Samsung released its new phablets for the year earlier today, and there is already a plethora of articles out there full of reactions about Samsung’s decision to remove expandable memory and replaceable batteries from its Note line. However, this article is going to focus on something I think is much more important. I am here to talk about one thing and one thing only…battery capacity.
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The Note 5 demands more power!
Samsung, you know I am not your biggest fan, and it is times like this that has constantly kept you away from your phones. You claimed today that you listen to your fans and built the Note 5 around what they want. However, you seem to have forgotten to focus also on what they need.
If you do not want to include a microSD card slot or removable battery in your phones anymore, okay. That is your decision, and the only people you are going to upset are they users who utilized those features. However, every customer who buys a Note 5 will be relying on the battery you placed in it.
In the Note 4, you included a 3220mAh battery; in the Note 3, you included a 3200mAh battery; and in the Note 2, you included a 3100mAh battery. But for some reason, you thought it would be a good idea to only put a 3000mAh battery in the new Note 5?
The Note 5 is your fastest, most powerful phone yet, and you decided it needed battery that is smaller than the one in the Note 2. Have you not read all of the complaints about battery life that you received about the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge? And these phones have batteries coming in at only 400 mAh less than the Note 5.
News flash! 400mAh is not enough extra capacity for a phone meant for productivity!
While the S6 and its curved twin have productivity features like multi-window, they become much more usable on a larger screen phone with a stylus. This means that more people will use it on the Note 5, which will require more processing power, which then requires more battery power.
I am beginning to think that you did not consider your users at all when designing the Note 5. If you had, then you would have realized that the Note line has always been praised for good battery life, and people know that.
Now, when a Note 3 user comes into the store to get the Note 5, they are going to be expecting the battery life that they got with their Note 3. Unfortunately, they will find out very quickly that the new Note does not last as long as their old phone.
Normal consumers do not know what battery capacity their phones have, or that the Note 5 has the smallest battery in three generations of the device. It is your responsibility to provide them with a phone that will last the whole day on a single charge, and I am afraid you have failed this time.
Who are the wall huggers now?
I am going to shift my focus from something you obviously do not care about, the users, to something that you obviously do care about, money. It does not take a genius to see that the Note 5 is your attempt to compete directly with Apple, and you have every right to do that. They have created their own phablet and are encroaching on the market you created.
However, you have to compete with them by making a phone that is actually better than theirs. From all indications, the iPhone 6+ has pretty good battery life, and consumers know that. What is going to happen when people start buying the Note 5 and learn that battery life on it pales in comparison? They are going to tell their friends that your phone has awful battery life and that the iPhone 6+ will last much longer on a charge.
I worry that the tables have turned. It seems only yesterday you were making fun of iPhone users who suffered from miserable battery life and had to spend much of their time as “wall huggers.” However, it seems that now you have created a phone that will transform its user into one who constantly searches for the nearest outlet.[spacer color=”0098CB” icon=”fa-android”]
You do not have to worry about me, Samsung. I have already decided to stay away from the Note 5 and find a phone that can last a full day.
I am worried about the normal customers; the ones that do not know all of a phone’s specs and just get it because they had the older version. These users may be in for a rude awakening, and it was your responsibility to provide them with a phone worth using.
Hopefully people who are disappointed with battery life on the Note 5 will not think all Android phones suffer the same fate, but they definitely might. Hopefully you will gain users with your new design instead of pushing them towards your main competitor. Hopefully you have optimized the Note 5 like crazy and that battery life is actually good.
Regardless of this, I have to say you have disappointed many fans and even non-fans like me. Anyway, good luck on your future attempts, Apple Samsung.
Samsung is the one step forward, two steps back manufacturer. Loved my S5. Now I have an LG G4.
Fantastic summary of how they’ve been this year! Improving on camera and build (arguable), but going backwards on features and things that separated them from other OEMs
Dear Samsung, I am leaving you, you stopped listening–you stopped trying to over achieve. It is time to move on to some of the new guys who are hungry for my business and are willing to try and earn it. Hello nexus.
I completely agree. I am waiting until the new Nexus devices are announced, and then I will decided between one of them and a Moto X Style. Decisions, decisions…
Samsung has done such a great job copying Apple, to the point where Note 5 users will be wall huggers.
You know if you want a removable battery you are going to get a plastic back right? It would have to be something flexible to be able to open it without permanently changing the shape of it. But you also don’t want to have anything to do with plastics. So, Which is it??
What do you think is the percentage of people who carries extra batteries to swap?
I have tons of people around me with phones with removable batteries, but never known one person who carries an extra battery.
By the way, Apple has been ignoring that for years and they are doing just fine.
Exactly. Iphone is slippry as hell but if there is sammy’s phone flashy, problem starts.. There is nk removable storage in iphone too and list goes on but as u said,, thry are doing just fine.
I may be an exception, but I always carry an extra battery – and have for years (Note 3, Galaxy Nexus, Droid X, etc.).
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 Note 3 has great battery life, and it is a disappointment that Samsung has decided that is not important anymore. And you are right about them having to do it better than anyone else. They could have made this new direction work, but they would have had to provide something that no one else does. I don’t think they did that. I will be joining you in getting either a Nexus or Moto X Pure later this year.
Note 4 is King of all Smartphones! Still.
My Note 4 is wonderful and bug-free on Kit Kat!
Hail to the King! Galaxy Note 4! Again!
Stay in college a bit longer.
“Normal consumers do not know what battery capacity their phones has,”
I’m not the grammar police, but geez, please learn some!
Ah, thank you for the catch. It seems like no matter how many times you proofread, something always slips through the cracks. And I still have three years of college left. So hopefully when that’s all done, they will have gotten me to the point where I do not make any more mistakes.
Thanks for the kind reply and I truly apologize if I was harsh.
It’s part of my charm and why people love me so much.
(much sarcasm intended!!)
Keep up the good work.
Frank
While I can agree to the premise of the article, has there been testing to see how it compares to the Note 4 (and/or other phones) in regards to battery life?
Wall huggers indicate that someone will stay by the wall for a long while. Fast charging is pretty darn good (especially when the battery is REALLY low. However, nothing can replace removable battery.
I know that there is the possibility that Samsung has done some amazing battery optimization, but I am worried that this will not be the case. The Note 4 has the worst battery life of the Note series, and it has a battery that is 220mAh larger than the Note 5. I can’t see how Samsung could pull better battery life out of a battery that size, but hopefully I am wrong.
Also, I can see what you are saying about wall huggers. With fast charging, Note 5 users might not have to say at the wall as long. But they will still search for outlets everywhere because their phones will be running low more often. Either way, we’ll see how the battery actually fares when reviews start to roll out.
Agreed on your points. I am definitely disappointed in Samsung’s decision to move towards an iphone-esque device. But the S-Pen is pretty much a must for me, its features I do use everyday. As for battery, LP destroyed Note 4, IMO.
I m no sammy fan here but guys, note line is very important to them and company such big is no fool to put its main stream phone again in risk like they did with S6 a S6 edge. I think there will be power optinizations to keep up and hey that new 14 nm processor is said to be battery friendly too. Rest of it,, note 5 with 4 gb ram and other new improvements seems to be a hell of a device.
Fingers crossed.
People keep crying about this no micro sd thing, but then people weren’t buying the phones to begin with, forcing Samsung to rethink its strategy. If the phones were selling well as it were they wouldn’t have changed. Up until last year Samsung was hellbent on maintaining the polycarbonate design. If it’s really that bad, stfu and go buy an HTC One M9. Oh wait, no one’s buying those either. @[email protected]
Very Nice review. It should be written in Korean in order to impress Samsung CEO though.