Isn't the Note 5's screen supposed to be "much better" than the old Note 4 screen?

[rushmore]

Actually he likely got the higher density information from right here on the AC Note 5 full review.

Posted via the Android Central App

As we appreciate, the review does not make it correct though Same 1440p res on 5.7" and the difference is the UI has been made with smaller icons and fonts. Not a hardware difference, but a software difference. I can make my Note 4 "more dense" with Nova.

Another funny display thing is folks comparing displays. If settings are not the same, of course one will look different from the other I see zero difference other than the icons now look like they do with my Nova settings adjusted smaller on the Note 4.

1-(515/519)= .07707 So if I round up the Note 5 is technically 1% more dense.

 

[Connert]

I absolutely agree rushmore, the review doesn't make it so. Just pointing out what was said right here on the AC site.

I also think if it is true that the Note 5 screen is 5.66" at the same resolution, it is pretty much insignificant. Both devices have and amazing screen.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[Blacklac]

Note 5 is better than note 4 display. They use different panels anyways. 2 months ago I got 2 regular s6e 128 models and one came with 5.02 installed and the screen was not as good as the one that came with 5.1.1 installed. There was a noticeable difference. The one with 5.1.1 obviously had a better panel because it was newer.

Posted via the Android Central App

It's not uncommon for the same exact phones to look slightly different. Color tones can vary from phone to phone.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[dllrogers55]

As we appreciate, the review does not make it correct though Same 1440p res on 5.7" and the difference is the UI has been made with smaller icons and fonts. Not a hardware difference, but a software difference. I can make my Note 4 "more dense" with Nova.

Another funny display thing is folks comparing displays. If settings are not the same, of course one will look different from the other I see zero difference other than the icons now look like they do with my Nova settings adjusted smaller on the Note 4.

1-(515/519)= .07707 So if I round up the Note 5 is technically 1% more dense.

If you change the font size larger on the Note 5, does it appear like the Note 3 & 4 throughout the phone (contacts, messages, homescreen)? I was worried reading the review that people coming from the 3 and 4 might have a harder time because everything looks smaller. I plan to go in to test this on the display unit. I thought the screen of the 5 looked better too. The bluish hue seems brighter than my yellowish with same brightness levels. Nice.

 

[dsignori]

Every Note 5 and S6 I have seen have had the "issue" he's talking about. Use your phone in direct sunlight with auto brightness on, you will see it.

Sent from my SM-N920T using Tapatalk

I'll take your word for it. I still don't see it, or maybe I just don't notice it. In any case, my display looks great outside...

 

[itsnotmeitsyou]

I'll take your word for it. I still don't see it, or maybe I just don't notice it. In any case, my display looks great outside...

Hey, either way it's a win. All that matters is that you enjoy the phone.

I see it, but it doesn't bother me. I don't like to use my phone in the sunlight anyways. It kills the battery. And it's not like it affects what you can see.

Sent from my SM-N920T using Tapatalk

 

[rushmore]

Re: Isn't the Note 5's screen supposed to be "much better" than the old Note 4 screen?

If you change the font size larger on the Note 5, does it appear like the Note 3 & 4 throughout the phone (contacts, messages, homescreen)? I was worried reading the review that people coming from the 3 and 4 might have a harder time because everything looks smaller. I plan to go in to test this on the display unit. I thought the screen of the 5 looked better too. The bluish hue seems brighter than my yellowish with same brightness levels. Nice.

You can change icon sizes and other UI attributes with Nova, but don't know if can with Wiz on N5. Can't on N4.

 

[D13H4RD2L1V3]

Re: Isn't the Note 5's screen supposed to be "much better" than the old Note 4 screen?

The Note 5's screen is nearly identical to the Note 4's.

The main difference is that it's much brighter than even IPS LCDs, making it extremely useful in broad daylight.

 

[xocomaox]

a bit crisper, and also has a denser screen (more lines show up in your Gmail, or on a web site, etc), so things are slightly smaller on screen.

That is a software modification.

 

[ccpopham]

Actually it was documented before they even released on the 21st that the point is slightly lower than the note 4. Just as the battery is smaller. Samsung made an expensive device with the note 5 and looked at ways of saving a few dollars. It was even stated the note 5 was the first flagship from Samsung that didn't improve screen quality.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[jimd1050]

110 apps, good lawwwwwd!!!

~Blessed From My Note 4~

I immediately "Liked" your comment as I thought the same thing! I then looked at my Note 4 and I have 158... I guess I could do some thinning but just never thought about it! Good lawwwwwd Jim!!!

 

[LeoRex]

Samsung just reduced the screen density on the Note 5.... Don't confuse that with the actual pixel density or resolution.... the dpi density is more a scaling factor that is used by applications to determine how big it needs to scale everything to look a certain way on screen. It is 100% software and can be adjusted by modifying the /system/build.prop file. The smaller the number, the smaller the icons, fonts, window frames, etc. become.

 

[centerwaters]

I immediately "Liked" your comment as I thought the same thing! I then looked at my Note 4 and I have 158... I guess I could do some thinning but just never thought about it! Good lawwwwwd Jim!!!

install a few apps that take up more than 4GB of space each. on my Note 4, I have 3 such apps. Sadly, only one allows me to keep the app on the SD card... the HERE navigation app with 6GB of map data. The other two apps each uses 7GB and 9GB, respectively. (which explains why my internal memory is down to 300mb )

 

[centerwaters]

Samsung just reduced the screen density on the Note 5.... Don't confuse that with the actual pixel density or resolution.... the dpi density is more a scaling factor that is used by applications to determine how big it needs to scale everything to look a certain way on screen. It is 100% software and can be adjusted by modifying the /system/build.prop file. The smaller the number, the smaller the icons, fonts, window frames, etc. become.

maybe my eyes are just old, but I honestly can't tell the difference in pixel density between the Note 4 and Note 5.

I went back to the VZW store again during lunch today. They wouldn't let me take the display Note 5 outside, obvious. However, the manager went outside with me and we compared his personal Note 5 and my old Note 4, side-by-side, under the burning hot 105 degree sun. With auto brightness checked, both Note 4 and 5 were equally bright. However, I finally noticed the Note 5 "defect"(design flaw) someone mentioned above. It's kind annoying to be able to see the Note 5's display internals, but then again, it's only visible under direct sunlight. Perhaps it's less noticeable on a white Note 5?

 

[LeoRex]

maybe my eyes are just old, but I honestly can't tell the difference in pixel density between the Note 4 and Note 5.

Its not like that... The actual pixel density is the same. They just scaled things so there's a bit more info on the screen.

 

[crester]

Isn't the Note 5's screen supposed to be "much better" than the old Note 4 screen?

I'm confused by the lack of difference. I played with the Note 5 for about 15 minutes at the Verizon store today. Next to my current Note 4, the screen looked identical and I couldn't tell how the Note 5 screen is supposed to be better?

One thing that I did notice was that the Note 5 was much faster than my Note 4. (although that could be due to the fact that my Note 4 has close to 110 apps installed, including HERE navigation app with 6GB of offline data... my internal memory only has about 300MB of available space left... and the 200GB MicroSDXC card is also completely full)

Umm... I'm pretty sure they have virtually the same screen.

 

[LegalAmerican]

Everything i've read shows that they both have 5.7" screens with 2560x1440 and 518 ppi.

I could see "brighter" being a possibility, but I can't see how one would be more crisp than the other if they're the same pixel density.

 

[Andrew Martonik]

That is a software modification.

Correct. The Note 5 has the same sized screen and resolution as the Note 4, leading to the same pixel density. But the big difference — as noted in my review and excerpted here — is the software-defined display density (sometimes referred to as DPI). The display density is a variable defined by the system that tells the phone how many virtual dots fill each physical pixel of the display. A higher density means that everything on the screen is physically smaller than a phone of the same size and resolution with a lower display density.

The Note 5 has a higher density than the Note 4, which means that items on the display are physically the same size as the Galaxy S6, but because the Note 5's screen is larger than the GS6 you can fit more things on the display. The difference coming from the Note 4 is immediately apparent when you open up a calendar app, or Gmail, or Maps, or any other app that scales based on density (most apps should). You'll see more content on the display, even though the resolution of the panels are the same.

Anyone who dabbled with custom ROMs over the past few years is aware of tweaks that changed the DPI of phones (often to do things like force tablet layouts of software and apps) to change how things appeared on the screen, even though the resolution was the same.

As I note in the review it's easier to see in person than explain — partially due to the confusing terms thrown around without a lot of understanding of what the differences are — but there is a difference between the Note 5 and 4 in this respect.

———

Going a step beyond that point, I noticed on my Note 5 and Note 4 that the 5's screen was marginally better in a few different aspects. As I noted in the review, the lamination of the display (how all of the parts are smushed together) seems a bit better, leading to a little better clarity and color reproduction. Brightness also seemed marginally better. In all the differences aren't huge, and the progression simply marks how Samsung is constantly iterating on its display production processes over time.

 

[Blacklac]

Everything i've read shows that they both have 5.7" screens with 2560x1440 and 518 ppi.

I could see "brighter" being a possibility, but I can't see how one would be more crisp than the other if they're the same pixel density.

The text and images are smaller which could make them appear sharper.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[dpham00]

Re: Isn't the Note 5's screen supposed to be "much better" than the old Note 4 screen?

Both with default font, medium size. Notice the additional information shown on the note 5. Also the note 5 allows for 8 notifications before overflow in the notification bar , note 4, 6 notifications


Note 5

Sent from my Verizon Samsung Galaxy Note 5