Its been quite some time since we've done a full-fledged written review. This is the perfect time to start back up. Recently Samsung revealed 2 new flagships to end the year out on w/ the Galaxy Note 5 and the Galaxy S6 edge+. They're pretty much the same device. The Note 5 is aimed more for multitasking + productivity while the S6 edge+ is poised to be an entertainment device.
Sounds familiar like they did last year w/ the Note 4 and Note 4 edge. Now this doesn't mean these aren't worth your attention as those of you who're interested in both of these devices. You now have a decision to make. We will distinguish the two in order to help you make a non-regrettable one.
Our review on the Note 5 & S6 edge+ awaits you.
Design/Build
Usually the Note series is what all of what the upcoming Galaxy S devices draw their inspiration from. This time around, things are reversed as the Galaxy S6 is the new blueprint for Galaxy Note 5. This new look has a well-designed metal body, no microSD card slot or a removable battery. Glass and metal will always feel better than plastic & rubber on anyway day of the week IMHO.
The Note is their unofficial flagship device, its about time it started to look like one. So w/ it being thin, sleek, and lightweight - it makes the 5.7inch device seem a lot smaller. Even when compared to the Note 4 its easily to handle. But its still a big phone just not so much this time around. Since the S6 edge+ is a bigger S6 edge there's no real explanation necessary here in regards to that other than it can be a bit slippery.
Display
The Note 5 and the S6 edge+ represents the creme de la creme of screens on your phone. Both rocking a 5.7inch QHD Super AMOLED display w/ 518ppi. The punch of colors is still present but is complimented w/ great balance of being vivid and retaining its clarity. Samsung made sure to bring about the perfect amount of vibrance will perfecting the standard of what screens on Android should look like. I hope other phone makers are taking notice on how to properly do a QHD display.
Samsung has mastered the craft of making smartphone displays.
Performance/Battery Life
The Note series have always had big chipset & RAM to keep everything running smoothly. This translates here on the Note 5 + the S6 edge+. The octa-core Exynos CPU coupled now w/ 4GB of RAM is now more than enough to keep your device from suffering from that dreaded TouchWiz lag after a while. Throughout our time of using over these past few weeks, it has been pretty evident that is works - for now. We will try to revisit this months later if possible to let you how well it worked out.
Don't let the smaller battery concern you, it will hold you down just fine.
On the battery side of things, I was definitely a bit nervous as I was expecting the 3000 mAh battery to be troublesome w/ the massive QHD panel. Fortunately that was not the case here. I still managed to pull off just over 24 hours of battery w/ moderate usage and heavier means got my closer to hours. Oh and having a faster charging feature helps out a lot when u don't have the time to wait around for you phone to get to 100%. It only took me about hours to get a full charge but you have to use Samsung's charger & cable that shipped w/ your device to maximize the effect. So don't let the slightly smaller battery worry you.
Camera
Both of these Galaxy devices are armed w/ a 16MP f/1.9 rear-facing shooter and a 5MP f/1.9 front-facing shooter. It still retains the clean interface so you don't have a bunch of floating icons in the way when taking a shot or recording moments. Both offer consistent performance for both photo/video. Some of this is due to having OIS that works for photos but only up to 1080p @60fps for video though.
Camera Test
Double-tapping the Home button acts as an alternative quick lunch for the camera. I actually used this shortcut a lot more than I thought i would. We tested out the shooters in Auto mode for off-the-hip photos in our camera test. Definitely the one to beat in Android as it has lighting-fast capture for photos, even better controls in Pro mode, and for those of you who have a following on YouTube can now live broadcast but it'll obviously put a hurting on your device's battery. It would've been interesting to get OIS while recording in 4K but perhaps on the next Galaxy.
Software
Both the Note 5 & S6 edge+ are running TouchWiz UX on top of Android 5.1.1. OS. For the Note 4, TouchWiz's features were warming up to me as I still didn't care for the look of it though. Thanks to Lollipop, you can cross the gripes off of my list as it is now a lot more bearable for me to use on a daily basis w/o the need of a new theme/skin via the Settings. I'm not crazy about the icons that ship w/ it but you can always grab an icon pack.
S Pen
The actual S-Pen itself doesn't have too much more to offer than last year's version other than just having a clickable end that is cool but has no function. But on the software side of things is where things get interesting.
You now do damn-near everything you always wanted to do w/ the S-Pen. You can sign PDF documents, capture screenshots of entire websites w/ no more just what's on the screen, add your favorite apps to the Air Command menu, and now write a note w/o waking the device up. All of this can now make for even better productivity for those who love getting stuff done on the go.
I, myself, don't really utilize the S-Pen as much as some of you Note fans may do but its hard not to appreciate the power of the Note 5. You can still appreciate everything the Note 5 has to offer - whether you use the S-Pen all of the time or just casually.
Edge Display
In attempts to make to beef up the S6 edge+, Samsung made sure to add a bit more software functionality to the Edge display from its smaller brother: the Galaxy S6 edge. These arrive in the form of Edge add-ons.
So now you can now add your favorite apps (up to 5 to be exact) via the 2nd Edge page called Apps Edge. All w/o having to go to your home page or app drawer. Other than that, you still the same software tweaks like Edge Lighting to assign colors to specific contact-based phone calls, Information Stream that displays notifications/news/weather info, and clock display.
I found rarely using these features at all. I know there are people out there that love their Galaxy S6 edge but w/ the S6 edge+ being the more costly one over the Note 5. Its gonna be hard to recommend this over the Note 5 w/o any real addition use to it.
The Note 5 & the S6 edge+ represents the absolute best in Android.
TG 2 Cents
When it comes to Android, its tough to be the king as everyone wants your spot. Other phone makers have been stepping their game up along w/ a few newcomers popping out of the woodwork. The only thing that might sway you is the pricing along w/ the payments structures from US carriers making your monthly bill a lot more expensive.
While we have yet to test out the Moto X Pure Edition yet, no other Android device offers everything (in regards to features, camera, & battery) in one package like Samsung does TouchWiz is now a lot more tolerable, the look is premium, the battery will get you through a day, and the cameras are killer. Previously, the G4 was my top pick but Samsung has gone and done it again to replace that notion w/ these two - or rather one of these two anyways.
Buy The Galaxy Note 5 | Galaxy S6 edge+
To Buy Or Not To Buy
You can't lose w/ either device honestly. The S6 edge+ has the nice curved-display but its not as effective but cool-looking. The Note 5 has the S-Pen and if you don't use it, you just have a great 5.7inch flagship device. There's nothing wrong w/ that but w/ the price their charging for it, you better get a full use out of it. This makes the S6 edge+ hard to recommend so if you can afford it, the Note 5 is for you.
