Notification "clutter" has never bothered me, so that's not a deal-breaker for me. Many features have been added, so that's to be expected. You can hide the notification bar. It's the functionality that's my main concern. Dmmarck makes a valid point. How does all this affect battery life? If this phone isn't for you, there's no one holding a gun (or a drone) to your head to force you to get it. I'm very happy with my SG3, for now. Even so, when I'm eligible for an upgrade, I'll move to whatever version of the Note is available at that time.