A funny thing has happened over the past few years: As plus-sized
smartphones have become more common, they've also started to feel less
big.
It sounds almost paradoxical, I realize -- but when you stop and think
about it, it actually makes a lot of sense. And sure, part of it is just
that we're getting used to the idea of toting around larger devices
(even if rather begrudgingly, in some cases). But even more significantly, manufacturers are simply getting better at making big phones more manageable.
That's never been more evident than when using Samsung's Galaxy Note 5.
The device -- available from all major carriers for $700 to $840,
either upfront or spread out over a multiyear payment plan (or for $250
to $350 as part of a traditional two-year contract) -- packs the same
5.7-in. screen as its predecessor. But thanks to Samsung's ongoing
efforts to refine the form, the Note feels less like a giant and more
like a regular phone than ever before.
The Note's physical evolution
As I've worked with the new Note for the past several days, the theme
that kept popping up in my mind was design. For the first time this
year, Samsung has moved from making powerful but utilitarian phones to
making true objects of desire -- devices you'd describe with words like
"elegant" and "refined" instead of just "functional."
The evolution began this spring with the Galaxy S6.
After years of cheap-feeling plastics and tacky imitation textures
(faux-leather, faux-metal and so on), Samsung came out with a device
that was as striking as anything produced by the likes of lauded design
virtuosos like Apple and HTC.
That same approach carries over into the Note 5 -- so much so, that it's hard not to think of the phone
as a big Galaxy S6 with a stylus tucked inside. The new Note is almost
identical to the S6 in many ways -- same basic appearance, same
software, same camera -- and that isn't necessarily a bad thing.
Like its smaller sibling, the phone sports a gorgeous glass back (in a
choice of black, white or gold) surrounded by a sturdy metal frame (real
metal -- not plastic posing as metal). It looks every bit as sleek and
classy as the S6, and it actually feels more comfortable to hold, thanks to the addition of a subtle curve on either side of the phone's back.
Interestingly, that curved back panel is more or less the same as the curved front panel of the Galaxy S6 Edge+ -- probably no coincidence. But its purpose here is more than mere style;
the sloping edges on the back make the body meaningfully less boxy and
awkward to grasp. And while the glass surface is still somewhat slippery
to the touch, the curves make it easier to wrap your fingers around the
phone and hang onto its metal perimeter.
As for the size, make no mistake about it: This is still a big phone -- 6
x 3 x 0.3 in., to be precise. But it's actually about a tenth of an
inch narrower than last year's Galaxy Note 4,
which itself was a smidge slenderer than the previous year's Note 3.
For perspective, this latest Note is a full quarter-inch narrower than
the first-gen Galaxy Note phone -- which, despite its larger width, had a comparatively puny 5.3-in. display.
(More perspective: The Note 5 is both narrower and shorter than the iPhone 6 Plus -- by 0.06 in. and 0.22 in., respectively -- despite the fact that its screen is diagonally larger by 0.2 in.)
That ever-decreasing waistline
makes a world of difference in what the device is like to use. More
than anything, it's the width that makes most plus-sized phones hard to
hold -- and at this point, the Note isn't that much wider than a typical standard-sized smartphone.
The main area where I continue to struggle with the larger size,
personally, is in the phone's length. The Note 4 is more than a
half-inch longer than the 2014 Moto X
I carry as my own personal device. That not only makes it trickier for
me to use in many scenarios -- like with one-handed tasks -- but also
makes the phone more awkward to lug around, as it's always just slightly
too tall to fit comfortably in a pocket. I'm often worried it's going
to fall out -- for example, when I'm getting into my car or lying back
on a bench at the gym.
But you win some, you lose some -- and with the Note's size-based usability issues come some pretty compelling perks.
That display -- and the stylus
Most notably (see what I did there?), the Galaxy Note 5's Quad HD screen
is pleasingly spacious and positively stunning. Display quality doesn't
get much better than this, and the ample 5.7-in. size makes using the
phone feel like using a small tablet -- with plenty of room for videos,
Web pages or any other kind of content.
And while previous Note devices have just made everything on the screen bigger -- thus showing you the same amount
of content you'd see on a smaller smartphone -- the Note 5 keeps all of
the on-screen elements the same size as they'd appear on a phone like
the Galaxy S6. As a result, you end up seeing significantly more lines
in a document and more areas of a Web page without having to scroll. It
actually puts the extra screen space to use, which is nice.
Then there's the stylus -- or S Pen, as Samsung calls it. Unless you're an artist or someone who does a lot of freehand PDF markup (which is now natively supported for the first time, without the need for any third-party software), you probably won't use the stylus a heck of a lot once the initial novelty wears off. But it's a neat feature nevertheless -- and it does what it's meant to do extremely well. No third-party accessory comes close to the level of precision and accuracy it provides; it really is just like writing or drawing on your screen with a marker.
The S Pen has a few neat tricks, too, like the newly added ability to
whip it out while the phone's screen is off and then immediately start
writing a note on the darkened display. It's a cool concept, to be sure,
but after a few days, I found it was faster and simpler for me to use
the normal on-screen keyboard or Android voice command system to achieve
the same result.
The S Pen lets you write a note while the phone's screen is off.
The S Pen is also more seamlessly integrated into the Note's body than
ever before -- so much that you almost don't even notice it's there if
you don't look for it. So if its presence has significant value for you,
great. If you use it once in a while, fine. And if you don't use it at
all, no harm done. (Just be sure you put it back into the phone the right way if you ever take it out.)
Familiar qualities, with a few exceptions
From there on out, much about the Galaxy Note 5 is identical to the
Galaxy S6: It has the same adequate but unexceptional single speaker on
its bottom side, the same awkward but familiar combination
of physical and capacitive buttons on its face and the same custom
Samsung software. It's more tolerable than the company's past efforts,
but still less attractive and pleasant to use than the core Android 5.1 Lollipop operating system on which it's based.
If you can deal with the interface shortcomings and oodles of superfluous services,
though, you'll get some genuinely useful add-on features -- like an
Easy Mode for novice users and support for the device's excellent
fingerprint sensor (embedded in the Home button beneath the display).
Samsung's Multi Window system for viewing multiple apps on screen at the
same time is also on board and is particularly useful with a display of
this size -- for playing a YouTube video while simultaneously browsing
social media, for example, or looking at a Web page while actively
working on an email. (The split-screen mode works only with a limited
number of approved apps, but those include titles like Chrome, Facebook,
Gmail, Hangouts, Maps, Play Movies and Twitter -- so you do have a fair
number of options.)
Performance was generally smooth and speedy during my time with the Note
5, with one caveat: The system has an annoying habit of refreshing apps
and Web pages when I return to them after a short period of focusing
elsewhere. It's something that was common with devices running the initial Android 5.0 Lollipop release
but hasn't been a widespread issue since Android 5.1 came along, so
it's rather baffling that the Note has this problem now (especially
considering the device has a whopping 4GB of RAM).
The Note does one-up the S6 in one key area: stamina. While the S6's
battery life was a bit underwhelming, the Note 5 is more than capable of
making it through a full day on a single charge. Specifics are
obviously going to vary based on what you're doing and what types of
connections you employ, but to give you a general idea of the phone's
capabilities, I've been able to rack up as much as four hours of
mixed-use screen-on time while still having around a quarter of the
battery charge remaining by the time I go to bed.
The Note 5 also supports both Fast Charging and wireless charging, which
makes it quick and painless to top off when needed. The phone includes a
new type of fast-wireless charging technology, too -- the best of both
worlds -- though you'll need a special $70 Samsung charger
that isn't yet available to take advantage of that. (The phone will
work with regular Qi and Powermat wireless chargers as well, but only at
their normal poky speeds.)
And then there's the camera, which is the same outstanding setup seen in
the Galaxy S6. There's not much I can say that I didn't already describe in my Galaxy S6 review,
but in short, this camera is about as good as it gets in a smartphone.
No matter the lighting, environment or type of subject, it's difficult
to get an image out of this thing that doesn't look incredible. The
camera app is easy to access and simple to use, too, and yet still
offers a slew of advanced photography options for those who want to go
beyond basic pointing and shooting.
Last but not least is the elephant in the room: storage. The Note 5 has
either 32GB or 64GB of internal space, depending on which model you
select -- and unlike past Note devices, there is no micro SD card slot
for local storage expansion. Just like the now-absent ability to access and replace the phone's battery, this is a feature that's very much becoming a niche-level need, and ditching it was likely a carefully calculated tradeoff.
And you know what? It's a move that I'd say pays off, broadly speaking.
No single phone is ever going to make everyone happy, but letting go of
those limited-appeal elements has allowed Samsung to introduce a level
of elegance the Note line desperately needed. While that may isolate a
small (though extremely vocal) group of the phone's former cheerleaders,
it makes the Note feel more sophisticated and mature -- and that could
help it appeal to a much larger and more mainstream group of smartphone
shoppers.
Bottom line
As I mused in a blog earlier this week,
it really feels like the Note 5 is the true Samsung flagship of the
year -- not just a bigger model of the Galaxy S6, but a more refined and
complete version of the phone.
It has all of the same high points as its smaller sibling -- the
striking design and build quality, the awesome screen, the exceptional
camera -- and it also introduces a more ergonomic curved-back design and
a major improvement to battery life. And we can't forget about the
stylus, which could range from being a massive positive to being an
interesting little bonus, depending on your perspective.
As long as you're okay with its size, the Note 5 is without a doubt the
top choice within the Samsung smartphone universe right now. The bigger
question is whether a Samsung device is necessarily right for you. With Motorola's 2015 Moto X
stepping into the plus-sized phone camp in a few weeks -- and, at a
starting price of $400 unlocked, costing a lot less than the Note --
it's hard not to wonder whether the Note will be worth the hefty
premium. The pricing model for top-tier smartphones is rapidly evolving, and Samsung's rates now seem sky-high compared to the competition.
If you don't mind the cost, though, the Galaxy Note 5 is a standout
smartphone you're sure to enjoy. It's Samsung's best effort to date and a
device that's not quite like anything else out there.
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