Samsung Galaxy Note5 - Specifications. Samsung Galaxy Note5 - Specifications Galaxy note 5 version

This year, Samsung continued its move towards premium design, showing the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge made of glass and metal, and a little later, at the end of summer, the Galaxy S6 edge + and Note 5. To understand how much the Koreans have upgraded their top line, we decided to test it big "galaxy" in the face of the Galaxy Note 5.

Packaging and equipment

The smartphone comes in a standard Samsung box. The bundle did not surprise me either, besides the device itself, it includes: a headset with a pair of spare silicone ear pads, a sync cable, a power adapter, start instructions and a clip to open the SIM card tray. In addition, you can find several interchangeable pen nibs and a tool for replacing them in the box.

Appearance and ergonomics

The design of the Note 5 is controversial. On the one hand, the phone looks bright and expensive, due to the design and materials used. In the “Black Sapphire” version, the case plays in the light and shimmers with different shades, it either gives off dark blue or looks black. The metal frame around the perimeter of the case has a nice matte surface texture. On the other hand, “Asianism” in design has not gone away. The hackneyed Samsung logo above the screen remained in the same place, the connectors and other holes are located on the case at random, the mechanical power and volume buttons are disproportionately short and thin. If the S Pen is inserted into the body, its cap sticks out of the body, and even crooked.

It became absolutely incomprehensible for me to use the so-called 2.5D glass as a screen protector, it bends around the edges, but this is not beaten in any way, does not fit into the overall design concept and is stupidly recessed into the case. It seems that the designers were guided by the principle “everyone has 2.5D glass, and let us have it too.”

Another serious design miscalculation is that the back glass does not have, respectively, it is very quickly covered with prints, and after half an hour of working with a smartphone, there is an indecent amount of grease from hands and dirt on the surface of the back cover. The main part of the adhering dirt is removed without problems, but it will not work to completely clean the glass without special chemicals even with a soft microfiber cloth.

It is worth thanking the Koreans for preserving the mechanical home button, which in the latest generations of Galaxy smartphones is combined with a fingerprint scanner, because it is often more convenient to wake up the device with this button. The scanner itself works flawlessly and is not inferior to competitive solutions in terms of ease of use.

The central feature of the Galaxy Note line, along with a large screen diagonal, was and remains an electronic pen, the interaction with which in Note 5 has been evolutionarily improved. Personally, most of the software chips associated with the pen seem useless to me, except for one, I really liked the ability to take quick notes on the screen without having to unlock the device and open a special application.

Screen

The Galaxy Note 5 has a 5.7-inch screen with a resolution of 2560*1440 pixels. Super AMOLED matrix with Pentile - for one blue and one red subpixel, there are two green ones. And here there is a nuance, the fact is that the resolution is calculated by the green subpixels, while the blue and red ones in the matrix are half as much. Despite the fact that on paper the SuperAMOLED QHD screen is inferior to the IPS screen with the same resolution, in practice this is not visible due to the high PPI. And in general, the screen here is excellent, both in terms of brightness / contrast, and in terms of color reproduction.

In the settings, you can adjust the color gamut by selecting one of the screen profiles. When choosing the AMOLED Movie and Photo AMOLED profiles, the color gamut is closer to RGB, when choosing the Main profile, it is closer to sRGB. Because Since most of the content is created specifically for the sRGB standard, it is preferable to use the Main Profile on an ongoing basis.

The screen has a large margin of brightness, it remains readable in bright sunlight, and the picture looks almost the same as indoors. The manufacturer claims that in bright sunlight and if automatic backlight control is enabled, the screen brightness can reach 700 cd / m2, and this seems to be true.

Hardware platform and performance

The hardware platform of the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 is based on a 64-bit system-on-a-chip of its own production Exynos 7420. The system consists of four Cortex-A57 cores, four Cortex-A53 cores and an eight-core Mali-T760 video accelerator, 4 GB LPDDR4 RAM. Internal memory, which now matches UFS standard 2.0 may be 32 GB or 64 GB. The review involves the younger modification, in which 24.8 GB is available to the user. For the first time, a representative of the Galaxy Note line has lost a memory card slot.

The performance of the smartphone is simply outrageous, in fact, the Galaxy Note 5 is by far the most productive smartphone on Android. This is also evidenced by the results of benchmarks: in AnTuTu Note 5 it scores 68,000 points, in the Geekbench 3 singlecore test - about 1,500 “parrots”. Practical performance is excellent, simple applications run almost instantly, any heavy games run at maximum graphics settings without FPS drops. With a long heavy load, the smartphone case heats up moderately.

Cellular and interfaces

The smartphone can work in LTE Cat networks. 9, while the theoretical peak download speed can reach 450 Mbps. Unfortunately, in Russia, LTE towers supporting Cat. 9 practical no. The Note 5 in this review has one nano-format SIM slot, there are modifications with two slots.

The Galaxy Note 5 has all modern wireless interfaces, including: dual-band WiFi 802.11 ac supporting MIMO, Bluetooth 4.2 and NFC. But they got rid of the infrared port in the fifth Note. Wired connection complies with the USB 2.0 standard, supports On-The-Go technology.

Battery and autonomy

Along with the memory card slot and the infrared port, a removable 3220 mAh battery went to the scrap, and all this was in Note 4. The Samsung Galaxy Note 5 is equipped with non-removable battery 3000 mAh capacity. The smartphone uses fast charging technology, and the power adapter can provide both 9V/1.67A and 5V/2A current. With this power adapter, Note 5 charges from 0% to 100% in just 100 minutes (from 0% up to 75% in 40 minutes).

Despite the decrease in battery capacity, the battery life of the Note 5 has improved. With a fairly heavy load, the smartphone is able to survive until late in the evening with 5-6 hours of screen activity.

Note. Testing is carried out in the appropriate modes according to the methodology: - listening to music in headphones at maximum volume with the screen turned off; – viewing 1080p video from the device’s memory at 50% backlight brightness and maximum sound volume in headphones; - active browsing (constant opening of new tabs, active page scrolling, etc.) via Wi-Fi at 50% backlight brightness; – 3D games (Real Racing 3) at 50% backlight brightness.

Cameras, photo and video quality

All Galaxy smartphones this year are equipped with the latest 16-megapixel camera module with hybrid phase detection autofocus. The sensor is covered by a lens with an aperture of F1.9 and an equivalent focal length of 26-27 mm, but you need to understand that due to the non-standard aspect ratio of the 16:9 frame, the vertical viewing angle will be less than that of sensors with an aspect ratio of 3:2. V system camera there are several shooting modes, including a fully manual Pro mode, in addition, additional modes can be downloaded from a special store.

It is possible to shoot in RAW (dng) format, you can activate this function only in Pro mode, but you need to understand that you cannot put an equal sign between RAW images from the Note 5 camera and any other camera with a large matrix, and still some flexibility in processing photos this function will give. CLICKABLE! From top to bottom: image saved from RAW (DNG) without processing; image processed by in-camera JPEG; image processed in Adobe PS 2015 Camera RAW:

The developers have taken care of the ability to quickly launch the camera by double-clicking on the home button. In real life, it looks very cool, the camera application starts instantly and immediately allows you to take a photo, the delay between pressing the button and the first picture is less than a second! In good lighting conditions, the Note 5 takes photos with accurate colors and accurate white balance. Sharpness in most cases is at a high level, although when comparing dng images with in-camera jpeg images, it can be seen that the algorithms further increase sharpness. And in general, the tendency of the in-camera jpeg to “embellishment” is visible. CLICKABLE! Left Samsung Galaxy Note 5, right - Apple iPhone 6s:

HDR processing algorithms are very restrained: the saturation almost does not change and the tones are only slightly pressed. This mode is very similar to that of the iPhone. CLICKABLE! On the left is the Samsung Galaxy Note 5, on the right is the Apple iPhone 6s:

Pictures taken in conditions of artificial and / or insufficient lighting also come out quite good, sharpness is almost not lost, noise reduction works very delicately. The same can be said about night photos. CLICKABLE! On the left is the Samsung Galaxy Note 5, on the right is the Apple iPhone 6s:

The panorama shooting mode fully works on smartphones of two or three top brands, on other devices it is present only nominally. Samsung is great with this. The shooting process is not difficult, the panorama sticks together perfectly, and the exposure does not jump. The final image has a resolution of about 60 megapixels, which is about the same as the last ones. iPhone models. The only thing I would like is that the pixels of excess horizontal resolution, the viewing angle of the image is much more than 360 degrees, go into vertical resolution. CLICKABLE! Top Samsung Galaxy Note 5, bottom - Apple iPhone 6s:

The front camera is 5 megapixels, equipped with a lens with an aperture of F1.9 and an equivalent focal length of ~24 mm, capable of capturing QHD video.

The system camera has a rather interesting mode called Group Selfie and allows you to take photos with a viewing angle that is much superior to the native one. It turns out such a kind of panoramic photo on the front camera. CLICKABLE!

The front camera takes good photos with correct color reproduction and good sharpness for such a small sensor. CLICKABLE!

The smartphone records video with a maximum resolution of 3840*2160 pixels at 30 fps with stereo sound, although the recording time in this mode is limited to 5 minutes. It is possible to record video in FullHD resolution at 30 fps or 60 fps.

Information about the make, model, and alternative names of a particular device, if any.

Design

Information about the dimensions and weight of the device, presented in different units of measurement. Used materials, suggested colors, certificates.

SIM card

The SIM card is used in mobile devices to store data that certifies the authenticity of mobile service subscribers.

Mobile networks

A mobile network is a radio system that allows multiple mobile devices to communicate with each other.

Mobile technologies and data rates

Communication between devices in mobile networks is carried out through technologies that provide different data transfer rates.

Operating system

The operating system is the system software that manages and coordinates the operation of the hardware components in the device.

SoC (System on a Chip)

System on a chip (SoC) includes all the most important hardware components of a mobile device in one chip.

Built-in memory

Each mobile device has a built-in (non-removable) memory with a fixed amount.

Screen

The screen of a mobile device is characterized by its technology, resolution, pixel density, diagonal length, color depth, etc.

Sensors

Different sensors perform different quantitative measurements and convert physical indicators into signals that are recognized by the mobile device.

rear camera

The main camera of a mobile device is usually located on its rear panel and can be combined with one or more additional cameras.

Front-camera

Smartphones have one or more front cameras of various designs - a pop-up camera, a PTZ camera, a cutout or hole in the display, a camera under the display.

Audio

Information about the type of speakers and audio technologies supported by the device.

Radio

The radio of the mobile device is a built-in FM receiver.

Location determination

Information about navigation and location technologies supported by the device.

WiFi

Wi-Fi is a technology that provides wireless communication for short distance data transmission between different devices.

Bluetooth

Bluetooth is a standard for secure wireless data transfer between different types of devices over short distances.

USB

USB (Universal Serial Bus) is an industry standard that allows different electronic devices to communicate.

Headphone jack

This is an audio connector, which is also called an audio jack. The most widely used standard in mobile devices is the 3.5mm headphone jack.

Connecting devices

Information about other important connection technologies supported by the device.

Browser

A web browser is a software application for accessing and viewing information on the Internet.

Audio file formats/codecs

Mobile devices support various audio file formats and codecs that store and encode/decode digital audio data, respectively.

Video file formats/codecs

Mobile devices support various video file formats and codecs, which store and encode/decode digital video data, respectively.

Battery

Mobile device batteries differ from each other in their capacity and technology. They provide the electrical charge they need to function.

Specific Absorption Rate (SAR)

SAR levels refer to the amount of electromagnetic radiation absorbed by the human body while using a mobile device.

additional characteristics

Some devices have characteristics that do not fit into the above categories, but it is important to point them out.

Updated tablet phone with electronic pen support

The fifth version of the Samsung Galaxy Note tablet phone was announced this fall during the IFA 2015 exhibition in Berlin and has now reached the shelves of Russian stores. Much has changed in the new model of the family: there is no trace of the design of its predecessors, the smartphone also received much more advanced hardware and an improved fingerprint scanner. But the main difference between all models of the Galaxy Note family is the ability to work with an electronic pen, and the work is really comfortable and convenient. Read about what has changed and what has been added in the next incarnation of the legendary tablet phone in our review of the Samsung Galaxy Note 5.

Key Features of Samsung Galaxy Note 5 (Model SM-N920C)

• SoC Samsung Exynos 7420 (64-bit), two clusters of four processor cores: ARM Cortex-A57 at 2.1 GHz and ARM Cortex-A53 at 1.5 GHz
• GPU Mali-T760
• operating room android system 5.1.1 Lollipop
• Touch Super AMOLED display, 5.7″, 2560×1440
• Random access memory (RAM) 4 GB
• Inner memory 32 or 64 GB
• Support Nano-SIM (1 pc.)
• slot for microSD cards missing
• Communication GSM 850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz
• Communication 3G WCDMA 850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz
• Data transmission LTE (Cat.9 or Cat.6) (FDD LTE Band 1,2,3,4,5,7,8,12,17,18,19,20,26)
• Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac (2.4/5GHz) VHT80 MIMO (2×2), Wi-Fi hotspot, Wi-Fi Direct
• Bluetooth 4.2LE, ANT+, NFC
• USB 2.0, OTG
• GPS/A-GPS, Glonass, BDS
• Accelerometer, barometer, fingerprint sensor, gyroscope, geomagnetic sensor, hall sensor, heart rate sensor, proximity sensor, ambient light sensor
• Camera 16 MP (F1.9), optical stabilization, autofocus, LED flash
• Camera 5 MP (F1.9), front
• Battery 3000 mAh, non-removable
• Support wireless charging
• Dimensions 153×76×7.6 mm
• Weight 168 g

Appearance and usability

As for the design of the novelty, in this regard, there are minimal differences from the flagship from the parallel Galaxy S6 line, there are almost none, except for the increased size and the presence of an internal slot for the stylus. The Samsung Galaxy Note 5 received a case in the design of S6, and in size it is almost identical to the recently released Galaxy S6 edge +. Thus, Korean designers brought both families of their top Galaxy smartphones Note and Galaxy S to a single design, Samsung flagships have no diversity in this regard.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 5 is quite a bit thicker than the Galaxy S6 edge+ and noticeably heavier. In general, this is still the same very large tablet phone with a huge screen, a true successor to the traditions started by the first Galaxy Note model back in 2011. Now you can’t find plastic in the case of Korean flagships, glass and metal are used entirely, the design has become much more expressive and modern.

At the same time, the combination of slippery glass and no less slippery smooth matte metal on the sides makes the smartphone extremely unreliable to hold in your hand, especially considering the huge dimensions and very impressive mass of the device.

As for the placement of elements on the case, here all the differences between the large Galaxy S6 ege + and the smaller models S6 and S6 edge are observed: the infrared port that used to emulate the remote control also disappeared from the upper end of the Galaxy Note 5, but the connector for the format card migrated here Nano SIM. The smartphone has only one slot, the installation of a second SIM-card or memory card is not provided here.

On the opposite, lower end there are more various elements. Here is a universal Micro-USB 2.0 connector that supports connecting external devices in OTG mode, and an audio output for headphones and a speaker grill located on the sides of it, as well as a hole for an electronic pen perched on the very edge.

The pen itself has undergone some changes: now it has a pushable mechanical button, like a fountain pen. True, it does not provide ejection of the tip, and serves only to extract the stylus from the slot: when you press it, the pen is ejected from the hole by a spring-loaded mechanism.

The pen can be accidentally inserted into the nest with the reverse end, for some reason it now quietly passes there, no protection is provided. The result of this will be deplorable, because the pen snaps there tightly, and it is impossible to remove it back without damaging the insides of the device. Craftsmen, however, have learned to cope with this with a strip of paper, but it's still better not to experiment.

The power and lock button is located on the right side of the smartphone, and the volume control module, made in the form of two separate buttons, is on the left. The keys are small, have a short but quite distinct stroke, there are no complaints about these elements.

On the back of the smartphone, there is a large camera module that protrudes noticeably beyond the surface, adjacent to a single LED flash and a heart rate sensor. The sensor can be used as a photo button when taking a selfie with the front camera.

The front panel remains unchanged: it is still the same flat protective glass Gorilla Glass 4, the same oval mechanical button under the screen with a fingerprint scanner integrated into it. The scanner works clearly, unmistakably, you can bring your finger to it at any angle. A single touch is also recognized - you no longer need to swipe your finger over the scanner, as was the case with the Galaxy Note 4. Touch buttons on the sides of the central key under the screen have a bright white backlight. Above the display there is an event indicator.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 5 goes on sale in two exactly the same as the Galaxy S6 edge +, design options, which the developers gave the names "Black Sapphire" and "Dazzling Platinum".

Screen

The Samsung Galaxy Note 5 smartphone is equipped with a Super AMOLED touch screen protected by Gorilla Glass 4. The physical dimensions of the display are 71 × 126 mm, the diagonal is 5.7 inches. The screen resolution is 2560×1440, the dot density is 518 ppi.

The frame around is very narrow, thanks to this, the developers managed to fit an unusually large screen with a diagonal of 5.7 inches into a fairly acceptable size. The sidewalls from the edge of the screen to the edge of the body are only 2 mm, the upper and lower edges are 13 mm wide.

Display brightness can be manually controlled or automatically adjusted based on a light sensor. There is also a proximity sensor that blocks the screen when you bring the smartphone to your ear. Multi-touch technology allows you to handle 10 simultaneous touches.

A detailed examination using measuring instruments was carried out by the editor of the "Monitors" and "Projectors and TV" sections Alexey Kudryavtsev. Here is his expert opinion on the screen of the test sample.

The front surface of the screen is made in the form of a glass plate with a mirror-smooth surface, resistant to scratches. Judging by the reflection of objects, the anti-glare properties of the screen are no worse than those of the screen of the Google Nexus 7 (2013) (hereinafter simply Nexus 7). For clarity, here is a photo in which a white surface is reflected in the off screens (on the left is Nexus 7, on the right is Samsung Galaxy Note 5, then they can be distinguished by size):

The screen of the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 is almost the same dark (average brightness in photos is 111 versus 110 for the Nexus 7). The ghosting of reflected objects on the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 screen is very weak, which indicates that there is no air gap between the layers of the screen. Due to the smaller number of borders (glass/air type) with very different refractive indices, screens without an air gap look better in conditions of strong external illumination, but their repair in case of cracked external glass is much more expensive, since the entire screen has to be changed. On the outer surface of the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 screen, there is a special oleophobic (grease-repellent) coating (effective, better than Nexus 7), so fingerprints are removed much more easily, and appear at a slower rate than in the case of ordinary glass.

When displaying a white field in full screen and with manual brightness control, its maximum value was 415 cd/m², the minimum was 1.9 cd/m². You also need to take into account the fact that in this case the smaller the white area on the screen, the lighter it is, that is, the actual maximum brightness of the white areas will almost always be higher than the specified value. As a result, readability during the day in the sun should be at a fairly good level. The reduced brightness level allows you to use the device without any problems even in complete darkness. Automatic brightness control works according to the light sensor (it is located to the left of the front speaker slot). You can make adjustments to how this function works by moving the adjustment slider. Next, for the three conditions, we present the screen brightness values ​​for the three values ​​​​of this setting - for 0%, 50% and 100%. In complete darkness in automatic mode, the brightness decreases to 1.8, 9.1 and 17 cd / m², respectively (the first and second are too dark, the third is normal), in an office lit by artificial light (approximately 400 lux), the brightness is set to 40 -55, 144 and 330 cd/m² (dark - just right - a bit bright, corresponding to the specified correction), in a bright environment (corresponding to a clear day outdoors, but without direct sunlight - 20,000 lux or a little more) - increases up to 500 cd/m² regardless of the slider position. This value is greater than the maximum for manual adjustment. If you increase the brightness of ambient light (in the area of ​​the light sensor) somewhere up to hundreds of thousands of lux (corresponding to direct sunlight), then the screen brightness rises to 560 cd / m². Such brightness should definitely be enough to ensure that the image on the screen is well distinguished in any natural conditions. In general, the result of the automatic brightness adjustment function is as expected. At any level of brightness there is a significant modulation with a frequency of approximately 60 or 240 Hz. The figure below shows brightness (vertical axis) versus time (horizontal axis) for several brightness settings:

It can be seen that at maximum and close to it, the modulation amplitude is not very large, as a result, there is no visible flicker (in our conference there are reports that flicker is still visible, but the authors of the site who tested this smartphone did not see flicker at maximum brightness no way). However, as the brightness decreases, modulation with a large relative amplitude appears. Therefore, the presence of such modulation can already be seen in the test for the presence of a stroboscopic effect or simply with a rapid eye movement. Depending on individual sensitivity, such flickering can cause increased fatigue.

This screen uses a Super AMOLED matrix - an active matrix on organic light emitting diodes. A full color image is created using subpixels of three colors - red (R), green (G) and blue (B), but there are twice as many green subpixels, which can be referred to as RGBG. This is confirmed by a fragment of a microphoto:

For comparison, you can see the gallery of microphotographs of screens used in mobile technology.

On the fragment above, you can count 4 green subpixels, 2 red (4 halves) and 2 blue (1 whole and 4 quarters), while repeating these fragments, you can lay out the entire screen without gaps and overlap. For such matrices, Samsung introduced the name PenTile RGBG. The manufacturer considers the screen resolution based on green subpixels, on the other two it will be two times lower. The location and shape of the sub-pixels in this variant is close to the case of the Samsung Galaxy S4 screen and some other newer devices from Samsung (and not only) with AMOLED screens. This version of PenTile RGBG is better than the old one with red squares, blue rectangles and stripes of green subpixels. However, some uneven contrasting borders and other artifacts are still present. However, due to the very high resolution, they have minimal effect on image quality.

The screen is characterized by excellent viewing angles, although the white color, when deviated even at small angles, alternately acquires a light blue-green and pinkish tint, but the black color is just black at any angle. So black that the contrast setting is not applicable in this case. When viewed perpendicularly, the uniformity of the white field is excellent. For comparison, here are photos in which the same images are displayed on the screens of Samsung Galaxy Note 5 and the second comparison participant, while the brightness of the screens was initially set to about 200 cd / m², and the color balance on the camera was forcibly switched to 6500 K. White field:

We note the excellent uniformity of brightness and color tone of the white field. And a test picture (profile Basic):

The color reproduction is good, the colors are moderately saturated, the color balance of the screens is slightly different (but in any case, a photograph cannot serve as a reliable source of information about the color reproduction quality). The photo above was obtained after choosing a profile Basic in the screen settings, there are four of them:

Profile adaptive display differs in some kind of automatic adjustment to the type of displayed image and environmental conditions (it is stated that the light sensor also distinguishes the intensity of the three primary colors), which is obtained by selecting the two remaining profiles shown below.

AMOLED movie:

Saturation and color contrast are markedly increased.

Photo AMOLED:

The saturation is still high, but the color contrast is closer to normal. Now at an angle of approximately 45 degrees to the plane and to the side of the screen (profile Basic). White field:

The brightness at an angle on both screens has noticeably decreased (in order to avoid strong darkening, the shutter speed is increased compared to previous photos), but in the case of Samsung, the drop in brightness is much less pronounced. As a result, with formally the same brightness samsung screen The Galaxy Note 5 looks much brighter visually (compared to LCD screens), as the screen of a mobile device often has to be viewed at least from a slight angle. And a test picture:

It can be seen that the colors have not changed much on both screens and the brightness of Samsung at an angle is noticeably higher. Switching the state of the elements of the matrix is ​​\u200b\u200balmost instantaneous, but there may be a step at the front of the switch-on width of about 17 ms (which corresponds to a screen refresh rate of 60 Hz). For example, the dependence of brightness on time looks like this when moving from black to white and vice versa:

In some conditions, the presence of such a step can lead to plumes trailing behind moving objects. However, dynamic scenes in films on OLED screens are distinguished by high definition and even some “twitchy” movements.

For profiles Photo AMOLED and Basic the gamma curve constructed from 32 points with equal intervals over the numerical value of the gray tint did not reveal any blockage either in the highlights or in the shadows, and the exponent of the approximating power function is 2.14, which is slightly lower standard value 2.2, while the real gamma curve deviates little from the power dependence (in the captions in parentheses are the exponent of the approximating power function and the coefficient of determination):

For profile AMOLED movie the gamma curve has a pronounced S-shaped character, which increases the apparent contrast of the image, but in the shadows the distinguishability of shades is preserved.

Recall that in the case of OLED screens, the brightness of image fragments dynamically changes in accordance with the nature of the displayed image - it decreases for images that are generally bright. As a result, the resulting dependence of brightness on hue (gamma curve), most likely, does not correspond slightly to the gamma curve of a static image, since the measurements were carried out with sequential grayscale output almost on the entire screen.

Color gamut in profile case AMOLED movie very wide, it almost covers Adobe RGB coverage:

When choosing a profile Photo AMOLED coverage is pressed to the borders of Adobe RGB:

When choosing a profile Basic coverage is already compressed to the sRGB borders:

Without correction, the spectra of the components are very well separated:

In the case of a profile Basic with the maximum correction, the color components are already noticeably mixed with each other:

Note that on screens with a wide color gamut without proper color correction, normal images optimized for sRGB devices look unnaturally saturated. Hence the recommendation - in most cases, watching movies, photos and everything natural is better when choosing a profile Basic, and only if the photo was taken on an Adobe RGB setting does it make sense to switch the profile to Photo AMOLED. Profile AMOLED movie, despite the name, is the least suitable for watching movies and anything else.

The balance of shades on the gray scale is good. Profile color temperature AMOLED movie above 6500 K, in the remaining two it is close to 6500 K, while in a significant part of the gray scale this parameter does not change very much, which improves the visual perception of the color balance. The deviation from the blackbody spectrum (ΔE) remains below 10 units for most of the gray scale, which is considered a good indicator for a consumer device, and also does not change very much:

(The darkest areas of the gray scale in most cases can be ignored, since there the color balance does not matter much, and the measurement error of color characteristics at low brightness is large.)

Let's summarize. The screen has a very high maximum brightness and has good anti-glare properties, so the device can be used outdoors without any problems even on a sunny summer day. In complete darkness, the brightness can be reduced to a comfortable value. It is permissible (and even necessary in bright light) to use a mode with automatic brightness adjustment, which works quite adequately. The advantages of the screen include a good oleophobic coating, as well as a color gamut close to sRGB and an acceptable color balance (when appropriate profiles are selected). At the same time, let's recall the general advantages of OLED screens: true black color (if nothing is reflected on the screen), excellent white field uniformity, noticeably smaller than that of LCDs, and a drop in image brightness when viewed from an angle. The disadvantages include modulation of the screen brightness. Users who are particularly sensitive to flicker may experience fatigue as a result. However, overall the screen quality is very high.

Sound

Sounds Samsung Galaxy Note 5 is quite worthy. The bass is quite noticeable, the sound is bright, rich, thick, except that the volume margin could be more. The sound at any volume level remains clear, without distortion and wheezing. There are no complaints about the conversational microphone, the second noise-canceling microphone generally copes adequately with its functions. In conversational dynamics, the voice of a familiar interlocutor, timbre and intonation remain recognizable.

To play melodies, a proprietary Samsung player is used with large quantity settings. Sound effects are united under the common name SoundAlive. Enhancements with UHQ Upscaler technology, immersive simulation " tube amplifier Pro, as well as adding SoundAlive+ surround effects, is only possible when headphones are connected. From the manual settings, an equalizer with preset values ​​​​is available, as well as separate controls for bass and treble. The Koreans, as usual, did not implement FM-radio support in the device.

Camera

Samsung Galaxy Note 5 is equipped with two modules of digital cameras with a resolution of 16 and 5 megapixels. The front camera is equipped with a 5-megapixel module with a CMOS sensor and a lens with an aperture of f / 1.9. You can shoot with the front camera by touching your finger to the heart rate sensor located on the back next to the LED flash. The front module copes with its tasks with dignity, for a selfie, the quality of the resulting photos is more than enough. In addition, in the "Self-portrait" mode, you can even out the tone of the face, improve its shape and even enlarge the eyes.

The main 16-megapixel camera has an f/1.9 lens, fast autofocus with subject tracking, optical image stabilization (OIS) and single LED flash. A quick launch of the camera is possible by double-clicking on the central hardware key under the screen, even if the smartphone is locked.

The camera settings are exactly the same as in previous models of the flagship series. In addition to automatic and manual modes, there are additional modes such as panoramic, selective focus mode, Auto HDR in real time (Real-time HDR), the ability to capture a virtual three-dimensional object, GIF animation, as well as fast and slow motion video modes. The new Video Collage mode lets you create stunning collages by combining up to four video clips into a single clip, each of which can be played in slow motion. You can also stream videos live to your YouTube channel in Live mode. In manual camera control mode, you can control the shutter speed, as well as save uncompressed images in RAW format, all of which is supported through the Camera2 API in third-party camera applications.

The video camera can shoot in 4K resolution (UHD), as well as Full HD at 60 frames per second. In addition, there are slow and fast shooting modes. With any of the options, the camera copes with dignity, there are no complaints about the quality of the resulting video image and the sound recorded at the same time. The quality of video recording can be judged by test videos.

• Movie #1 (77 MB, 1920×1080 @60 fps)
• Clip #2 (95 MB, 3840×2160 @30 fps)
• Video #3 (34 MB, 2560×1440 @30 fps)
• Movie #4 (42 MB, 1920×1080 @30 fps)

	Good sharpness across the field and according to the plans, despite some soapiness of the image.
	Even in manual mode, the camera has a good dynamic range. Numbers of the nearest cars are distinguishable.
	Sharpness still drops a little towards the edges of the frame.
	The camera does a pretty good job with shadows. On the wires you can see a weak sharpening.
	Sometimes you can still find the remains of colored noise in complex shadows.
	Despite the soapiness, the foliage is well worked out.
	The program completely in vain blurs the average plans so much. The leaves on the tree could have been worked out better, but the detailing is not bad anyway.
	For documentary shooting, the detail of the pictures can be considered excellent.

We also tested the camera on a laboratory bench according to our methodology.

When we started testing the Note 5's camera, we expected it to be almost identical to the S6 Edge+, which we've had a positive overall experience with. And the expectations were justified: here is the same module and the same optics. Apparently, even the program has changed slightly. Of the minor shortcomings, one can note the same soapy details, apparently designed to smooth out artifacts. software processing. However, such a "blur" is clearly excessive, and certainly could have done with less losses. At the same time, it is clearly seen that the camera has no problems with detailing on all plans. But for those who are worried about the details, the manufacturer has added the ability to shoot in RAW, which in this case is quite working, as we have already noted. (An archive with examples of shooting in RAW can be downloaded.)

Overall, despite some minor flaws, the camera is still one of the best.

When taking photographs, optical stabilization works clearly and tangibly, but it was not possible to understand from the official descriptions of the characteristics whether it works when shooting video. But judging by comparison with the iPhone 6s Plus, even digital stabilization does not work when shooting video.

When compared with an unstabilized Note 5, this video, of course, looks indicative, but it can only be concluded from it availability stabilization in the iPhone, but not about it quality. In fact, stabilization is still far from ideal, which, of course, in no way justifies Samsung.

Telephone part and communications

The smartphone works as standard in modern 2G GSM and 3G WCDMA networks, and also has support for fourth-generation LTE Cat.6 networks in most FDD LTE bands - including all three of the most common bands among domestic operators (B3, B7 and B20) are supported by the smartphone . In practice, with a SIM card from the Beeline operator in the Moscow region, the smartphone confidently registered and worked in 4G networks. The quality of signal reception does not cause any complaints, the device confidently maintains communication indoors and does not lose the signal in areas of poor reception. The full list of supported frequencies looks like this:

• GSM: 850/900/1800/1900MHz (B5,8,3,2)
• WCDMA: 850/900/1900/2100MHz (B5,8,2,1)
• FDD-LTE: 2100/1900/1800/850/2600/900/700/800MHz (B1,2,3,4,5,7,8,12,17,18,19,20,26)

The rest of the communication capabilities of the smartphone are also on top. Bluetooth has version 4.2, the ANT + standard is also supported, NFC is implemented. Wi-Fi module 802.11n/ac, HT80 with MIMO technology (2×2, up to 620 Mbps) supports both frequency bands (2.4 and 5 GHz), Wi-Fi Direct is supported. You can organize a wireless access point via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth channels. It is possible to connect external devices to the USB port in OTG mode. Payments in Samsung Pay can be made using NFC or MST (Magnetic Secure Transmission) technologies.

The navigation module works with all three satellite systems: GPS (with A-GPS), Glonass and Beidou (BDS). There are no complaints about the speed of the navigation module, the first satellites are detected during a cold start within the first tens of seconds. The smartphone is equipped with a magnetic field sensor, on the basis of which the compass of navigation programs functions.

For the convenience of working with the fingers of one hand with such a huge display, it is possible to reduce in size virtual keyboards or the entire working area of ​​the screen as a whole, for this you need to quickly press the central hardware button under the screen three times. The standard keyboard layout has a dedicated top row with numbers, it is possible to change the row height. For fans of Swype, a method is provided for continuous input with a stroke from letter to letter with the T9 smart dialing system turned on.

OS and software

Samsung Galaxy Note 5 runs on fifth android versions OS (5.1.1) with the proprietary TouchWiz shell installed on top of it. The interface is well known from the previously released models of the sixth Galaxy S series. Of the features, there is the ability to work with a stylus - in fact, this is the main distinguishing feature of all models of the Galaxy Note family. In general, work with an electronic pen is organized here in the same way as in the previous Note 4. You can make handwritten notes, draw, select and cut an arbitrary area of ​​​​the screen, save and immediately post the result on social networks, etc. There is practically no lag when recognizing the touch of the stylus , you can easily and quickly write and draw almost like a pen or pencil on paper - to date, support for working with a stylus in Samsung devices remains the best on the market. Added the ability to write even on an inactive screen: you can simply remove the pen and write text on the glass, it will be recognized and saved. The S Pen is recognized even without contact with the screen, when you press the button on its side, you can call up a menu with a set of contextual commands, this menu can also be collapsed into a floating icon and placed anywhere on the screen for quick access. The possibilities for working with an electronic pen are wide, there is an instruction to familiarize yourself with them.

It is also possible to work in multi-window mode (if the application supports split window mode) or in pop-up window mode, work with gestures is supported. From the fifth version of Android OS, the interface got pop-up interactive information tiles, a scrolling perspective menu of recent open programs, guest mode, you can change themes by downloading new ones from Samsung's own online store.

A set of pre-installed applications includes SideSync as standard, which provides both wired and wireless connection to a computer without additional settings and a cable for synchronization and control of a smartphone, a set system utilities Smart Manager responsible for system optimization, memory cleaning and anti-virus security. In place is the Briefing news widget and the S Health monitoring program.

Performance

The hardware platform of the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 is built on the basis of a single-chip system (SoC) Exynos 7420 of Samsung's own production, manufactured according to the standards of 14-nanometer technological process. The configuration of this single-chip system includes two clusters of four cores: ARM Cortex-A57 with a frequency of 2.1 GHz and ARM Cortex-A53 with a frequency of 1.5 GHz. The Mali T760 video accelerator is used as a GPU. The amount of RAM is 4 GB (LPDDR4 is used), out of 32 GB of internal memory, about 24.5 GB is available to the user. There is no possibility of expanding the memory using microSD cards, but USB OTG mode is supported, which allows you to connect external devices, including flash drives, to the Micro-USB port.

According to the test results, Samsung's flagship platform performed as expected as expected, all of which has already been confirmed by the S6/edge/+ models running on the same platform. The performance in the 64-bit version of the popular AnTuTu benchmark goes off scale for 68K points, and in the usual 32-bit version it is 63K, which is an absolute record among the results of all mobile SoCs of any modern smartphone.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 5 is currently one of the most powerful smartphones, and the capabilities embedded in it will be enough for a long time to complete any tasks, including the most demanding games.

Testing in latest versions complex tests AnTuTu and GeekBench 3:

For convenience, we have summarized all the results obtained by us when testing a smartphone in the latest versions of popular benchmarks in tables. Several other devices from different segments are usually added to the table, also tested on similar latest versions of benchmarks (this is done only for a visual assessment of the obtained dry numbers). Unfortunately, within the framework of one comparison, it is impossible to present the results from different versions of benchmarks, therefore, many worthy and relevant models remain “behind the scenes” - due to the fact that they once passed the “obstacle course” on previous versions test programs.

Testing the graphics subsystem in 3DMark gaming tests, GFXBenchmark and Bonsai Benchmark:

When testing in 3DMark for the highest performing smartphones, it is now possible to run the application in Unlimited mode, where the rendering resolution is fixed at 720p and VSync is disabled (due to which the speed can rise above 60 fps).

Browser cross-platform tests:

As for benchmarks for assessing the speed of the javascript engine, you should always make allowances for the fact that the results in them depend significantly on the browser in which they are launched, so that the comparison can only be truly correct on the same OS and browsers, and this possibility is available when testing not always. In the case of Android OS, we always try to use Google Chrome.

thermal images

Below is a thermal image of the back surface taken after 10 minutes of running the GFXBenchmark battery test:

Heating is localized in the upper part closer to the right edge, which apparently corresponds to the location of the SoC chip. According to the heat chamber, the maximum heating was 38 degrees (at an ambient temperature of 24 degrees), this is not very much.

Video playback

To test the "omnivorous" when playing video (including support for various codecs, containers and special features, such as subtitles), we used the most common formats, which make up the bulk of the content available on the Web. Note that for mobile devices it is important to have support for hardware video decoding at the chip level, since it is most often impossible to process modern versions using processor cores alone. Also, you should not expect everything from a mobile device to decode everything, since the leadership in flexibility belongs to the PC, and no one is going to challenge it. All results are summarized in a single table.

The smartphone is not equipped with all the necessary decoders that are needed to fully play most of the most common multimedia files on the network. To successfully play them, you will have to resort to the help of a third-party player - for example, MX Player. True, it also needs to change the settings and manually install additional custom codecs, because now this player does not officially support the AC3 audio format.

¹ Audio in MX Video Player only played after installing an alternative custom audio codec; The regular player does not have such a setting.

Video output features tested Alexey Kudryavtsev.

We did not find the MHL interface (yes, Samsung branded adapters can now be safely thrown away), as well as Mobility DisplayPort, in this smartphone, so we had to limit ourselves to testing the display of video files on the screen of the device itself. To do this, we used a set of test files with an arrow and a rectangle moving one division per frame (see "Methodology for testing video signal playback and display devices. Version 1 (for mobile devices)"). Screenshots with a shutter speed of 1 s helped determine the nature of the output frames of video files with different parameters: the resolution varied (1280 by 720 (720p), 1920 by 1080 (1080p) and 3840 by 2160 (4K) pixels) and frame rate (24, 25, 30, 50 and 60 fps). In tests, we used the MX Player video player in Hardware mode. The test results are summarized in the table:

Red marks indicate possible problems with the playback of the respective files.

According to the criteria for displaying frames, the quality of video files playback on the screen of the device itself is very good, since frames (or groups of frames) can be displayed with more or less uniform alternation of intervals and without frame drops. When playing video files with a resolution of 1920 by 1080 (1080p) on a smartphone screen, the image of the video file itself is displayed exactly on the border of the screen. The clarity of the picture is high, but not ideal, since there is no escape from interpolation to the screen resolution. However, for the sake of experiment, you can switch to the one-to-one mode by pixels, there will be no interpolation, but PenTile features will appear - the vertical world through the pixel will be in the grid, and the horizontal one will be a little greenish. This is on test worlds, the described artifacts are absent on real frames. The brightness range displayed on the screen actually corresponds to the standard range of 16-235 - in the shadows, only a couple of shades merge with black, but in the highlights, all gradations of shades are displayed.

Battery Life

The capacity of the built-in non-removable battery installed in the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 is 3000 mAh. The economical SoC, made according to the 14 nm process technology, and the Super AMOLED screen did their job: the smartphone more than adequately proved itself in terms of battery life. Samsung flagships in recent generations have demonstrated outstanding autonomy in the top segment, among their own kind, the latest device of the Galaxy Note series was no exception.

Traditionally, there are two proprietary power saving modes in the settings: normal and extreme. The maximum power saving mode significantly reduces the level of energy consumption by turning off non-essential ones and saving vital ones on this moment functions, as well as visual effect, converting the color image on the screen to simplified grayscale.

The developers themselves promise up to 22 hours of talk time, as well as 11 hours of continuous work on the Internet and up to 64 hours of audio playback. Our own measurements showed that continuous reading in the Moon+ Reader program (with a light theme, with auto scrolling) at the minimum comfortable brightness level (brightness was set to 100 cd/m²) lasted more than 17 hours until the battery was completely discharged. Without the auto-scroll feature, these figures will increase even more. With continuous viewing of video in high quality (720p) with the same level of brightness through a home Wi-Fi network, the device lasted 10.5 hours. In the 3D-games mode, the device worked for almost 5 hours.

At the same time, the smartphone charges quickly. With Samsung's proprietary 2A charger, the smartphone's bulky battery can be fully charged in just 1.5 hours. Charging time from wireless device will be about 2 hours.

Outcome

The next model of the family of Korean tablet phones turned out to be quite worthy of its legendary predecessors. The design has been radically changed and brought into line with modern fashion standards, the pseudo-leather has been replaced with glass, the body of the novelty has become more stylish, but also less practical. The smartphone received a more powerful, most modern and most productive hardware platform to date, decent sound support, an impressive set of communication interfaces, one of the best cameras on the mobile market, and a much more user-friendly fingerprint scanner, which is quite important. In general, the Koreans have once again released an extremely high-quality product, the main drawback of which is only its high cost: at the time of its release on the Russian market, the official recommended price of a certified Samsung Galaxy Note 5 smartphone with 64 GB of memory is almost 60 thousand rubles. For users who actively use all the possibilities of working with an electronic pen, there is no alternative among smartphones, but those for whom the support of the stylus is not so important can now easily find a smartphone with top features and cheaper on the mobile device market.

Note 5, the review of which will be the topic of our today's article, appeared at the moment when the South Korean developer created the so-called castling plan. What was this concept? In fact, Samsung decided to shift the focus inside their devices, presenting a model called EDGE + in a favorable light. How does this relate to Samsung Note 5, an overview of which is presented to the reader? We will talk about this today, and also figure out what the device can offer potential buyers.

The Samsung Note 5, which was reviewed online shortly after the smartphone entered the international mobile arena, has become a niche product due to the castling policy that was discussed a little earlier. Therefore, this unit is available for purchase in a limited number of markets. From the very beginning, sales of the device began in the homeland of the smartphone. We are talking, of course, about South Korea. From there, having overcome hundreds of kilometers, the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 Dual SIM, the review of which will be of interest to all potential buyers, enters the United States of America. On the territory of the Russian Federation, official sales will begin only

Causes

So, why did the fate of the apparatus develop in this way? The popularity that the EDGE+ model has gained has had a significant impact. According to some sales data, the demand for the device has exceeded that of the Galaxy S6. As a result, it turned out that the deficit was very, very high. And this, in turn, led the company to urgently increase the pace of production of components such as curved screens. Among the advantages of the device was a rather interesting appearance, obtained in the course of applying the original solution, and this only mobilized sales. As you know, the market for smartphones running the Android operating system is nothing more than a collection of devices of the same type (in terms of design), in which the original appearance is an exception to the rule. Couldn't an apparatus equipped with an individual design not please the audience under such conditions?

Actually, that's why it was decided to create Note 5 Duos, the review of which was already made by more than one specialist in the field of smartphones. Initially, the company's engineers proposed an idea in which they mentioned the possibility of equipping the EDGE + model with a stylus. However, later, having analyzed and worked out this issue in more detail, the experts came to the conclusion that such a decision should be abandoned. The problem was that the curved screen undercut the comfortable use of the stylus. Probably, many people remember the trouble that arose because of the decision of the South Korean manufacturer to promote two models to the smartphone market at the same time. Now we are talking about the devices "C6" and "C6 Edge". The company took into account the sad experience of confusion, and that is why once again abandoned attempts to sit on two chairs. Which probably had a positive effect on the quality of sales.

Advantages of the Note product range

What do users like about this line of phablets? The basis of popularity is laid by innovative (and so far the best) technological solutions. This applies mainly to the hardware stuffing. The modules of cameras, memory, processor are counted. Yes, and engineers are working on software, trying to bring it to mind and optimize it as much as possible. Thus, we can say that the Note line (or rather, the devices included in this product line) are equipped with the latest prototypes of operating systems (at least at the time the device entered the international mobile arena).

The company's approach to this issue. Of course, the competitors of the South Korean manufacturer can offer similar devices to potential buyers. However, there is one very important point here: such devices appear on sale after two or three years from the moment the Samsung device enters the international arena. An example is the Nexus 6. AMOLED screens have a market gap of about three years. Along with reduced energy efficiency, not very good brightness and backlight, as well as some other technical limitations, these parameters automatically make the smartphone unprofitable in terms of purchase.

Of course, we can break down the characteristics of smartphones into exceptional, individual parameters and already compare them with other devices. But that's not practical, right? Therefore, one can come to one simple conclusion that, in terms of aggregate characteristics, the devices defined in the “Note” lineup are unambiguously superior to their competitors. Giving the latter absolutely no chance. And the point here, probably, is in the components. If the South Korean manufacturer has the appropriate elements in its arsenal, then other companies simply do not have them. Well, it's time for us to move from words to deeds, and we will start, perhaps, with the parameters of the device.

Galaxy Note 5 Overview

The characteristics of the apparatus are as follows. On board the smartphone, the latest version of “Android” - 5.1.1, was installed as an operating system at the time the device was released. At the same time, a custom shell called TouchWiz is built in to use the phone. A few words should be said separately about her. "TouchVis" in the course of optimization work has been greatly facilitated so that the user feels more comfortable and does not get confused in the navigation fields of the software.

Screen

The South Korean manufacturer this time got a fairly large device. What is only one screen, the diagonal of which is 5.7 inches. A kind of "shovel", as I would like to say. But still, it is not possible to unambiguously insult the model in this way, since engineers and designers have worked hard on other relevant indicators. Otherwise, we note that the picture is displayed as Quad HD. This means that the resolution will be 1440 by 2560 pixels. Their density is 518 pieces per inch. The screen matrix is ​​made using SuperAMOLED technology. The brightness level is simply excellent, in terms of color reproduction, the smartphone occupies one of the first places in its segment, if not the first.

Chipset

As a hardware stuffing, an Exynos family processor is built into the device. To be more specific, this is nothing but the 7420 model. Yes, it's almost impossible to understand anything solely by the name of the product, so let's give detailed data about the chipset. It consists of four cores of the A57 type, as well as four of the A53 type. Their clock frequency, respectively, is 2.1 and 1.5 GHz.

Memory

The Samsung Galaxy Note 5 Duos, which you should check out the technical specifications before buying, has 4 gigabytes of RAM built in. To store personal data, a smartphone user is allocated a different amount (depending on the specification of the model being purchased). It can be 32, 64 and 128 GB. It is logical that the more built-in memory in the device, the more expensive it will cost a potential buyer. At the same time, we note that there is no support for external microSD drives. This means that fans of storing huge files on their device will have to fork out for a version with 64 or 128 GB of non-volatile memory. Perhaps the lack of support for flash cards can be called one of the main shortcomings of the hero of our today's review.

Connections

The set of communications of the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 EDGE, the review of which we will conclude with a review of the main advantages and disadvantages of the phone, is quite good. It has bluetooth version 4.2, Wi-Fi operating in the a, b, g, n, ac bands, and an LTE module is built into the device. It makes it possible to work with cellular networks of the fourth generation. In fact, this means that the user will be able to handle the Internet much more comfortably, loading pages, pictures, music and movies faster.

To sync with personal computer or laptop has a MicroUSB 2.0 connector. It is also useful for recharging the phone from the mains or an external power source. An external battery for a certain number of amperes can act as the latter. A good solution would be to purchase, for example, for 10,000 if you spend all day where there is no possibility of charging from the network. Such a battery will allow you to raise the charge from 0 to 100 percent more than twice.

cameras

The resolution of the front camera is 5 megapixels. The main one is much more powerful. It produces really cool, high-quality pictures. The resolution of the main camera module is 16 megapixels. For night shooting led flash. Needless to say, the camera is equipped with an auto focus function? Probably not. There is optical stabilization, and video is recorded in 4K resolution.

Offline work

The battery of the device is quite capacious - 3,000 milliamps per hour. You can charge your phone wirelessly using one of two standards. Fast charging up to 90 percent is completed within one hour. Up to 100 percent - within 90 minutes. In mixed mode, the device can work up to one day. Continuous playback of video clips or movies will completely discharge the phone in 13 hours.

Dimensions

The dimensions of the smartphone in all three planes are the ratio of 153.2 (height) to 76.1 (width) to 7.6 (thick) millimeters. The mass of the device does not exceed 171 grams. Recall that full review Samsung Note 5 has been released by the official manufacturer. And now it's time to move on to the results of the article.

Positive reviews

What conclusions can be drawn based on the feedback from users who have purchased this model phone? Among the advantages (we can say, by default) were the quality and volume of the conversational and sound speaker. The interlocutor is perfectly audible, there is always a good volume margin. At the same time, the sound is clear. Microphones also pleased: on the other end of the invisible wire you will be heard no worse. In general, the good work of the company's engineers, which will allow you to comfortably communicate with a person even in a rather noisy environment.

Good communication quality can also be written as a definite plus. Needless to say, if the connection is not lost, does not disappear, everything works stably. And this applies to both the Wi-Fi module and work in cellular networks. There are no complaints about LTE. In terms of communication, the work of engineers on software and the operating system helped in some way.

Negative Feedback

Among the significant shortcomings, reviews highlight the lack of memory cards. You will either have to be content with the 32 GB version, or overpay money for a larger volume. Another solution to the problem is the use of cloud storage. However, this is also not always convenient. For some people, the lack of support for external storage in the MicroSD format can play a decisive role.

Today we will look at the Samsung Galaxy Note 5. When I took this smartphone in my hands, the first thing I realized was that I was so old that I remember admiring the very first Galaxy Note. I have tested every one of them and even bought almost every one. Except for the Note 2 - I didn't like it that much because it was too glossy and plastic. Note went through different design times, but one thing remained unchanged - it was the embodiment of maximum functionality and practicality. But this year everything has changed.

Now Note 5 is no longer uncompromisingly feature rich, it has become premium. Not in terms of expensive, it was already like that, it now looks and feels more expensive than it was before. But the functionality has become simpler. As in the case of the iPhone 6s Plus, I will not talk in detail about everything in Note 5, because I can say that I have already reviewed this smartphone, it was only called .

These two models were presented at the same event, and Samsung seems to be offering an alternative to those who have always liked the Note line, not because of the stylus, but because of the size of the displays and top-end features.

Samsung was the first to showcase a cool phablet, and for a long time they kept the lead. But today, others have learned to make ergonomic and productive large phones, and only the lazy did not show styluses. Therefore, now it is necessary to surprise with something else, and fortunately, Samsung has curved displays. About which, by the way, everyone just talks about how beautiful they are. And I myself have been walking with S6 Edge + for more than a month - I confirm.

Speaking about functionality, it is worth noting that Note 5 has lost a few things: an infrared port, a removable battery, and, worst of all, a slot for a memory card. Why is the latter so important? Because the Note 4 and all the "notes" before it had the ability to get more than 64 GB of storage. In the new product, this is already the limit, there is no 128 GB version. Even the version for two SIM cards does not allow you to put a memory card, although there were such rumors. It's a pity. Goodbye era.

But even these nuances cannot affect the fact that the smartphone is chic. Yes, part of the audience will whine, but for the general public, the smartphone has become better. Firstly, it is even more qualitatively assembled and certainly will not start to creak - it is non-separable. Secondly, the metal is now not painted in any way, which means it will not begin to peel off. Thirdly, glass looks and feels much more pleasant than plastic. Another thing is that it beats easier, and it is harder to replace it.

As you can see, unlike the S6 Edge +, the Note 5 has curved edges on the back, and the curve repeats that on the screen in Edge +. Such a detail that unites these models.

And the screen in Note 5 is flat, as before. The diagonal has not changed for three generations and is 5.7 ″, and the resolution is the same as in Note 4 - QHD. The pixel density is 518 per inch, which, everyone understands, is more than just enough. Needless to say, the quality is excellent? Super Amoled is liked by almost everyone who picks up this smartphone. It wasn't always like this, this type of display has been through a lot: terrible Pen Tile, greenery, "bulging" and more. But today, the displays look, without exaggeration, chic, while maintaining strengths: Rich colors and flawless blacks. There are practically no frames here, the display occupies 75% of the front side area. Due to the lack of a curve, the hand does not cover part of the display, and accidental presses are less common, but still happen.

About the camera, I, perhaps, simply will not pour water once again, no one needs it. It is the same here as in the S6 Edge +, and we recently compared it in detail with competitors in - and. And here I am. In a nutshell: in the photo it is the best, but in scenes with many objects, the oversharp is wild; in the video it is good, but inferior to the iPhone 6s Plus. Examples of photos and videos in in large numbers you can find it in the links above!

In principle, hardware and software, with the exception of the stylus component, are also similar to those in S6 Edge+. I will not enumerate, but I will leave a small essay already directly from personal experience. Autonomy, in principle, is enough for a whole day of work on a single charge, but this is in a rather sparing mode. If you use your smartphone more or less actively, but without games, then it will be asked for charging by 6-7 pm. And if it’s completely hardcore, then it depends only on the degree of hardcore. Discharge in a few hours is real.

I will also say that everything works quickly, including heavy games, but no one has canceled the harm from QHD. Games at maximum speed sometimes sag in fps, tanks can show 20-30 in different situations. But the situation is much better than in Note 4. But in 95% of cases, the software is very pleasing, just like on the first day: everything is fast and, most importantly, now beautiful. But sometimes there are floods when exiting the locked state, and for 10-15 seconds. Perhaps because of the test firmware.

• Dimensions: 153 x 75.8 x 7.6 mm.
• Weight: 171 g.
• Operating system: Android 5.1.1 Lollipop.
• Processor: Octa-core, Exynos Octa 7420, 4 x Cortex-A57, 2.1GHz + 4 x Cortex-A53, 1.5GHz
• Graphics: Mali-T760 MP8.
• Display: Super AMOLED, 5.7″, 2560 × 1440 pixels, 518 ppi
• Memory: 32, 64 GB flash
• RAM: 4 GB.
• Camera: main - 16 MP OIS, video recording in 4K, front - 5 MP.
• Wireless technologies: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.1
• Interface connectors: 3.5 mm headphone jack, Micro USB 2.0.
• Battery: Li-Pol battery 3000 mAh.

Well, the highlight of every Galaxy Note is its S-Pen. It has a few differences from the previous generation, but they are not all related to the quality of the drawing. Here, as it was 2048 degrees of depression, it remains, and this, as far as I understand, is still a record value among competitors. Now the S-Pen is not just pulled out of the body, it is completely hidden by default, and in order to get it, you need to snap it off like a regular pen.

The second change is that you can now draw or take notes directly on the locked display. Well, and a small trick - there was a sound, as if you were really writing. Everything, it's all change! That's why there is an "Easter egg"! This is the first Note in which the stylus can be inserted in both directions. But only one can get it! Who does not understand what it is about - watch the video review, everything is there!

And now a few words about what is still happening. As I suggested above, Samsung is starting to place more emphasis on the model without a stylus, and it seems to me that it will now be considered the top in the Samsung line. And Note, sadly, is slowly turning into a niche product just for those who need the capabilities of a stylus. It's sad not because the company is doing something wrong, but because this is, whatever one may say, an era. Very small, but still. In fairness, it should be noted that most Note users did not buy it because of the stylus in the first place - a few percent use it for its intended purpose. And the rest either do not get it at all, or use it, but very rarely. So was I.

Do I like it all? Probably more yes than no. The only negative that I find hard to get used to is the lack of a memory card slot. You can still replace the battery, but the infrared port ... Well, you'll have to use remote controls the old fashioned way! But the design and materials have really become nicer, and most importantly, now the smartphone looks much more attractive. I always judge not only by how it seems to me, but by how they react to the device. They look at it as something premium and expensive.

By the way, about the price. In Ukraine, it was announced for 19999 UAH, which, looking at the iPhone 6s, is very good. I expected that the cost at the start would be higher. Write what you think, are you satisfied with the update, will you change your Note to a new one?

Samsung Galaxy Note 5 video review

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