LIFESTYLES MAGAZINE AMERICA 2017 ISSUE 2017 | Página 174

SAMSUNG NOTE 5
tHE gOOD & tHE BAD

While other phone manufacturers have turned

their nose up at the stylus, Samsung has fully embraced it
with their note5 smartphone. Of course, Samsung knows a
thing or two about a stylus smartphone as all their note
models ship with one. Besides this addition, reviewers consider the note5 the least distinctive in terms of overall design. In fact, many find it practically identical to the galaxy
S6 as it has completely straights sides, flat face and slightly
curved rear. At 6 x 3 x 0.3 inches, it definitely is a large device. Still, experts explain it had an overall slim feeling to it
thanks in part to a thinner middle and thicker top and bottom
edges. In a departure from its older models, Samsung
decked out the note 5 with metal edges and a glass back.
Sadly, experts did notice the glass back attracted fingerprints, but add the issue is easily remedied with a quick
wipe.
the reason for the note5's large size is due to the 5.7-inch
Super AMOLED display. With a resolution of 1,440 pixels,
it offers an incredibly sharp 518 pixels per inch. As expected, reviewers had zero issues with fuzziness or pixelization. As an AMOLED screen, it offered critics crisp
whites, deep blacks and vibrant albeit oversaturated colors.
they also praise its overall brightness with Engadget stating, "…the screen is an absolute champ under the sweltering summer sun…I had no problem thumbing through…
various photo sets."

to keep the note5 humming along it is equipped with 4gB
of rAM and eight cores: 4 are clocked at 2.1gHz and the
other 4 at 1.5gHz. As with other octo-core processors, all
eight do not run at the same time. Instead, the more powerful processors only kick in when you use more intensive
apps. reviewers didn't notice any hiccups or lag during
basic or advanced tasks and they describe overall performance as "zippy" and "snappy." Despite the Quad HD display
and octo-core processor, experts were able to squeeze
around 15 hours during their battery draining tests. Of
course, this number can change depending on how it is
used as things like gaming and connecting to 4g tend to
eat up a lot of juice. When you eventually do need a
recharge, the note5 offers two ways to charge – via the
standard microUSB or wirelessly through Qi. Unfortunately,
the battery is not removable, which turned off some critics.

LIFESTYLES MAGAZINE AMERICA

the biggest drawback of the device for many experts is its
limited space. It only comes in 32gB or 64gB models with
no microSD slot.

the 16MP main camera provided critics with excellent pictures in most lighting situations. Under good lighting, they
were able to capture crisp images and fairly accurate color
thanks to its fast focus and sensor. Digital trends did notice
oversaturation occasionally, but adds that, "it doesn't happen often…" Under low light situations, experts found the
note5 to beat out even the iPhone 6 providing very little digital noise and plenty of detail.
the most unique part of the note5 is the S Pen stylus. For
ease of access and use, there's a dedicated chute for the
pen and instead of pulling it out you simply need to press
the end of the stylus to pop it out. For the most part, the stylus acts pretty much the same as previous models with a
couple exceptions. One new feature is the addition of the
"screen memo off" setting. this allows you to write directly
on the screen when your screen is in "off" mode and any
notes taken this will are saved in the S notes app. Once
again, you can also write directly on the screen and save
the images you create as Png files. Unfortunately, experts
discovered they could not send these via text and instead
had to go through several steps in order to SMS their images to friends. While they note it is fun to use the S Pen,
they eventually stopped using it after the novelty wore off.
While the note5 might not be reinventing the wheel, critics
believe it is a solid offering for those looking to upgrade.
tech radar states, "…the note 5 is still worth the upgrade.
the S Pen-compatible phablet is mightier, and is the one
google nexus and iPhone 6 Plus need to beat.
What's good
Bright and sharp display
Snappy performance during all tasks
Premium build and appearance
Excellent picture quality in almost all lighting situations
What's bad
non-removable battery
S Pen novelty wears off after a week
no SD slot