Galaxy Note 5 gets it (almost) perfect
Samsung makes some astonishing improvements, not least of which is a heart monitor that can tell when you're in love
THE SAMSUNG GALAXY Note 5, the latest smartphone from the South Korean manufacturer, offers a lot of improvements over its predecessor, as if the Note 4 wasn’t already impressive enough. You get a faster CPU, more working memory, a better build, better camera, better stylus pen and better display.
The Note 5 is powered by an Exynos 7420 processor with four cores running at 2.1 and four more at 1.5GHz. It uses a Mali-T760 graphics processing unit. There’s a hefty four gigabytes of working memory (RAM). Compare that to the Note 4 – Qualcomm Snapdragon 805, quad-core processor at 2.7GHz, Adrena 420 CPU and 3GB of RAM.
The eight-core processor and 4GB of RAM translate into super-fast performance. Plus, you have the latest Android 5.1 operating system, which really needs that much working memory, so right off the bat your peace of mind is assured.
The Note 5 uses the same chipset as the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge, but it has an extra gigabyte of working memory. Moreover, Samsung promises that the Note 5 can be upgraded with Android M when the new OS becomes available.
A little more compact that its predecessor, the Note 5 is 153x76x7.6mm, and five grams lighter at 171 grams. Both models have aluminium frames, but the Note 5 is built better because the plastic back and faux-leather back have been swapped out for tough and scratch-resistant Gorilla Glass 4.
And, while both models feature a 5.7-inch Super Amoled display with quad HD resolution of 2,560 x 1,440 pixels, the new one is brighter and more vibrant in terms of colour and contrast.
The S Pen stylus is more responsive, too, while slightly smaller than the one that comes with the Note 4. It looks swanker and is more easily removed from its slot – push in the cap and it pops right out, which certainly beats having to claw at the ridges.
The camera uses the same S6 Edge setting, considered the best among mobile devices, but now there’s a Sony 16-megapixel IMX240 image sensor and an f/1.9 aperture lens with image stabilisation. The front-facing camera has 5MP resolution, up from 3.7 on the Note 4.
The main camera grabs sharp photos in most lighting conditions, event at night. As with the S6 Edge, it launches very fast (2.38 seconds), with just a double-tap of the Home button. It has a YouTube Broadcast Live function, handy for sharing your activities with friends and family in real time.
Another improvement I’m happy about is the superior fingerprint sensor. The Note 4 had a problem with this, often requiring several swipes to get an identity match that would unlock the screen. With the Note 5, you just touch the home button, which scans your fingerprint. It works perfectly once you’ve touched the button several times during setup.
There are, however, a few things that the Note 4 still gets better. The Note 5 has no micro-SD card slot for expanding your storage. Perhaps Samsung decided 32GB was ample, and anyway its customers can get another 100GB on the Microsoft OneDrive cloud service.
The Note 5’s battery is 3,000mAh, down from 3,220 on its predecessor. This is rectified through wireless charging, which the Note 4 lacks. You can fully replenish the battery in two hours, and the quick-charging mode is 27 per cent faster than on the S6 Edge.
In my test the Note 5 performed well, with touch screen and menus very responsive and the S Pen working great, easily capturing screens for editing.
All applications, including Microsoft Office Mobile, ran fast and smooth, including video clips and slideshows and high-resolution audio (FLAC 24bit/192kHz), which Samsung’s Music Player calls Ultra High Quality (UHQ) format. I tested the audio feature with Sony’s MDR-1ABT and loved the music quality.
I tested the phone’s 4G LTE connectivity with TrueMove H’s 4G network and was instantly hooked up. Uploading snapshots to Facebook and Instagram was a snap, the pictures and videos backed up at Microsoft OneDrive in no time.
I used the Ookla Speedtest app and found that the Note 5’s download speed was 50.82Mbps and upload speed 24.01Mbps.
Split Screen mode is good for dragging and dropping text or images from one app window to another. Some apps will also launch in pop-up view, floating on top of one another.
The S Pen is fine with the apps that support writing – S Note, Screen Write, Smart Select and Action Memo. You can even jot down and save notes when you’re in Screen Off memo. And Screen Write will capture up to 22 Web pages as one long page.
And then there’s the heart-rate sensor, found just below the LED flash. It works with the S Health app to scan your heartbeat at rest, before and after exercise – and when you’re excited, tired, in love, surprised or sad!
Apart from gauging romance, the S Health app is really useful, capable of tracking any activity, including steps taken and calories burned. The Galaxy Note 5 with 32GB of storage costs Bt25,900, and with 64GB Bt29,900.
Key Specs
- OS: Android 5.1 (Lollipop)
- Networks: 4G LTE: 700/800/850/900/1800/1900/2100 MHz, 3G UMTS: 850/900/1900/2100 MHz, GSM Quad Band (850/900/1800/1900 MHz)
- Processor: Octa core (2.1GHz Quad + 1.5GHz Quad), 64-bit, 14nm process
- Memory: 4GB RAM (LPDDR4)
- Storage: 32/64GB
- Display: 5.7-inch Quad HD Super Amoled with 2560x1440 pixels (518ppi)
- Camera: Rear 16MP OIS (F1.9), Front 5MP (F1.9)
- Connectivity: WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, MIMO (2x2), Bluetooth v 4.2 LE, ANT+, USB 2.0, NFC, Location
- Sensors: Accelerometer, Proximity, RGB Light, Geo-magnetic, Gyro, Fingerprint, Barometer, Hall, HRM
- Audio formats supported: MP3, M4A, 3GA, AAC, OGG, OGA, WAV, WMA, AMR, AWB, FLAC, MID, MIDI, XMF, MXMF, IMY, RTTTL, RTX, OTA
- Video formats supported: MP4, M4V, 3GP, 3G2, WMV, ASF, AVI, FLV, MKV, WEBM
- Battery: 3,000mAh, fast-charging both on cord and wireless; wireless charging compatible with WPC and PMA
- Dimensions: 153.2x76.1 x7.6mm
- Weight: 171g
