Samsung has officially unveiled the Galaxy Note 5 at its Unpacked event, and there really aren’t any surprises. This could be bad for Samsung, however, as the Korean electronics giant has watched Apple and cheaper Chinese rivals steal it bit by bit.
Galaxy Note 5 recycles past features
According to The Verge, the Galaxy Note 5 combines some features from last year’s Galaxy Note 4 and the Galaxy S6, which was unveiled earlier this year. Of course the size and shape is similar to that of the rest of Samsung’s Galaxy line of smartphones.
From the Galaxy S6, the Note 5 gets the glass front and back and a metal frame, bringing the exterior materials into the premium zone. However, the battery in the Galaxy Note 5 can no longer be removed. Also there’s no longer a microSD card slot, and the phablet is not waterproof.
The Galaxy 5 Note’s specs
The Note 5 also runs on the same Exynos chipset as the Galaxy S6. However, this year’s Note received a bump in RAM up to 4 gigabytes. Also the Galaxy Note 5 comes in 52-gigabyte and 64-gigabyte versions, although Samsung is not offering one with 128 gigabytes of storage. There’s a 3,000 mAh battery, which is actually smaller than the battery that was in the Galaxy Note 4 last year. The Note 5 supports wireless charging and fast charging, however, whereas the Note 4 did not.
The Galaxy Note 5 uses the same 16-megapixel shooter with optical image stabilization that’s in the Galaxy S6. It also has a 5.7-inch Super AMOLED display with the same resolution as the S6. Also the display on this year’s Note is the same as that of the Note 3 and Note 4.
Galaxy Note 5 slims down
Despite the screen being the same size, Samsung has shrunk the overall size of the Note this year slightly, making it a bit thinner, narrower and shorter than last year’s Note 4. The Galaxy Note 5 is also a bit more ergonomically pleasing as the curved backing makes the phone rest more easily in the hand.
According to The Verge, the glass backing makes the Note 5 a bit more slippery and is much more prone to collecting fingerprints than the previous plastic backing.
