Samsung Galaxy Note5 and S6 edge+ hands-on: First look

13 August, 2015
The Samsung Galaxy Note5 and Galaxy S6 edge+ are finally official, the first - a month ahead of its established product cycle, the second – replacing the proof-of-concept Note Edge with a market-proven mainstream design.

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With all the major important features that most of us value are gone, even the first Galaxy Note is better to buy than this Note5. So therefore I can call it the Galaxy Note.5 (NotePOINTfive) because it's half of a Galaxy Note ought to be.

    In World context, Android is majority, followed only by iPhone.

      • V
      • VJ
      • M7Y
      • 14 Aug 2015

      Who told you that iPhone is for kids and old people. I work in one of the biggest multi-national banks in SG and 70% people use iPhone. And most of them have switched from android phone. Please do some good homework before you make such comments.
      I myself have used galaxy S3/S4,Xperia and iphone 3gs/4/5s and 6. Thank you.

      I also want to add here that after I have used Blackberry Z10 I find that as best phone(less battery) and after using that I did NOT feel like going back to any other phones. I was getting all the phones in my next contract(S6/iPhone 6 plus) but got a new BB Passport. basically I would want a bigger screen with virtual keypad and faster processor but so far they have NOT launched so I went for that. And I found it a great phone. Android phones are toys in front of BB and it matches to iOS in terms of clean/glitch-free performance.

        • ?
        • Anonymous
        • tDD
        • 14 Aug 2015

        the wait is over,
        and it's time to get Note4.

        Note5 might has better spec than Note4.
        but functionality wise, Note4 (and its sibling Note Edge) is better than Note5.

          • D
          • AnonD-77443
          • 2Gj
          • 14 Aug 2015

          AnonD-152638, 14 Aug 2015Come on people. This is a tech site. But the average buyer... moreI've got to disagree.

          The iPhone sells well because it is "cool" for teens, mums and grandparents who want a simple phone. The Note hit a niche market for power users who want big screens, loads of features, storage and great battery life etc.

          Removing the storage card, removing the removable battery, limiting storage to 64GB and reducing the size of the inbuilt battery will upset a lot of power users who make up the majority of Note owners from my experience.

            AnonD-152638, 14 Aug 2015So many comments about people leaving Samsung. Where are y... moreWell said.

              AnonD-428450, 14 Aug 2015Nice phone,but Samsung usually will gave us "bonus&quo... moreAnd what is it that you have moved to? An LG I suppose? Even with more messy bloat?

              Stop flattering yourselves.

                AnonD-152638, 14 Aug 2015Come on people. This is a tech site. But the average buyer... moreWhere your statistics saying all of this?

                You do know batteries have about 300 effective charging cycles? Expect battery bulging in a couple of months. The screen will be the first to go as a result. No, having a power bank doesn't help. If you do your research, you know that keeping the battery charge between 40 to 80% will actually triple the battery cycles.

                  AnonD-77443, 14 Aug 2015The problem with tech sites is they are afraid to speak out... moreAnd the very silly physical keyboard cover was SO unimaginative and backward thinking! WTF, Samsung! Swipe typing is so much faster than that contraption covering a third of the screen. Samsung is now confused with their design agenda by now miserably attracting old-school Nokia users users to actually slap in a QWERTY keyboard to spend more than $1000 total just to do things the old way again.

                  I have to admit that Note5's design looks nice. That's about it. These tech bloggers tell us how fast the processor, memory, and the new software gimmicks like "enhanced" air command, but not one really emphasize the real loss of an expandable memory, or how batteries have a limited life charging cycles.

                  Samsung shouldn't expect profits going up with the two useless products.



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                    • Anonymous
                    • 7Xp
                    • 14 Aug 2015

                    Another upcoming flop by Shamsung trying to be Apple. To bad it won't sell well since iPhone 6s/6s+ will be announced soon. Lol

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                      • AnonD-428450
                      • y{j
                      • 14 Aug 2015

                      Nice phone,but Samsung usually will gave us "bonus" BLOATWARE....
                      This things make me stop purchase Samsung since note2 ...

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                        • AnonD-152638
                        • mhB
                        • 14 Aug 2015

                        I like the idea of the qwerty add-on, but it seems clumpsy. There shouldnt be that much technology built in to it, so it should be smaller.
                        It's seems too thick, to make an easy transition from keys to navigating the screen. And it doesnt have a built in, pointer device.

                        And it wont support the special characters in my country.

                          • D
                          • AnonD-152638
                          • mhB
                          • 14 Aug 2015

                          Come on people.
                          This is a tech site. But the average buyer of a high-end phone today, really isnt all that in to technology.

                          The iPhone does not have microSD cards, so people have hardly heard about those.

                          Removable battery?
                          Seriously, since the first mobile was released, only a tiny fraction, probably not even close to 0.1% have ever bought another or replacement battery.
                          Powerbanks, however, have started getting.

                          The reduction in capacity, might not result in any drop in batterylife, as the CPU is more efficient.


                          The Note5 is a good phone.


                          Personally I do think that since it has a camera hump, they could have made it thicker, and used a higher capacity battery.
                          I dont think the slimness will be a match for the upcoming iPhone anyhow. So then it doesnt really matter.
                          But that doesnt make it a bad device.

                            • D
                            • AnonD-152638
                            • mhB
                            • 14 Aug 2015

                            So many comments about people leaving Samsung.
                            Where are you going?
                            And how can you be so sure, you wont get back to Samsung, next year?

                            Trolling? Or just to upset at the moment to think clearly?

                              • ?
                              • Anonymous
                              • JFy
                              • 14 Aug 2015

                              bus1, 13 Aug 2015Very good smartphones from samsung as far as im concerned. ... moreI miss my note 3.
                              The Note was my first smartphone. Then the note 2, then 3 and then 4. And looking at the 5th generation now, I can safely say the Note 3 is still the greatest phone created by Samsung (if not the best phone ever).
                              My advice, keep your Note 3 for now, you will miss it.

                                • T
                                • Tompzone
                                • ju5
                                • 14 Aug 2015

                                I like the QWERTY cover, it reminds me alot of the P900 / P910 from SE on it's golden age

                                  • D
                                  • AnonD-77443
                                  • XrV
                                  • 14 Aug 2015

                                  TheNeighbor, 14 Aug 2015Just saw the Note5 presentation. Samsung needs a CEO that's... moreThe problem with tech sites is they are afraid to speak out on bad decisions because they wont get early demo products to review or invites to events. These guys (including GSMarena) should be kicking up a stink about no removable battery + smaller battery and no sd card + only 64GB internal.

                                  I'm still blown away by only 64GB internal storage... what were they thinking on the no. 1 power user device??

                                    • ?
                                    • Anonymous
                                    • U}}
                                    • 14 Aug 2015

                                    flop note.... bye shamesung

                                      AnonD-77443, 13 Aug 2015I have had Samsung's for 5 years but this is really disappo... moreJust saw the Note5 presentation. Samsung needs a CEO that's hands-on and talks fluently with an attitude. The stuntmen presenters were very stiff and they don't any good impression they're tech users at all!

                                      OMG! The BS the writer had to come up - "Listened to customers". And the BS tech blog writers are cheering for the Note5 being "future proof" and "the best Note Samsung has done".

                                      While the real tech fans of the last 4 Galaxy Notes are left high and dry with features they so loved gone.

                                      I'll say it again, that sealed battery has about 300 effective battery charge cycles, and if you charge twice daily from heavy usage, you're doomed by the 5th month with the battery boot performing as it should. It's a step backward, folks. Looks and being factors governing the new Note5, not much substance as Bunyip here is saying.

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                                        • AnonD-63644
                                        • FEA
                                        • 14 Aug 2015

                                        I'm going to skip this!From Note1 to Note4,I had them all.I see this Note5,going backwards.