app can see the files without extra steps.

The reason I stick with Android for my phones is that they still have some with remove able batteries and expandable memory, which is why the Note 5 was a disappointment to me. Hopefully the next ones reverse that decision and bring those features back, or else I'll probably look at the next LGs or something.