Little back story. I am the guy which has had every flagship literally, but always seemed to migrate back to an iPhone and currently have the 6 Plus.
I picked up the Note 5 with hesitation. Thinking this would be like the other Notes and I would quickly swap back to iPhone once I saw how janky the software was. Boy was I wrong. They did it, Samsung finally did it. I had hear stories the jankiness was gone with the s6 but dismissed it. This phone is as smooth as any iPhone, HTC, or Moto that I have ever used.
The OS still has the cartoon look but can easily be changed with the themes. I love the themes too by the way. The first thing I did was change it to material dark and it really does remind me of a Nexus like experience.
Camera - Fantastic and better than iPhone 6 Plus, has also drastically improved in low light. The double tap to open the camera app is so useful and quicker than Moto X double twist.
Fingerprint Scanner - It is as fast as my 6 Plus, but better. How is it better? The haptic feedback and quick rescan. The 6 Plus would continually end up asking for passcode. Not on the Note 5.
Jankiness - guys I just have to re-iterate the lag and staggers are gone. I have literally tortured this phone. Opening numerous apps, switching to the browser, back to the camera, running games. The phone scrolls and multitask as well as any I have ever owned including iPhones and Nexus devices.
Build Quality - Samsung really put there best into this phone. Is it a finger print magnet? Yes, but does it make a difference with a case? No... Screen is awesome and I cannot remember ever seeing whites this white except on iPhones.
Battery life - yes it is better than Note 4, but standby it's still not an iPhone. With the quick charge. I just cannot see battery life being an issues.
Negatives
Not sure why they got rid of IR blaster. I know this was an unusual niche, but I did enjoy it on the Note 4. No sd or removable battery
Heavy - coming from an iPhone the Note 5 is a little on the hefty size. You know it's there.
Headphones - Don't know if it's Samsung or Verizon, but none are included which sucks.
Android issues - I will miss iMessage and FaceTime. Apple has people by the balls with this. FaceTime, I rarely use, but know many people that do. iMessage on the other hand is soooo useful for sending videos and if only WiFi is available. I know there are other apps, but then the person on the other end must have it.
Final thought - Samsung has finally created a truly great all around phone. All the benefits of android with the smoothness and ease of use of iPhone. Well these are just my opinions. Take them with a grain of salt.
I picked up the Note 5 with hesitation. Thinking this would be like the other Notes and I would quickly swap back to iPhone once I saw how janky the software was. Boy was I wrong. They did it, Samsung finally did it. I had hear stories the jankiness was gone with the s6 but dismissed it. This phone is as smooth as any iPhone, HTC, or Moto that I have ever used.
The OS still has the cartoon look but can easily be changed with the themes. I love the themes too by the way. The first thing I did was change it to material dark and it really does remind me of a Nexus like experience.
Camera - Fantastic and better than iPhone 6 Plus, has also drastically improved in low light. The double tap to open the camera app is so useful and quicker than Moto X double twist.
Fingerprint Scanner - It is as fast as my 6 Plus, but better. How is it better? The haptic feedback and quick rescan. The 6 Plus would continually end up asking for passcode. Not on the Note 5.
Jankiness - guys I just have to re-iterate the lag and staggers are gone. I have literally tortured this phone. Opening numerous apps, switching to the browser, back to the camera, running games. The phone scrolls and multitask as well as any I have ever owned including iPhones and Nexus devices.
Build Quality - Samsung really put there best into this phone. Is it a finger print magnet? Yes, but does it make a difference with a case? No... Screen is awesome and I cannot remember ever seeing whites this white except on iPhones.
Battery life - yes it is better than Note 4, but standby it's still not an iPhone. With the quick charge. I just cannot see battery life being an issues.
Negatives
Not sure why they got rid of IR blaster. I know this was an unusual niche, but I did enjoy it on the Note 4. No sd or removable battery
Heavy - coming from an iPhone the Note 5 is a little on the hefty size. You know it's there.
Headphones - Don't know if it's Samsung or Verizon, but none are included which sucks.
Android issues - I will miss iMessage and FaceTime. Apple has people by the balls with this. FaceTime, I rarely use, but know many people that do. iMessage on the other hand is soooo useful for sending videos and if only WiFi is available. I know there are other apps, but then the person on the other end must have it.
Final thought - Samsung has finally created a truly great all around phone. All the benefits of android with the smoothness and ease of use of iPhone. Well these are just my opinions. Take them with a grain of salt.
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