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Anyone try a Note 5 then switch back to iPhone?

S

Sounds Good

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Jul 8, 2007
1,692
57
Hi all.

I am strongly considering switching from my iPhone 6 to a Note 5. If anyone here has tried the Note 5 and didn't like it for whatever reason, can you please share your experience?

Of course if anyone tried it and did like it, that would be helpful too! :)

Thank you.
 
B

bgro

macrumors 65816
Jul 6, 2010
1,143
697
South Florida
I actually just did this two days ago..and am back to the iPhone already. I had the Note 4 for a few months last year and really liked it but ultimately got sucked back into the Apple ecosystem. Wanted to try out the Note 5 (and hopefully keep it this time) and had a TERRIBLE experience. Everything just seemed really clunky and the low light pictures were terrible. I was honestly suprised as I read great things about the Note 5 and had such a good experience with the Note 4. But either way, I would just bite the bullet and give it a week or two trial (buy it on a credit card full price and just return during return period) and see if you like it. I read eveyr single review out there and was sure I would like and keep the device and just ended up having the completely opposite experience. My experience with the Nexus 6P was MUCH better.
 
Dmaynard83

Dmaynard83

macrumors 6502a
Jul 16, 2012
825
66
I did try the note 5 and then switched back to the iPhone 6.

I think the two things that are better with the note 5 is the display and the camera.

I just couldn't live with touch wiz and all the carrier bloat.

Not to say I'm an apple fan boy cause I'm currently using a nexus 6p.
 
B

bgro

macrumors 65816
Jul 6, 2010
1,143
697
South Florida
Dmaynard83 said:
I did try the note 5 and then switched back to the iPhone 6.

I think the two things that are better with the note 5 is the display and the camera.

I just couldn't live with touch wiz and all the carrier bloat.

Not to say I'm an apple fan boy cause I'm currently using a nexus 6p.
Click to expand...

Carrier bloat was ridiculous as well. Display was definitely awesome on the Note, best I've ever used although the Nexus 6P was up there as well. To be honest I thought the camera was meh. Maybe my lighting conditions were less than optimal but I took similar photos with my iPhone and they came out significantly better.
 
jamezr

jamezr

macrumors P6
Aug 7, 2011
16,079
19,070
US
I have both the 6s+ and Note 5. I like both phones and switch back and forth all the time. TW on the Note is toned down allot and is quite nice on my TMO Note 5 with Android 6.
 
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Z

Zwhaler

macrumors 604
Jun 10, 2006
7,267
1,965
Yeah the carrier bloat was intense but in 5 minutes you can disable dozens of applications and clean it up. Adding a new launcher (I use S Launcher customized) the look and feel can be uber simplified if you choose.
qwSDdUu.jpg
 
ViperDesign

ViperDesign

macrumors 6502a
Aug 7, 2007
650
516
Utah
Had the Note 5, fantastic phone. Just feels great, looks great. I think the biggest issue is still Android. But that phone was awesome
 
Neverbepeace

Neverbepeace

macrumors 6502a
Jan 14, 2009
794
255
New York
Note 5 is definitely a beast of a phone. We did a review on it while we had it for 2 weeks or so. Samsung's TW is definitely toned down in this version which helps with overall speed of the OS.
 
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D

Danoc

macrumors 6502a
Mar 28, 2011
623
1,220
I'm on the same boat.

I'd like to get an Android phone again without leaving iOS. Note 5 is appealing.

I had a Note 3, I've never been annoyed by TW.

I just hope that the Note 5 has a better battery life than both the iPhone 6 and the Note 3.
 
M

macjunk(ie)

macrumors 6502a
Aug 12, 2009
939
563
I moved to the Note 5 from the 6S.

Pros:
- The battery life of the Note beats the 6S by a mile
- My 64GB Note 5 plus Samsung's fast wireless charger together was still lesser in cost than the 128GB 6S (would have cost lesser than even the 64GB 6S)
- Though I am not gonna root the Note, I am happy I can still use some basic features of Tasker (such as automatically switching wifi on and off etc)
- File system! Yay! Don't need any crappy looking apps to simulate a file system
- Awesome awesome screen. The text is rendered so sharp that it looks like printed text
- The idea of using the stylus is awesome. I have actually used the stylus 3 times since the last two days...even that is awesome!
- For a lesser price, I am getting a camera that has OIS for both images and videos.
- Did I mention wireless charging? First time here and I love it!
- USB OTG!

Cons:
- I gave in to temptation. I know I am going to be pissed a year from now when the Note is yet to receive its software update from Samsung.
- The Samsung browser does not seem to support any ad blocking extensions. Mozilla supports extensions but is a CPU and memory hog. Ghostery is good but it lacks an in-built dictionary unlike the stock browser
- While I knew this before going on, there is some jerkiness here and there; especially evident when using a browser...any browser. Will have to try Opera...but wait, even that does not support extensions
- No system wide dictionary. I really miss this one!

Overall, I think I am slowly maturing on the whole iOS vs Android debate. I am coming to a point where I will stick to Android knowing fully well that it is going to be jerky sometimes but it will offer you all the freedom you need : in terms of device choice and in term of what you can do with your phone.
 
chagla

chagla

macrumors 6502a
Mar 21, 2008
797
1,727
i was using Note 5 until my brother forcefully traded his iphone 6S and took my Note 5. now he is keeping it permanently. camera is excellent, forgot the source but somewhere it was mentioned Note 5 had one of the best smartphone camera. in terms of performance, it's screaming fast. there is samsung touchwiz but its much more polished/faster/improved now. there is no lag, slowness whatsoever. 3 or 4 tmobile carrier apps are there but you can "disable" them in less than a mintue.

i'd say go grab it and try for yourself.
 
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spinedoc77

spinedoc77

macrumors G4
Jun 11, 2009
11,488
5,413
Updating my opinion, longtime note 3 and note 4 user who would sometimes switch to an iPhone. I've been using an iPhone 6+ then a 6s+ for the last 6 months or so and just bought a note 5 and waiting for it to be delivered. My main thing with the iphones are 1) they feel so nice, nothing feels as premium IMO, I know it's silly but I just enjoy the feel of it and 2) It "just works", I never have issues with making calls or doing what I need to do.

With that said, why am I considering going back to a Note? The Note 5 has a nicer build, which helps a lot with point 1. I still don't think it feels as premium in the hand as the iPhone, but it's pretty darn close, although Samsungs horrid branding on front and back cheapens the device quite a bit. Point 2, the "just works" of the iPhone has seen many cracks in its armor IMO. Siri was great 2 years ago, but has not progressed at all and compared to Google Now is mediocre, the voice recognition seems to have worsened for some reason and I've altogether stopped using Siri because it sucks where it used to be better than GN. Also in order to get the things I want, such as a dark mode, I have to jailbreak and it makes the phone somewhat unstable and keeps me from updating to the latest OS. Even unrooted Android I can get a dark theme for, and do other things like turning off the need to swipe/fingerprint when near my wifi or cars Bluetooth.

My worries are about Samsung quality and customer service. I had so many hardware issues with my Note 3's and 4's I just am not confident in Samsungs ability to put out a trouble free piece of hardware. I'm going to give the Note 5 a chance though and see how it does. But you just cannot beat Apple's customer service, the ability to walk into a store nearby and have an issue resolved, their rock solid hardware, etc.

I'm definitely torn between the 2 and will keep them both and switch back and forth. I terribly miss the stylus and can't wait to get it back.
 
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gadgetgirl85

gadgetgirl85

macrumors 68040
Mar 24, 2006
3,797
365
Sorry to hijack this thread but for those who use a Note 5, do you use a PC or mac as your main computer?
 
Tinmania

Tinmania

macrumors 68040
Aug 8, 2011
3,528
1,016
Aridzona
spinedoc77 said:
Updating my opinion, longtime note 3 and note 4 user who would sometimes switch to an iPhone. I've been using an iPhone 6+ then a 6s+ for the last 6 months or so and just bought a note 5 and waiting for it to be delivered. My main thing with the iphones are 1) they feel so nice, nothing feels as premium IMO, I know it's silly but I just enjoy the feel of it and 2) It "just works", I never have issues with making calls or doing what I need to do.

With that said, why am I considering going back to a Note? The Note 5 has a nicer build, which helps a lot with point 1. I still don't think it feels as premium in the hand as the iPhone, but it's pretty darn close, although Samsungs horrid branding on front and back cheapens the device quite a bit. Point 2, the "just works" of the iPhone has seen many cracks in its armor IMO. Siri was great 2 years ago, but has not progressed at all and compared to Google Now is mediocre, the voice recognition seems to have worsened for some reason and I've altogether stopped using Siri because it sucks where it used to be better than GN. Also in order to get the things I want, such as a dark mode, I have to jailbreak and it makes the phone somewhat unstable and keeps me from updating to the latest OS. Even unrooted Android I can get a dark theme for, and do other things like turning off the need to swipe/fingerprint when near my wifi or cars Bluetooth.

My worries are about Samsung quality and customer service. I had so many hardware issues with my Note 3's and 4's I just am not confident in Samsungs ability to put out a trouble free piece of hardware. I'm going to give the Note 5 a chance though and see how it does. But you just cannot beat Apple's customer service, the ability to walk into a store nearby and have an issue resolved, their rock solid hardware, etc.

I'm definitely torn between the 2 and will keep them both and switch back and forth. I terribly miss the stylus and can't wait to get it back.
Click to expand...
I had a Note 2 for two years and really liked it. For the last six months I used it I ran it with a "stock" Android rom and it felt faster than it was new. Enjoyed the phone. Bought an AT&T Note 4 the day it came out and, initially, loved it. It was fast, excellent display, good battery life, and lots of features (though I never did use the pen much, even with my Note 2). Since I rooted my Note 2 right away I expected similar with my Note 4. Never happened (thank you AT&T and Samsung for obliging AT&T).

Then came the ridiculously slow rate of updates (thanks again, AT&T). As for Google Now, yes it is great. But after "OK Google" initially working for a week or two I could never get it to work reliably again--and I really wanted that feature to work. Yes I configured it properly. But no matter how I tried to squash S Voice it always seemed to rear its ugly head at strange times--such as during a movie (apparently it thought someone said Hi Galaxy). After 11 months with my Note 4 the battery life was abysmal. It would go from 18% to zero instantly. Then it did it at higher and higher percentages. A new battery helped but it made me think twice about getting the Note 5 with its non-removable battery. Oh and that fingerprint sensor "worked" but I really grew to hate it at the end (I understand the Note 5's is greatly improved but I didn't think it could top the iPhone's).

I just bought an iPhone 6S plus, and am trying to see how it goes while I am still within my return window. If it doesn't work out, I probably will get a Note 5--but NOT an AT&T model.

So far I am enjoying the 6S plus. No more multiple app stores. No more fighting between Samsung apps and Google apps. A fingerprint sensor that is amazingly fast so that I have the phone set to lock immediately on screen off. It's on iOS 9.0.2 so I can jailbreak it but at this point don't really have a need. I thought I would miss the back button and to an extent I do. But with the press-left-and-slide-to-right to go back I find it okay so far (along with the hard press to go back an app or bring up the switcher). I thought I would use SwiftKey keyboard like I normally use on Android but found I like the iPhone standard keyboard better (for now). Don't miss widgets too much, but it is still early yet so I shall see. I can't put a finger on it but something about my 6S plus just feels "smoother" than my Note 4, or the Note 5's I have tested. Maybe that is not the right word, and it is not something I "have" to have. But it feels nice, for some reason.

I do think the Note 5 has a better display and camera (though both are good). That said if the camera works like the Note 4's I might prefer the iPhone's in operation. It has less features but they all seem easy and clear to get to. I was kind of lost at times in all the options with the Note 4. Maybe it was me.



Mike
 
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Danoc

macrumors 6502a
Mar 28, 2011
623
1,220
What about the glass back?

I hate cases and if I buy a Note 5, it would be naked.

Any strong info or feedback confirming it's durable enough?
 
A

apolloa

Suspended
Oct 21, 2008
12,318
7,802
Time, because it rules EVERYTHING!
Sounds Good said:
Hi all.

I am strongly considering switching from my iPhone 6 to a Note 5. If anyone here has tried the Note 5 and didn't like it for whatever reason, can you please share your experience?

Of course if anyone tried it and did like it, that would be helpful too! :)

Thank you.
Click to expand...

Yes! I went from a Nexus 5 to importing a Note 5, loved it's power, it's camera, the screen. Didn't like the prospect of Samsung dropping support for it after 2 years, the difference in font size on the widget due to it's high res screen, it's size.

I really could not get on with it's physical size.

So I got a refund and bought an iPhone 6S 64GB, it's font sizes are fine, in fact I have it in the mode where I lose a row of icons for bigger ones :) and it's nice and compact. It's also just as powerful and iOS is iOS. It pretty much works, oh and I have been using Siri an awful lot and it's the ONLY voice assistant I have used.
iOS is a hell of a lot easier to setup, so simple. But then that's the attraction of Android.


To be totally honest, I miss the Note 5 but am not sad I have an iPhone, they really are BOTH fantastic phones, it's a pretty hard choice to make, for me though it was at the end of the day as the Note 5 was my first phablet and for me, unfortunately, it was too big.
 
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