Galaxy Note 5.. worth buying now?

[Ronan1287]

I have the Galaxy S5 and I have had it for 2 years. My carrier, T-Mobile, recently has had the Note 5 preowned on sale for around 400 dollars.

Would it be worth purchasing still or should I opt for something newer?

 

[Golfdriver97]

I would get something new. The Note is approaching it's end of life in terms of support.

 

[underway99]

If you have to have the latest and greatest, then I'd look elsewhere. From your post though, this likely isn't you.

This phone with Nougat is awesome. I've not found anything that I wanted to do with my S7 Edge that I can't do with this Note 5. The hardware is a bit long in the tooth (released in fall 2015), but it's still going to be a lot more for your money that you'd get with most mid-range devices for the same price. Oh, and it's the one and only Note.

One of the biggest things to remember with this Note is that you won't be able to use a memory card and the battery is sealed. No replacing the battery as it wears out or adding storage like with your S5. Also be sure that it does what you want right now and don't expect much more in the way of updates past Nougat. As the previous post said, it's getting pretty close to the point where Samsung starts to ignore its older devices. There's no ROI in keeping the older phones updated.

If you want to save a bit, the TMO Note 5 goes for $300-400 or so on Swappa, depending on condition and memory size (32 or 64 GB). You likely won't have a warranty though, which could be important for a phone that could have been produced a year and a half ago. The carrier refurb has likely had some kind of inspection and certification as well, which would mean that you'd probably not be left in the cold if things go south.

 

[debdroid1a]

If you do get it, get the 64GB model. Makes up a little for the no SD micro card.

The Note does wireless charging and fast charging, so you may not need a replaceable battery. Use a good quality genetic micro cable you can buy anywhere.

There are flash sticks that will go in the USB and the other side well fit into a computer. Another way to save on memory.

A couple downsides from the S5 (I had one).
1. only screen mirroring, can not use a HDMI cable to watch on TV.
2. No IR blaster, so no TV remote.

The Spen makes up for a lot of it.

Not sure about getting it and waiting for 2 years. Can you do Jump or Jump on demand?

I'm holding out until the Note 8, but that's it for me. I would have the Note 7 if it worked out.

 

[galaxyfive]

The Note 5 is a very good device, even today, and Nougat is the icing on the cake. I do remember reading (possibly here at AC) the 64gb version had battery issues but you can do your own sleuthing on that. Feels great in hand and smooth as butter.

 

[Climb14er]

The Note 5 is a very good device, even today, and Nougat is the icing on the cake. I do remember reading (possibly here at AC) the 64gb version had battery issues but you can do your own sleuthing on that. Feels great in hand and smooth as butter.

I'VE had the Note 5 64GB since basically the beginning along with four warranty replacements along the way. Am a very heavy user and the battery does degrade over time. This is the biggest issue of ALL the sealed battery phones.

I've always gotten around 5 hours SOT and with the fast charging, the phone does very well.

The only downside to the phone is the degrading battery! If I were in the market for a replacement phone now... I would get the S8 or S8+ if you could swing the DOLLARS and do without the SPen.

I'VE gotten my money's worth on the phone and can't complain too much. It's the best phone I've used to date.

 

[Ronan1287]

I would get something new. The Note is approaching it's end of life in terms of support.

My S5 support ended long ago I'm assuming since it came out 3 years ago.

If you want to save a bit, the TMO Note 5 goes for $300-400 or so on Swappa, depending on condition and memory size (32 or 64 GB). You likely won't have a warranty though, which could be important for a phone that could have been produced a year and a half ago. The carrier refurb has likely had some kind of inspection and certification as well, which would mean that you'd probably not be left in the cold if things go south.

T-Mobile preowned is 400 with a 90 day warranty I believe. As far as I know, T-mobile Note 5 users got Nougat recently as well.

There is also no 64gb version available either, they only have the 32gb,

 

[underway99]

Yes, I read that TMO Note 5 got Nougat last week.

I have no problem working with 32GB. I don't have a thousand apps though, and I backup photos and such over WiFi and call it good.

 

[debdroid1a]

I'VE had the Note 5 64GB since basically the beginning along with four warranty replacements along the way. Am a very heavy user and the battery does degrade over time. This is the biggest issue of ALL the sealed battery phones.

I've always gotten around 5 hours SOT and with the fast charging, the phone does very well.

The only downside to the phone is the degrading battery! If I were in the market for a replacement phone now... I would get the S8 or S8+ if you could swing the DOLLARS and do without the SPen.

I'VE gotten my money's worth on the phone and can't complain too much. It's the best phone I've used to date.

I've had the 64GB since day one. Still have the same phone. No battery problems. Yes it's a lot less, but that's with all batteries. I don't consider myself a power user, but I do usr it a lot.

 

[Ronan1287]

Only issue I would have really is the phone not being water resistant.

 

[underway99]

I suspect that the IP68 spec is more about marketing than a true benefit by design. Is it a little bit more protection for those times that the phone could be exposed to water? Possibly. But when the water resistance fails, Samsung doesn't cover the water-related damage under its warranty. So how much does Samsung even believe that it's new phones are truly water resistant?

 

[galaxyfive]

I'VE gotten my money's worth on the phone and can't complain too much. It's the best phone I've used to date.

Agreed.

 

[Kendahl Titcomb]

I own a Note 5 and honestly it's a great phone especially since the Nougat update. Ive had a Launcher on my phone e for the past 2 years and this is officially the first time I do not have one on my phone after the update. In admittance I did download the S8 launcher but it's still TouchWiz and it's amazing. I still have faster speeds on T-Mobile than friends with this phone on other networks. Hands down for a phone that's 2 years old it is still very much holding up to the more recent phones.