Note 5 What was Samsung thinking?!

[PhiPsi32]

I currently have the Note 5 and I also had a Note 3. In real life the Note 5 has better battery life, better SPen features, better screen, better camera, charges infinitely faster and feels better in the hand. You got what, a battery you can take out? Cool, have fun with that.

Few things in life give me more pleasure than changing the depleted battery in my phone and seeing the crisp "100%" in my battery indicator. No plugging in, no portable chargers, no waiting. One or two minutes to power cycle the phone and exchange batteries . . . and off we go!

 

[Kelly Kearns]

A lot of things in life give me more pleasure than anything to do with my cell phone lol

 

[plumcrazy]

I beg to differ with you on the statement "the note 5 is the most popular"..IMO, not even close..

To prove both of our points, what are the sales figures on the Note 5, compared to Note 4, Note 3??

That would give us the true data to determine which is most popular.

lets compare the note5 sales AFTER the note6 comes out, thats the only way to truly figure out which one sold more, not at this point.....the 3 & 4 have been out for YEARS at this point. that is TRUE DATA.

 

[PhiPsi32]

A lot of things in life give me more pleasure than anything to do with my cell phone lol

Yeah, I'll go with that!

 

[kj11]

Few things in life give me more pleasure than changing the depleted battery in my phone and seeing the crisp "100%" in my battery indicator. No plugging in, no portable chargers, no waiting. One or two minutes to power cycle the phone and exchange batteries . . . and off we go!

Yikes.

I don't think you're making the point you think you are. You need to get out more...

 

[exdrinker]

I finally jumped to the Note 5 (still in my 14 day window) from the Note 4 and 3 and 2 before it. I recently did some traveling and used a spare battery on both days of flying with my Note 4. I will certainly miss that convenience. The darn glass back of the Note 5 is so slippery, I am pretty sure I will drop it at some point so that bothers me as well (hate cases when part of the pleasure of the phone is how thin it is and the premium build). But, the 5 is so much faster and responsive. It is pure pleasure almost all the time. I too love the 2% to 100% of a battery change but it is so few and far between in my normal day to day living that I would rather have the constant pleasure of immediate response from my phone every time I use it.

I haven't made the final commitment to keep the Note 5 but I don't think I can go back to the slower responding Note 4. That will likely be my VR toy now I guess.

Sent from my SM-P900 using Tapatalk

 

[Kelly Kearns]

I finally jumped to the Note 5 (still in my 14 day window) from the Note 4 and 3 and 2 before it. I recently did some traveling and used a spare battery on both days of flying with my Note 4. I will certainly miss that convenience. The darn glass back of the Note 5 is so slippery, I am pretty sure I will drop it at some point so that bothers me as well (hate cases when part of the pleasure of the phone is how thin it is and the premium build). But, the 5 is so much faster and responsive. It is pure pleasure almost all the time. I too love the 2% to 100% of a battery change but it is so few and far between in my normal day to day living that I would rather have the constant pleasure of immediate response from my phone every time I use it.

I haven't made the final commitment to keep the Note 5 but I don't think I can go back to the slower responding Note 4. That will likely be my VR toy now I guess.

Sent from my SM-P900 using Tapatalk

Just remember, as you use it the battery seems to settle on and get better and better.

You can also get some very good battery packs that will do 3 to 4 full charges before needing to be recharged, for under $30. They are also fast charge.

I never had lag issues with my Note 4, but when I go back and use it now, it seems so very slow.

 

[PhiPsi32]

Yikes.

I don't think you're making the point you think you are. You need to get out more...

LOL, I travel . . . a lot . . . in and out of the country. I see more cell phone charging shenanigans than most. So my point of view is a bit different.

 

[NoNoiPhone4me]

In a poll a few weeks after the Note 5 was introduced, most people said that if the Note 4 and Note 5 were introduced at the same time, they would purchase a Note 4:

http://forums.androidcentral.com/phone-wars/567051-note-5-vs-note-4-discussion-9.html#post4675903

So I guess the Original Poster is not alone in his sentiments. In fact, I share them. My thing is that I don't think Samsung is going to change.

 

[Kelly Kearns]

Yeah I find most people trashing the Note 5 haven't owned it or used more than a retail version at a store for a few minutes.

 

[recDNA]

Still have my Note 3. No compelling reason to change to Note 4 nor 5. I was thinking of switching to Note 4 because it will be supported a lot longer but then I would still need to find a remote charging back and an extra battery. I already have that on Note 3. My Note 3 also has separate LTE and CDMA radios so I can always surf web and talk on phone simultaneously even in 3G areas.

I can see Note 5 has a much nicer screen than Note 3 but despite superior specs the Note 4 screen is not discernibly better than Note 3 to my eyes. I would love to have the extra ram of the Note 5 and the nicer screen but I hate losing battery swaps and sd card memory. I don't like the protruding camera nor the glass back. I leave bluetooth wifi and gps on all the time and sync everything so the small note 5 battery doesn't cut it...and then there is the huge price tag. It's a shame. I would love the extra ram and gorgeous screen and it would be fun to have a new phone. No other manufacturers provide all of the Samsung features I like so no options there. Too bad really.

 

[Kelly Kearns]

The Note 5 battery actually does better than the Note 4 battery.

AT&T and TMO have voice and data without two radios and now Verizon has it with Advanced Calling.

 

[MDMcAtee]

Still have my Note 3. No compelling reason to change to Note 4 nor 5. I was thinking of switching to Note 4 because it will be supported a lot longer but then I would still need to find a remote charging back and an extra battery. I already have that on Note 3. My Note 3 also has separate LTE and CDMA radios so I can always surf web and talk on phone simultaneously even in 3G areas.

I can see Note 5 has a much nicer screen than Note 3 but despite superior specs the Note 4 screen is not discernibly better than Note 3 to my eyes. I would love to have the extra ram of the Note 5 and the nicer screen but I hate losing battery swaps and sd card memory. I don't like the protruding camera nor the glass back. I leave bluetooth wifi and gps on all the time and sync everything so the small note 5 battery doesn't cut it...and then there is the huge price tag. It's a shame. I would love the extra ram and gorgeous screen and it would be fun to have a new phone. No other manufacturers provide all of the Samsung features I like so no options there. Too bad really.

Then don't buy one.... Problem solved.

Posted from my AT&T 64 gig Black Sapphire leather wrapped Note 5

 

[kj11]

I leave bluetooth wifi and gps on all the time and sync everything so the small note 5 battery doesn't cut it...

So do I, and the "small" (smaller by a mere 200 mah) Note 5 battery far exceeds the battery life I was getting on my Note 3. The technology improvements over the last two years allow the Note 5 to get better battery life from a smaller battery... I'm not sure why so many people aren't grasping this

 

[Kelly Kearns]

I leave bluetooth wifi and gps on all the time and sync everything so the small note 5 battery doesn't cut it...and then there is the huge price tag.

Oh I missed this.

Yeah, I do that too with all my phones.

 

[BarryH_GEG]

In a poll a few weeks after the Note 5 was introduced, most people said

Seriously? "Most people?" I don't consider a nine page thread on a technical forum where half the posts are from the same half dozen people a poll.

Here's what the masses care about and it's not the things being complained about in this thread...

 

[ReggieReg72]

I felt similar to the OP when Sammy first announced it (not nearly as passionate) since I have owned every version.

For the record, I have used the extra battery kit since the Note 3 so the replaceable battery for me was huge. So I know from experience that swapping batteries really does change the way you use the phone. Going from 0 to 100 in under 30 secs is awesome! As far as the SD card I had a 128 gig installed and barely really used it but it was nice to know if I needed it it was there.

So why did I upgrade? Once lollipop was installed the phone sucked! Period. It was laggy, the battery started to die with 15% left (Check that the battery was good but the phone would shut down) etc etc... It's a shame because pre-lollipop the phone was damn near perfect!! I was very apprehensive about moving to the note 5 but trust me when I say... This is easily the best Note yet.. To make up for the battery being locked in I bought the terribly overpriced fast wireless charging thingy... I like it alot. Also I bought the terribly overpriced fast charging battery pack which works great. Sammy has crush my wallet but I think those 2 help soften the removable battery situation.

What I'm saying is... You may think you won't like the note 5 but if you use it for some solid time it will be easy to see its way better than the 4...oh yeah Samsung Pay is freaking awesome! I paid with a CC at a vending machine the other day. That's worth the upgrade right there IMO.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[ThrottleJohnny]

Agreed. If we were getting these complaints from people who actually own the phone, he'd have a point.

Personally, I think the problem is, there are folks who despite their reservations, realize that this is still the best phone currently on the market, and it's causing some frustration.

They want to hate it for what it lacks, but still secretly desire it.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[BarryH_GEG]

It's a shame because pre-lollipop the phone was damn near perfect!!

No it wasn't. The GPS was hit or miss, opening and working with resource intensive apps like Gallery and S Note were painfully slow, battery life the way I used it didn't get me through the day, and the chamfered metal edges looked beat up after three months of careful use. I had all the Notes except the original and they were all strong phones but each had their strengths and weaknesses.

The Note 5's weaknesses the way I see it are the loss of some settings and features (EG: Side Panel), the flexibility of expandable storage, the peace of mind of replaceable batteries, and the fragility of the glass back panel (its already cost me $75 to replace). Its strengths? It's wicked fast no matter what you throw at it, I get 30% better battery life, fast wireless charging is brilliant, Samsung Pay is a killer app, Samsung’s apps and the UI are for once streamlined and consistent and its design is beautiful.

When I traveled internationally with my Note 4 I relied on a small 2A 10K mAh Samsung battery pack rather than buying and having to charge replaceable batteries that you realize you forgot to charge when you insert one when you need it most and it's empty. I'll rely on my battery pack with the Note 5 as well. As for storage I loaded all my entertainment for 14 hour plane flights on my 64GB Wi-Drive which lets me access it or stream it to both my phone and Note 12. Same thing for large work files. Nothing's changed there either.

Maybe some here need SD cards and replaceable batteries but it's not like there aren't plenty of workable alternatives available. Apple and Nexus users were making it work for years when there were fewer alternatives that cost more.

People saying previous Notes were better than the Note 5 haven't used one for an extended period of time. And if you absolutely need replaceable batteries or expandable storage there's no need to consider the Note 5 in the first place.

Almost everything being discussed here is a YMMV.

 

[NoNoiPhone4me]

Seriously? "Most people?" I don't consider a nine page thread on a technical forum where half the posts are from the same half dozen people a poll.

Here's what the masses care about and it's not the things being complained about in this thread...

...

Seriously, BarryH_GEG. You obviously don't know what a poll is. It asks respondents to choose between several options and that poll did. And most respondents said they would have chosen the Note 4 over the Note 5. You may not like nor agree with the results but that is a poll and that is what the poll results are.

Also, please note, that no one is saying that the results reflect the feelings or preferences of everyone. But it does show that the original poster's not alone with his concerns and complaints. The Note 5 is a very good phone, I think so; but it has it's shortcomings compared to the phones that came before it. With a glass back (which you've admitted has already cost you $75 to replace) and without a replaceable battery, expandable storage and no Smart Select OCR, for many owners of previous generations of Note phablets there is just no compelling reason to upgrade (save for maybe Samsung Pay).

YMMV, BarryH_GEG, but don't throw a hissy-fit with those who don't.