Note 5 - Someone's sick joke??

[johnpjackson]

I mean really, when you put it all together, this is what it looks like to me:

http://www.ischoolguide.com/articles/20805/20150806/galaxy-note-5-photos.htm

Could Samsung appear any more like it's trying to kill the Galaxy Note? With the Note 5:

Improvements over Note 4:

1. RAM increased from 3GB to 4GB
2. Front camera resolution increased a bit
3. Larger internal storage offerings added - 64GB and 128GB
4. Spring loaded mechanism added, to aid with S-Pen removal

Lack of improvements, or even reduced capabilities compared to the Note 4:

1. No move up to USB Type C
2. Reduced battery capacity from 3200mAh to 3000mAh
3. Non removable battery
4. No microSD slot
5. No move to the Exynos 7422 SoC. Instead, it's only the 7420, which seems to look mainly like it's just a native Samsung CPU now, instead of one of Qualcomm's.

Have I missed or made mistakes about anything?

Samsung looks like it spent this entire past year doing very little for the Note 5 to improve it over the Note 4. At the same time, they've clearly made choices that look like they're trying to poison it. The only explanation for that which I can imagine is that key people in management and product development have sold out or been pushed out, and there's no longer a company vision to keep the momentum of the product's development out in front of everyone else. What a shame for us all.

 

[EarlyMon]

The 7422 was supposed to include storage as opposed to the conventional method of using a separate package for that.

Great on paper but if you want to offer multiple storage options you're looking at a big price increase.

Not sure that not going with it is a big disadvantage.

The new chips are more power efficient so the smaller battery may yield a net no change.

And that's a problem in my book - when is not taking advantage of power efficiency for longer use time not a good idea?

It's not like we're talking about a payload for space launch with a tight weight budget.

 

[johnpjackson]

The 7422 was supposed to include storage as opposed to the conventional method of using a separate package for that.

Great on paper but if you want to offer multiple storage options you're looking at a big price increase.

Not sure that not going with it is a big disadvantage.

The new chips are more power efficient so the smaller battery may yield a net no change.

And that's a problem in my book - when is not taking advantage of power efficiency for longer use time not a good idea?

It's not like we're talking about a payload for space launch with a tight weight budget.

Exactly!!!!!! Short battery life is still among the major shortcomings of smartphones that many people find. Why do manufacturers keep obsessing over shaving milligrams off their devices without even giving us the choice of trading weight savings for larger battery sizes?

 

[The_Chief]

Samsung must have somehow got hold of a focus group that insists that people want pretty phones. What we want out of the Note series is a highly FUNCTIONAL phone. If they come out in 6 days with a pretty Note with pathetic functionality, they lose. I certainly hope someone at Samsung is reading all these comments for input on the Note 6, because I'm pretty well set on passing up anything Samsung this year.

 

[EarlyMon]

Going hermetically sealed while the blogosphere cheered and jeered on the HTC One X was without a doubt what killed what used to be a horse race and led to the ascendancy of Samsung.

Today however, the tables have turned and the venomous outrage expressed in blogs by comments attacking everyone who questions The Holy Hermetical Seal is really sad.

You don't need more storage! You have the cloud! You don't need a battery!

To which my last reply was, "Thanks! Please tell me what the correct dog is to own, I may have the wrong one and need your approval. When complete, please be prepared to tell me what I want for dinner."

Still haven't managed to get fired from the Phandroid team for doing that.

 

[J_Hansen]

if the latest rumours are true I'll be getting note 4 instead of 5 if I am even going for Samsung.
Didn't upgrade to the 4 from my 3 because I didn't think it had that much over it to justify the price

 

[dpeagle]

got the note edge a few weeks ago while their still available. in fact with two phones, one business and one personal on verizon i just ordered another one which i wont activate initially (my note 2 is still working just fine). i have a feeling note 4 and edge models will be flying off the shelf's in about a week. if others will be looking at the n4 and edge after the n6 release, i wouldn't wait too long.

 

[Mdraej99]

Still hoping Samsung will pull out a lot of surprises and the event on the 13th.....got my fingers and toes crossed!!

 

[dpeagle]

just saw this (http://phandroid.com/2015/08/07/verizon-wireless-kills-off-contracts-and-phone-subsidies/). if you have verizon service, by the time the n5 shows up you will need to pay full price. no more phone subsidies on verizon. the timing is funny, on the same day as the samsung event, they pull the subsidies.

 

[EarlyMon]

Buy a smart watch to go with your new Samsung and Verizon is going to charge $5 /month for it.

 

[Bluerang1]

The cnet review will be dire but maybe justified for once