I’ll first say that one of the best things to come out of Samsung’s announcement today is that the constant leaks of these two devices can STOP, finally. Â With that said, it looks like the leaks were mostly accurate.
I can essentially sum up these two devices as so:
Note 5 – A blown up Galaxy S6 with a stylus.
S6 Edge+ – A blown up Galaxy S6 Edge.
From my tone, you’ve probably guessed that I’m underwhelmed by this announcement.  However, I’m not as distraught as many people are about it.  I mean, I can sympathize with Note power users, such as our own Derrick Miyao.  Samsung turned your world upside down.
But I actually like Samsung’s hardware refinement. Â Never being a Galaxy user, Samsung finally convinced me with the S6 Edge. Â And I adored the design.
So that got me thinking…what exactly is Samsung doing here? Â Let’s recap: Â Derrick, an avid Note fan, is upset. Â Me, never a Note user, is satisfied.
If Samsung is trying to redefine the Note’s audience, I must ask:  Does it really have the luxury to dump its fan base?  I mean, it’s a huge company, but really?
I digress.  I liked the S6 Edge.  Two big problems I had with it was the small display and battery life.  This means that both the Note 5 and S6 Edge+ are closer to perfection.  So job well done Samsung?
Not quite.  A mediocre effort deserves to be called one.  The event began with Samsung presenters on the stage talking about the evolution of the Note line.  They touched on how it has improved into the beautified mold of their current metal/glass design.
But when we saw it on the screen, past all the talk, I just kept thinking how it simply looks like a large Galaxy S6. Â And I don’t think I was the only one.
Fortunately, Samsung didn’t leave it at that. Â It threw us a couple bones. Â The stylus is spring-loaded now and satisfyingly pops out of it’s hole. Â You can start writing notes on the screen right away, without pressing the power button. Â And that keyboard case…
While I shrugged at the keyboard case in the leaked images (to me the appearance looks dated), in action it seems like a promising accessory. Â Especially when you recall that the Note line has traditionally been aimed at people who use their phone for work.
Cleverly, the keyboard section of the case can pop off and be attached to the back until you need it again. Â This is a great solution considering that the keyboard takes up a good chunk of screen real estate when you use it.
As far as the S6 Edge+ goes, I think Samsung could’ve just said one sentence and been done with it: Â The Galaxy S6 Edge+ is a larger S6 Edge. Â That’s essentially all there is to it. Â And yes, I’m ignoring those minor software tricks on purpose.
You may be confused by my back and forth.  What it comes down to is that Samsung leads both display and camera in smartphones.  You can knock Samsung all you want, but the fact remains.
Three things that kept the Galaxy S6 from being perfect were screen size, battery, and TouchWiz.  With these new phones, Samsung addressed the screen size and helped the battery life.  Say what you will, but the arguably best Android phone is now improved, in the right ways.  This is why I’m getting either a Note 5 or S6 Edge+…once I can decide on which.
But I won’t let Samsung off that easy.  You can’t just spend 6 months and deliver us the same phone but larger.  That in itself says that you’ve run out of ideas and aren’t putting forth an effort.  The fast wireless charging is a good step, but that cord-free future isn’t so close.
What are your thoughts, are you still picking up either of these phablets?
For $800 dollars, it best be a damned good phone. But you still have to ask, is it $400 dollars better than a 2015 Moto X?
Great question!
I honestly think it is $400 better. Not dissing the Moto X, it will be a great phone , but it is a budget phone and the difference will show. One thing I will say, the Moto X is still a superior phone to an iPhone 6, and if I had to chose between those, I would go for the Moto X without hesitation.
K, please list out the premium features the X doesn’t have. Let’s do a cost breakdown. I’ll guarantee that you’ll be paying at least 80 dollars PER feature.
It is the best Android iPhone you can buy!
In all seriousness, I think Josh is the fanbase Samsung is going for. Too bad for me :(.
Idiot
As android iphone?
The only thing I would say to you is why do you think they have fixed the battery life problems of the S6? The battery is smaller than last years Note 4, and it has the same size display. A look all over the internet will tell you that Android 5 is not doing too well on the Note 4 in terms of battery life. I hope everything is fine for you, but I think you should keep your expectations for great battery life small until you run some tests.
As far as Samsung goes, they have alienated their longtime base in order to produce a blown up version of a phone that had disappointing sales. That’s an interesting choice on their part.
As for me, I’m a long time Note user who’s looking at the Moto Pure or the LG G4 Pro as my next phone.
I didn’t say they fixed the problem, only “helped” it with the bigger battery. But you’re right, the fact that the screen is bigger may neglect that fact. We’ll see.
responding only to battery problems with Android 5. After downloading Android 5, I was having terrible battery problems on my Note 4. I was told to reset phone to factory settings and this fixed my battery problem. My battery normally last all day with medium usage
I tried that too, and it didn’t help. I also tried clearing cache, and buying new batteries. Nothing helped.
I’ve gone from 6-7 hours SOT to 3-4 hours. Very disappointing. If I was getting my old battery life, I wouldn’t even be thinking about a new phone.
Smh. Once I heard they followed the design of the S6, I knew I wasn’t going to get 1. I have a Note 3 and had been waiting for the Note 5, too bad was waiting for nothing. No sd card is a dealbreaker for me, no removable battery as well, and they put that small ass battery- smh. Samsung has gone so far away from themselves it’s ridiculous. No thoughts to its customers, especially the Note customers. If you are going to go in a new direction, you have to do it better than everybody else and 3000 mAh ain’t going to get it.Not to mention if I absolutely have to go without an SD card, I’ll go Nexus, Pure Android, ni waiting. I’ll probably be going with Moto X Pure or LG’s next high end.
The Galaxy Note 5 is far from a blown up S6 that’s definitely in correct only design choice makes them look the same.
Either way I’m purchasing both the Galaxy Note 5 and S6Edge+on Friday August 21st and adding them to my already powerful Galaxy collection of products.
At the end of the day the Note5 and S6Edge+are the best in class phablets on the market today and just like my S6 they will be the best performance android handsets period.
I don’t believe you have the money to purchase them. Please provide some photo proof of you and your entire galaxy collection on August 21st. Also please have the photo taken outside so we know you didn’t take the photo in a shop. If you can’t do this we can all assume you a full of it.
Upvote if you want to see this.
Woe to the unbelievers! *lol. I have seen his whole collection on Google +. Go take a look. ?
I’d say the s6+ is a pathetic excuse for a phablet. A fraud! Wouldn’t you agree Richard? No phablet features, just a blown up phone.
So what phablet features does it not have? There’s a list if what it has that other phablets don’t, so I’m interested to know, or perhaps you think a phablet is a pill for people with a speech impediment?
At the end of the day, if Samsung have produced a lemon then users will vote with their wallet. May be they’ve already taken interest in the huge negative comments from users but you’ll be damn sure they will listen if it hurts their bottom line revenue figures.
For me the 6Edge+, my wife, a Note 4 user will get the 64gb Note 5, she uses mostly cloud so storage is big. She loves the silver one and has pre-ordered. She loves the wireless charging as she uses it in the office, as well as the easier note taking without needing to switch on the screen. She is a designer so the faster processor and improved pen is a big plus. The premium look and style has really sold her. I think many traditional Note users will be disappointed, but new generation users who are happy to use the cloud rather than old style SD cards and want the premium luxury look and feel may be a new source of customers.
I was really hoping to go to the Note 5 from my S4 after they did away with SD and removable battery on the S6. Now if I have to go the no SD and/or no removable battery route I’m not putting up with Touchwiz too. It’s the Nexus X for me.
The Note 3 was my first Samsung and I love it. I have been waiting for Note 5 like a kid at 11:55 pm on Christmas Eve. Only to find out Santa skipped my house. I heard rumors about there being no SD card. I store all my music on my SD card. My phone is my workout partner and desk DJ. So no SD card is a deal breaker. Now I have to go through hours of research to find a suitable replacement. SAMSUNG YOU DID NOT GET THIS ONE RIGHT.