So, I received my Note 5 yesterday. I have the Note 4 also. While it's too early to any conclusions, so far i really love the Note 5. Some observations for those of you that have the Note 4:
- The display is better on the Note 5 than on my Note 4. It is not major, but it is noticeable when they are side-to-side on some screens. Brighter by a tiny bit, and a slightly more blue-ish (as opposed to a yellowish) white, which I prefer. Awesome screen.
- The screen is denser. You can fit 5 x 5 icons from the stock TouchWiz on your home screens. This is great. Everything is a bit smaller though, so it takes a bit of getting used to. Also, you can adjust font sizes in the settings. The result of the denser display is the ability to see more of everything - 1 more line of Gmail or Hangouts, etc, etc. It's good.
- Edit: The MOVED ..the hidden "menu" button .. Until now, if you held down the multi-task button , it would act as the old menu button. I actually use a few old apps that haven't been updated in a while (for very small specific needs) that didn't have the overflow button. On the Note 5, you hold down the BACK button for the menu button.
- The Camera seems fantastic. Really really great. The double tap to get the camera open is such an improvement for trying to get a quick shot. It really changes how quickly you can use the camera. A few quick test shots (at night and in the day) were excellent. the shot-to-shot speed is great with almost no lag getting from the camera to the gallery too (which I know all of you Note 4 users realize is good to hear). The FFC is improved also. I rarely use it, but I guess it was upgraded from 2MP to 5MP, and it is definitely an improvement - I mean even those front camera shots look pretty great I have to say. Lastly, tried the YouTube live streaming with my family and it works great. It will be perfect for when I am at my son's little league games if I want to broadcast his at bat to my parents or my wife an other kids from the game - and for many other things. It's dead easy to do a private stream ( or public I suppose)
- It's very speedy all around. My Note 4 is pretty fast too, and the Note 5 is new, but it definitely seems quicker in every aspect.
- The Fingerprint scanner works perfectly. I never really used it on the Note 4. I tried it early on and it was slow, janky, and somewhat unreliable. On the Note 5 it is accurate - it hasn't missed yet actually. And, it is SO fast. I now use it for my lock security, it is so good.
- The Note 5 phone is noticeably smaller in hand compared to my Note 4. It is more slippery though with the glass back. It feels great, it looks great. It feels premium. Several ooohs and ahhhhs from friends today
.
- The auto-brightness seems to be set at a slightly dimmer level during low light times. It is super bright when needed when there is light. But for my taste, it makes the screen just a tiny bit too dim in low light situations. It's not bad at all, but it's set a bit lower than on my Note 4. This is quite subjective of course, but I thought the Note 4 got auto-brightness perfect for me.
- S Pen screen writing with the device screen off works as expected, and it's great and fast. Good addition. The other s Pen software seems improved as well (it at least looks better to me).
- There are no issues with Bluetooth or Wifi. GPS seems excellent. All are great on my Note 4 too.
- The battery seems really good. I'm not going to give numbers after 1 day, but I have been on it non-stop since yesterday and I am pleased with the battery. It is better - at this early stage - than my Note 4's battery. Too early to tell though here of course, so don't read too much into it.
- Lastly, for anyone on Verizon (mine is on Verizon).... Verizon apparently cannot provision Advanced Calling 1.0 j
ust yet for the Note 5 (not sure if it's because it isn't yet the 8/21 launch date , or what ..). There is a setting in the phone to enable it, but it isn't working just yet. I spent some time on the phone with some techs who have a ticket in so that they can add it for Note 5's. I expect it can be added shortly, but until then, no VOLTE, or HD calling.
- p.s. For the first time on a phone I have seen in years, Google+ was NOT pre-loaded with all the other Google apps on my Verizon Note 5. I had to download it from the Play Store. More signs of just how far G+ has fallen I suppose. Maybe this has been the case for a bit now and I have no new devices in the last year or so, but it felt odd not to see it there..
Awesome because I'm a student with limited funds. 
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