My review of the Note 5 after owning it a little over a week:
Build quality
The build quality was absolutely gorgeous on the Note 5. The M8 always held my crown as the best built phone but after holding the Note 5 in hand, I had to give the crown to the Note 5. Although it was incredibly slippery in hand, I had to buy a case so I could feel safe if a drop was to occur. Also you know the back of the device was a fingerprint magnet but all that was solved when I slapped the UAG case on it. Other than that, great built device and the best built android device to date.
Display
Here is another category where the Note 5 shines. As you know the Samsung devices are always top notch with there amoled displays and the Note 5 screen does not disappoint. Hands down, the best display and screen I have ever used on a cell phone period. No need to go into detail there.
Software
Here is where I have the love/hate relationship when it comes to Samsung devices and my biggest gripe when it came to the device. Yes, Touchwiz is scaled down again and is less heavy than before but TW is still the same resource hungry hog. I know this is to be expected when it comes to Samsung devices but ti irritates me that Samsung has not figured this out yet! The whole multitasking tidbit really doesn't matter to me since I'm not flipping through a bunch of apps on the regular basis but it is something that sits in the back of your mind. Yes for the time that I owned the device there was very very very minimal lag if any, sometimes on my AT&T version it will not register my screen clicks and lock up for a second and then proceed to making my screen selections (no it was not a bad device because I had to take back my first Note 5 and it did the same thing). Deep back in my mind and even though the experience was very lag free, I feel a little down the line this device will act just like any other Sammy device and slow up and lead to nothing but a frustrating experience. But I cannot assume that and wait to hear peoples thoughts after a few months of use. If you are leery about the TW experience, yes it is still there but scaled down more than before.
Camera
No need to get into great detail regarding the camera besides it is the best shooter on any cell phone to date imo. My time with it I didn't really get a chance to snap a lot of picture but the few I did snap came out flawless like any other latest Sammy devices camera. Like I said, can't really comment in detail regarding the camera since i didn't snap many pictures during my time with you but you should already know what to expect.
Battery Life
This is the most important factor when determining my main cell phone that I plan to use as a daily driver. The Note 5 battery life was just ok for me. I do not get caught up with everyones else saying my device gets this much SOT and all that because everyone is not going to get the same battery life based on a lot of deciding factor but for my personal use, the Note 5 battery just wasn't getting it done for me. I know there are a lot of tips and tricks with disabling this and turning this and that off, I know I have said this before and I will say it again, I personally feel that you should not have to turn features off of a "smartphone" in order to get decent battery life. Maybe I was a little spoiled coming from my 6 Plus where I would not have to even think about battery life because I know I have enough to do what I have to do throughout my day. With the Note 5, I felt that I had to be aware of what I was doing and always had to think about my battery potentially running out later in the day. I want a device where I can use all my features without disabling anything and still get great battery life and that is the main reason I went back to the 6 Plus. This first thing everyone says is turn off VoLTE, I happen to like VoLTE since I live here in Metro ATL and most of my friends have a VoLTE enabled device and its kind of refreshing to be on a high quality call when able.
S-Pen
This is also one of those features as in you either use it or you don't. I use my S-Pen from time to time but this is an area where I do not have to comment on because if you are use to the S-pen then you know its functions and uses. I love the addition to let you jot down notes while the screen is off, very clever idea. The S-pen is in a class of its own and if you use it then you will find it very beneficial.
Conclusion
The Note 5 is one and if not the best Android device that I have ever owned. TW is toned down to where you can actually tolerate it. It came down to a lot of basic functionality for me that I feel I have an better experience on iOS such as to how the Note handled group messages, the stock app is horrible and when apps like Google Messenger and Hangouts handle group messages well, they lag horrendously. Its little thing like that that irks me when it comes to Samsung devices. I feel if you like this device it will serve you well for a good while but for me personally, I had to cater to a few different needs where my iPhone excelled over the Note 5. You never know, Sammy may push some updates to the device to clear those little kinks out since the device is early in it life but if I'm going to pay $900 plus for a device, I simply want it to work without any worries!
Build quality
The build quality was absolutely gorgeous on the Note 5. The M8 always held my crown as the best built phone but after holding the Note 5 in hand, I had to give the crown to the Note 5. Although it was incredibly slippery in hand, I had to buy a case so I could feel safe if a drop was to occur. Also you know the back of the device was a fingerprint magnet but all that was solved when I slapped the UAG case on it. Other than that, great built device and the best built android device to date.
Display
Here is another category where the Note 5 shines. As you know the Samsung devices are always top notch with there amoled displays and the Note 5 screen does not disappoint. Hands down, the best display and screen I have ever used on a cell phone period. No need to go into detail there.
Software
Here is where I have the love/hate relationship when it comes to Samsung devices and my biggest gripe when it came to the device. Yes, Touchwiz is scaled down again and is less heavy than before but TW is still the same resource hungry hog. I know this is to be expected when it comes to Samsung devices but ti irritates me that Samsung has not figured this out yet! The whole multitasking tidbit really doesn't matter to me since I'm not flipping through a bunch of apps on the regular basis but it is something that sits in the back of your mind. Yes for the time that I owned the device there was very very very minimal lag if any, sometimes on my AT&T version it will not register my screen clicks and lock up for a second and then proceed to making my screen selections (no it was not a bad device because I had to take back my first Note 5 and it did the same thing). Deep back in my mind and even though the experience was very lag free, I feel a little down the line this device will act just like any other Sammy device and slow up and lead to nothing but a frustrating experience. But I cannot assume that and wait to hear peoples thoughts after a few months of use. If you are leery about the TW experience, yes it is still there but scaled down more than before.
Camera
No need to get into great detail regarding the camera besides it is the best shooter on any cell phone to date imo. My time with it I didn't really get a chance to snap a lot of picture but the few I did snap came out flawless like any other latest Sammy devices camera. Like I said, can't really comment in detail regarding the camera since i didn't snap many pictures during my time with you but you should already know what to expect.
Battery Life
This is the most important factor when determining my main cell phone that I plan to use as a daily driver. The Note 5 battery life was just ok for me. I do not get caught up with everyones else saying my device gets this much SOT and all that because everyone is not going to get the same battery life based on a lot of deciding factor but for my personal use, the Note 5 battery just wasn't getting it done for me. I know there are a lot of tips and tricks with disabling this and turning this and that off, I know I have said this before and I will say it again, I personally feel that you should not have to turn features off of a "smartphone" in order to get decent battery life. Maybe I was a little spoiled coming from my 6 Plus where I would not have to even think about battery life because I know I have enough to do what I have to do throughout my day. With the Note 5, I felt that I had to be aware of what I was doing and always had to think about my battery potentially running out later in the day. I want a device where I can use all my features without disabling anything and still get great battery life and that is the main reason I went back to the 6 Plus. This first thing everyone says is turn off VoLTE, I happen to like VoLTE since I live here in Metro ATL and most of my friends have a VoLTE enabled device and its kind of refreshing to be on a high quality call when able.
S-Pen
This is also one of those features as in you either use it or you don't. I use my S-Pen from time to time but this is an area where I do not have to comment on because if you are use to the S-pen then you know its functions and uses. I love the addition to let you jot down notes while the screen is off, very clever idea. The S-pen is in a class of its own and if you use it then you will find it very beneficial.
Conclusion
The Note 5 is one and if not the best Android device that I have ever owned. TW is toned down to where you can actually tolerate it. It came down to a lot of basic functionality for me that I feel I have an better experience on iOS such as to how the Note handled group messages, the stock app is horrible and when apps like Google Messenger and Hangouts handle group messages well, they lag horrendously. Its little thing like that that irks me when it comes to Samsung devices. I feel if you like this device it will serve you well for a good while but for me personally, I had to cater to a few different needs where my iPhone excelled over the Note 5. You never know, Sammy may push some updates to the device to clear those little kinks out since the device is early in it life but if I'm going to pay $900 plus for a device, I simply want it to work without any worries!
