I have a Galaxy Note 5 — ask me about it!

[toenail_flicker]

Digital zoom is pretty bad no matter what camera you're using. Of course there's OIS so there'll be less blurriness when zoomed in, and with 16MP you have a little room to zoom and keep a decent resolution. But you wouldn't ever want to zoom in more than 2X.

Thanks. Never had zoom issues before so the issues with the N3 were a real shock. Can't zoom at all without artifacts, color distortion, and blur. Bad, bad, bad. Thanks again, mate.

 

[AndroidJay]

Is there a guest mode?

 

[lean6rtj2]

would it best for me to upgrade to the note 5 or the note 4? i understand you just go the phone, but i would really appreciate if i could get some good feedback to help influence my choice!

Note 4 is laggy on Lollipop, plus the fingerprint scanner and battery life blows. Bought one last week after price drop, downloaded update, took it back. Just like the "Designed for Windows xx" stickers that come on PCs, the same applies for Android OS...no guarantees that an updated OS won't ruin your phone.

 

[SpookDroid]

A bit late to the Q&A but hope you're still seeing this. How are the manual controls in the Pro mode in the camera? I know you mentioned shutter speed, but can you also adjust exposure time like the G4? If so, what's the max capture time? Does the slow motion mode still suck resolutionwise? Or do those look better now?

Thanks!

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[SpookDroid]

Note 4 is laggy on Lollipop, plus the fingerprint scanner and battery life blows. Bought one last week after price drop, downloaded update, took it back. Just like the "Designed for Windows xx" stickers that come on PCs, the same applies for Android OS...no guarantees that an updated OS won't ruin your phone.

Or that it happens to every phone... My Note 4 is as snappy and long-lasting as it was before the update. Yeah, there are some laggy operations here and there, but most were there before the update anyway. I did hate the new notifications on Lollipoop though, but that's Android's fault.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[lean6rtj2]

Or that it happens to every phone... My Note 4 is as snappy and long-lasting as it was before the update. Yeah, there are some laggy operations here and there, but most were there before the update anyway. I did hate the new notifications on Lollipoop though, but that's Android's fault.

Posted via the Android Central App

Interesting. I was giving the original Note 4 the benefit of the doubt. Hope my Note 5 is as snappy as what I've seen in the videos.

 

[Knocks]

Do you miss the faux leather back?

 

[mayconvert]

Andrew,
I have S6 Edge now, and I know you've been using it too.
if you had to pick between the regular S6 Edge and Note 5 , which would you use as a daily driver?

I'm liking the smaller screen on the S6 Edge, but man the Note 5 looks great. it's only .6" right? ;p

I went to Best buy today and played with the edge plus and Note 5. walked away, thinking maybe Note 5.
For the Edge, I think i'd just stay smaller.

 

[corty34m]

How much of the 4gb ram do you have avilable after you boot up? I know on the note 4 after you have several apps installed you average maybe 700 mb so hoping this one would have at least 1.7 gb free on average. Also do you have the 32 or 64gb version and how much storage is available out of the box?

 

[Tom Westrick]

Andrew,

Any word on an international version of the Note 5? I'm specifically trying to find one that will work both in the US (on either T-Mobile or AT&T) and South Korea.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[Kelly Kearns]

How much of the 4gb ram do you have avilable after you boot up? I know on the note 4 after you have several apps installed you average maybe 700 mb so hoping this one would have at least 1.7 gb free on average. Also do you have the 32 or 64gb version and how much storage is available out of the box?

I read that when it boots up, about half the RAM is gone. Seems the spen uses a lot of RAM.

 

[Phone_addict]

I currently have a 10 month old galaxy s5, it's battery life is subpar to say the least, it's screen is cracked, etc. Will the price cuts on the note 4 make it worth it paying my phone off and upgrading to an unlocked note 4, or should I go for the note 5?

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[corty34m]

In that case, I would be curious to know between the Note 5 and Galaxy S6 Edge+ soes the Edge+ have more available ram after booting up compared to the Note 5?

 

[dsignori]

Andrew, how easy and consistent is the S pen writing with the screen off? It it quick (can you take the pen out an write immediately?), does it work reliably every time?

 

[boufa]

In that case, I would be curious to know between the Note 5 and Galaxy S6 Edge+ soes the Edge+ have more available ram after booting up compared to the Note 5?

Available RAM is a meaningless stat on a modern android device. You want it to be nearly full. It keep options, features and programs in a ready to go state that is far faster than loading them every time you need them (thus the reason the s-pen eats up so much, because then it is nearly instant to use)

More of than not this reduces lag. Once in a while it causes lag. Just depends on how you use your device.

 

[maximus96]

My note 4 screen turns on when I pull out the pen, and action memo starts by itself as default. Does the screen not turn on anymore when you take the pen out?

thanks

edit, also, how is the unlock process with the new finger print scanner? the note 4's way is annoying and i stopped using it soon after

 

[Andrew Martonik]

Can you pls work the GPS. Very interested how it tracks in various places. Does it locate you ok, does it track your position while moving.

Seems to work just fine. Every time I open up Maps or another app that needs location, it has me placed properly.

Is there a guest mode?

Nope. but you do have "private mode" to hide sensitive data, or can use KNOX as a pseudo-guest mode.

A bit late to the Q&A but hope you're still seeing this. How are the manual controls in the Pro mode in the camera? I know you mentioned shutter speed, but can you also adjust exposure time like the G4? If so, what's the max capture time? Does the slow motion mode still suck resolutionwise? Or do those look better now?

In Pro mode you get manual color, white balance, focal point, ISO, shutter speed (1/24000 sec to 10 sec), and EV. I think you're getting your photography terms a little mixed up here — having a "long exposure" is simply the same as saying you have a "long shutter speed". Having manual shutter speed is new for the Note 5 compared to GS6.

Oh, you also get RAW capture in Pro mode.

Slo-mo video is 720P.

Do you miss the faux leather back?

No.

Andrew,
I have S6 Edge now, and I know you've been using it too.
if you had to pick between the regular S6 Edge and Note 5 , which would you use as a daily driver?

I'm liking the smaller screen on the S6 Edge, but man the Note 5 looks great. it's only .6" right? ;p

I went to Best buy today and played with the edge plus and Note 5. walked away, thinking maybe Note 5.
For the Edge, I think i'd just stay smaller.

I would say Note 5 mostly because I'm just not a fan of the curve on the S6 edge. The real discussion should be between the GS6 and the Note 5 — they're more comparable in terms of shape and usability, just choose what screen size you want.

Andrew,

Any word on an international version of the Note 5? I'm specifically trying to find one that will work both in the US (on either T-Mobile or AT&T) and South Korea.

I'm using an international model right now (specifically East Europe / UAE), and it works just fine on T-Mobile.

It's going to be pretty hard to find one model that works in both the US and S Korea though — not a lot of band overlapping there.

I currently have a 10 month old galaxy s5, it's battery life is subpar to say the least, it's screen is cracked, etc. Will the price cuts on the note 4 make it worth it paying my phone off and upgrading to an unlocked note 4, or should I go for the note 5?

Well that's a personal choice of how much money you think it's worth. Having a broken phone is no fun, and a Note 4 is already going to be a nice little upgrade from the GS5 — but of course there's always something to be said for when you upgrade, upgrading to the latest device.

In that case, I would be curious to know between the Note 5 and Galaxy S6 Edge+ soes the Edge+ have more available ram after booting up compared to the Note 5?

It's nearly identical in software and internals. Aside from the few S Pen tweaks on the Note and few edge screen tweaks on the S6 edge+, the software and system acts the same.

Andrew, how easy and consistent is the S pen writing with the screen off? It it quick (can you take the pen out an write immediately?), does it work reliably every time?

Yup, it's not a very complicated system. The phone knows when the S Pen has been removed from the phone, and turns on the screen write feature. It should be noted that that feature isn't turned on by default, though — gotta hop into the S Pen settings and enable it.

 

[Andrew Martonik]

My note 4 screen turns on when I pull out the pen, and action memo starts by itself as default. Does the screen not turn on anymore when you take the pen out?

The screen turns on when you remove the S Pen. If the screen is already on, Air Command launches when you remove the S Pen. If you close Air Command, you can always call it back up by tapping on the Air Command button (small floating button on-screen), or by pressing the S Pen's side button.

You can choose to enable the screen-off writing mode instead, which will let you write quick memos on the blank screen when the S Pen is removed instead of turning the screen on to the lock screen.

edit, also, how is the unlock process with the new finger print scanner? the note 4's way is annoying and i stopped using it soon after

Same sensor as the Galaxy S6, so it's just one tap of the finger and you're in. No more swiping.

 

[Daaku Singh]

Andrew...

Planning on doing a ' Note 5 impressions' utube video by any chance ;-)?

 

[msndrstood]

Once this weekend is over, please, please discuss the battery life. I think that is what many of us are really waiting for. Battery life will be the make it or break it for me. I really need a good reason to 'upgrade' to the Note 5. So far, I haven't seen one yet.