• After 15+ years, we've made a big change: Android Forums is now Early Bird Club. Learn more here.

Note 4 vs Rumored Note 5

murfeezlaw

murfeezlaw

Lurker
Why would Samsung make the back not removable? If the rumors are right the Note 5 will follow similar design as the S6.

There will be no way to replace the battery, no option for a micro SD card. What happens when the battery won't hold a charge or if you want to use a spare battery? No more battery pulls? What if your phone freezes and you need to do a battery pull? What do you do? Will they charge a lot more for a phone with decent memory storage? Very disappointed...

I'm still on the Note 2. It's on it's last leg. I was going to wait till the Note 5 came out during IFA but now I'm thinking I might as well buy the Note 4. I don't like not having the option for a new battery or SD Card. What if I want to back up txt messages on an SD Card or have music/videos separate. I know the Note 5 is going to absolutely rock with the new features but not sure if the extra features over the Note 4 is worth losing out on the removable back. Is Samsung evolving into Apple??

Discussion? Does anyone disagree? Any opinions would be greatly appreciated. i'm on the fence...with a slight lean toward the Note 4.
 
That's one reason why my options have been blown wide open. The One Plus Two gets revealed July 28th, and I'm even looking into Windows phones as Win10 draws near. I've been using Android since 2009, and much of the Android ecosystem is becoming (as I have long predicted) almost impossible to root and modify. The Note 5 looks more & more like either (a) an incremental step forward; or (b) a monumental leap backward. If either (a) or (b) come to reality, I'll join the multitudes in passing on it.

Samsung NEEDS this phone to sell. Badly. The Note 4 was their one saving grace... the S6 to a lesser degree. Unlocked Verizon Developer Edition Note 4s have routinely sold out, which should indicate to the Powers That Be that there are a lot more modders and developers out here than they ever thought. If they disregard us all in favor of a locked-down device with permanent battery and no microSD slot, they will end up paying dearly for warehouse space to stack unsold Note 5s. That's something they can ill afford right now. My 2¢
 
Yeah, i think they underestimated how many people appreciate the ability to open the back...whether it be to get to the battery or install an SD card. i don't know if the OnePlus Two is an option for me. Verizon doesn't carry it.

I really don't want to move from Android. I'm dying to replace my Note 2 though. i'm not sure if it's worth it to wait for the Note 5 to come out. One of two things will happen if I do. The Note 4 will drop in price and/or "something" may convince me to over look those two limitations and go with the Note 5.

I hope you're right and they do end up with a warehouse full of unsold Note 5s
 
I hate to say it because I've loved my Note 3 *so* much, and have been waiting patiently with equally high expectations for the Note 5. If the Note 5 does away with the removable battery, and the microSD card slot, and can't even manage to move up a USB Type C port, that leaves me with almost no reason at all to upgrade to it.

I'm a little dumbfounded that Samsung appears to be going that way. I have seen it over and over again. A company gets a good thing going somewhere by innovative, smart, decent people, and then suddenly it is rapidly destroyed by shallow opportunist executives from all directions that show up later, who insert themselves into the picture, grabbing control and imposing their own ideas on it, thinking they're going to make it even better, and grab a bunch of cash and glory for themselves.

Or maybe I'm letting my cynicism get just a little ahead of me..
 
I really don't understand eliminating our choice of adding an SD Card. I would love to hear Samsung try to explain that. Does anyone know what they were thinking? Are they going to have internal memory size options to force us to spend more to have more internal memory? I get the battery...when the battery will no longer hold a full charge we will be forced to buy a new phone. I guess it's their way of getting us to replace our phones more often like Apple. I've had my Note 2 for almost 3 1/2 years. the battery wasn't the same after 2 years so i replaced it. with the Note 5 that would not be possible.

Very disappointing...i'll probably wait to upgrade in hopes the Note 4 will drop another $100 when the Note 5 does come out.
 
Last edited:
johnpjackson said:
I hate to say it because I've loved my Note 3 *so* much, and have been waiting patiently with equally high expectations for the Note 5. If the Note 5 does away with the removable battery, and the microSD card slot, and can't even manage to move up a USB Type C port, that leaves me with almost no reason at all to upgrade to it.

I'm a little dumbfounded that Samsung appears to be going that way. I have seen it over and over again. A company gets a good thing going somewhere by innovative, smart, decent people, and then suddenly it is rapidly destroyed by shallow opportunist executives from all directions that show up later, who insert themselves into the picture, grabbing control and imposing their own ideas on it, thinking they're going to make it even better, and grab a bunch of cash and glory for themselves.

Or maybe I'm letting my cynicism get just a little ahead of me..
Click to expand...

i completely agree. I think this is going to hurt Samsung BAD. I know a lot of people stay with Android bc of the replaceable battery and micro SD card option. Now some will upgrade to the iPhone, some will choose a different Android and the rest will purchase the Note 5. If they just kept the removable battery and micro SD card they would hold on to a lot more people.
 
I agree with the_chief's comments and most of what is written here. If Samsung makes the mistake in making the Note 5 without a removable battery and a MicroSD capability, they will end-up not selling well. After nailing an amazing design on the Note 4, I am completely surprised that Samsung would even consider making the Note 5 similar in shape to the lousy design of an iPhone 6. Samsung already has serious marketing problems, but after buying every Note on the Note series including the tablets, I am pressed to say that, if the Note 5 rumors are true, I will depart from Samsung and not buy their phones anymore. I will keep my Note 4 until it dies. All of this to say that to make a perfect phone and a best seller, all Samsung has to do is to take a Note 4 design, place a battery that lasts a week long, allow, without root, for users to remove any bloatware - Or better yet, don't even put them in in the first place; make the phone water resistant, fix TW once and for all or replace it with a stock Android or Nova Launcher, place a 20 mpx camera on the back and a 10 mpx in the front, issue phones with 128 Gb built in, keep MicroSD capabilities and in essence just make a successful phone better. Why re-invent what isn't broken. Nobody is asking them for a 4K screen, a glass super-breakable back, etc. So, build on a success and proven phone. To me the reality is, since the Note 2 Samsung has had a superior product.
 
ddouglas nailed it on what most of us wanted in the Note 5. Keep the SD, make the internal memory capacity larger, give it a bit bigger battery, and make it waterproof like the S5. Don't lock the damn bootloader and make rooting impossible. Give us at least the option of vanilla android vs TW. Many of us are smart enough to realize taking away SD while still limiting internal memory is a straight railroad job into forced cloud storage/usage, which of course costs $ for the consumer to use. Also locking the phone up prevents the user (OWNER) from getting rid of the bloatware, of which most of that is designed in some way as advertising or hoping people spend more money in some fashion. We just want the damn phone to be what it should be, especially since the price of the phone is nearing a grand these days.

I am still using my Note 3, I froze OTA updates right after rooting. Running 4.2 and glad I am not on Lollipop. My N3 works great, but I would still love the bit better display and nicer camera of the Note 4. I have almost bought a Dev edition N4 several times over the last 8 months, but since I am honestly extremely happy with my N3 overall I figured I would wait to see what the N5 would actually be. Now that I see they have severely limited the N5, I am thinking about getting a new Dev edition N4, rolling it back to Kit Kat 4.4 (since it may be on lollipop at this point), rooting, freezing OTA's and then settle into the phone the way I want it for the next two years (I hope it lasts me 2 years like my N3 has). The WORST part of going with a Dev Edition phone is that no warranty will cover it to actually replace it with another Dev Edition. But that's the chance I will probably be willing to take.
 
I'm waiting to see what comes with the Note 5. I have the S4 and I am wanting what you guys want. I have no root skills with the phone but my s4 has issues with Lollipop. One being wifi and dropping it all the time while streaming. If the phone is set to battery saver mode it seems to drop it quite frequently. Another issue is Pandora steaming. Media for song and artist no longer shows in my vehicle. It all worked fine in Kit Kat and my wife's IPhone 6 plus works like a champ. I've come to the point of if there going to make phones that work like an IPhone I might as well get one. Al
 
Ill agree with the posts so far..
I want re-moveable SD and battery!
But, what's out there with a 5.5"+ screen and pen?

Lateck,
 
As others have also pointed out, the Note series is not a fashion statement, but is a utility device and appears Samsung are falling even further into Apple's hands. The more Samsung tries to act like Apple, the more market-share they lose. Making a bigger S6 and losing the utility will simply make people with Note 4's stay with the Note 4 a lot longer and previous Note model owners will look for the Note 4, or something else: G4, iPhone 6 plus as example. People will probably stick with the Note 4 if a pen is critical.

Please explain how something that costs more, more fragile (glass on case) and with less features (no sd slot or replaceable battery) and same display is attractive to their core install base of Note owners. You can buy a 128gb sd card for the Note 4 and have 32GB more storage and still save over $100 from the Note 5 128gb.

Have corporate saboteurs from Apple infiltrated Samsung's product development? Samsung has apparently made a device that will alienate most core Note users and not sway the iPhone legions due to the iPhone 6 Plus and it's refresh. Yep, just like the S6 Samsung will distort sales with sell-in numbers to retail rather than actual consumer purchases, but analysts have figured this out now. Samsung is losing cred with analysts.
 
Last edited:
iv'e had my note 2 for awhile now. i passed on the note 4 waiting for the note 5 edge. looking at how well done the note 4 and edge variant were, i couldn't wait to see the note 5 series. now that it appears their wont be a note 5 edge and that the note 5 will simply be a big s6 with an s pen i went down and got a note 4 edge last week while their still available. i absolutely wont support the loss of features that are important to me while i still have options. has anyone looked at the lg note. if i didn't already have the gear S smartwatch that was an option i was serious about exploring.
 
Last edited:
As someone who upgrades every other year (note 3 user), I'm hoping the rumors are wrong, but sadly I doubt it. I don't like the whole, "you can have it any way you like, as long as it's our way" attitude. There's a reason the Note series has such a devoted following, if I wanted to be restricted, I'd buy an iPhone. Maybe I'll just say screw it and go back to a beeper and Commodore 64, lol
 
A beeper and a Commodore 64? At least I had an Amiga in the day! :D

You're not alone in your sentiments. I am holding out hope against hope that Samsung will stun us August 12th with at least a microSD slot. I can do without the removable battery, which seems hopelessly out of reach at this point. But if fixed memory is the way they insist on going, they can go it alone. I will have no part of the Note 5 without expandable storage.
 
Teegunn said:
I am still using my Note 3, I froze OTA updates right after rooting. Running 4.2 and glad I am not on Lollipop. My N3 works great, but I would still love the bit better display and nicer camera of the Note 4. I have almost bought a Dev edition N4 several times over the last 8 months, but since I am honestly extremely happy with my N3 overall I figured I would wait to see what the N5 would actually be. Now that I see they have severely limited the N5, I am thinking about getting a new Dev edition N4, rolling it back to Kit Kat 4.4 (since it may be on lollipop at this point), rooting, freezing OTA's and then settle into the phone the way I want it for the next two years (I hope it lasts me 2 years like my N3 has). The WORST part of going with a Dev Edition phone is that no warranty will cover it to actually replace it with another Dev Edition. But that's the chance I will probably be willing to take.
Click to expand...

IMO the Note 4 is a very worthy upgrade from the Note 3. Faster, even better display and more battery life. The Note 4 could be your "Note 5" ;)
 
Rushmore - thanks for the reply. I am still going to wait out the actual release of the N5, just in case it includes a micro SD slot. But I think I will ultimately be disappointed and end up buying a Dev edition N4. My N3 will then become my backup phone, just like my N2 was my backup to my N3. In fact, until I gave my N2 to my daughter (and it's working like a champ for her), I used my N2 for many things along-side my N3 (GPS/Navigation, music, etc). So I can go back to having that luxury. Still... gotta hold out to see if the N5 might include a Micro SD. I would probably live with a non-removable battery if the SD slot is there. Then of course if the retail version of the N5 is unrootable like the retail N4 is that will be the final deal killer. Locking the BL and making your phone unrootable, nope, not for me. Instead I will buy an N4 Dev edition, root, freeze SDM (OTA updating) and set my new N4 up in just the way I want it, just like I've had my rooted N3 set up for almost 2 years.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom