I'm seriously considering this phone. I've read ppl saying, elsewhere on the Web, that the task-killing issue is so severe, their navigation app will be killed mid-drive, if they're running an audio app at the same time and a few notifications from other apps come in. Surely that can't be true(??)
As actually one of the original authors/sources of the "Aggressive Ram Issue", that was picked up by the media subsequently. I can tell you that the Note 5 is doing a lot better at keeping apps open for longer.
There were indeed issues on the Edge & S6 - whilst I never had music actively killed one of the annoying issues was fitness trackers.
When cycling or running I like to actually run two trackers simultaneously. I can do this on pretty much all my android devices and even my iPhone. However on my Edge I would start both trackers and begin a run or cycle. The only other things running in background would be emails checking and general phone radios / cellular activity. When I get home or stop and check my trackers invariably one or on occasions both have been killed and are forced to refresh - then end result being neither has actually recorded my journey making them somewhat redundant.
The other examples of where the aggressive ram would affect me would be in my most used apps. Usually a combination of Tapatalk, Google Play newsstand, Music, Email, keep, Messaging and Dialer / contacts
Hardly pushing the boat out, and pretty much all my devices since 2012/13 have ran these apps without issues of excessive refreshing. Sadly my S6 Edge finds keeping that rather basic meagre selection in memory backgrounded difficult. Something that seriously shouldn't happen on a 3gb device. Regularly I'd find Tapatalk refreshed back to home menu and google play newsstand dropping me back to its front end.
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I have had the Note 5 since Thursday afternoon and can confirm in my experience that for the most part it's not an issue now keeping those in memory or running my two trackers. It was one of first tests I did. So for the most part the extra 1gb of ram is alleviating the issue.
However I won't lie, it is still a case that it can not keep as many activities active / backgrounded compared to devices like the Nexus 6 or even the Xperia Z3 with 3gb of ram.
The Note 5 is just about on par multitasking wise as my Moto X 2014 with 2gb ram. Essentially Touchwiz is still ram heavy but importantly the Note 5 doesn't bother you anywhere near as much as the S6 / S6 Edge did in this regard.
Essentially I would say the Note 5 multitasking is what the S6/edge should have been, and the Note 5 should be a little better. But it's a decent step up improvement over its siblings regardless.
But Samsung do need to stop relying on sheer muscle power to bully it's way through its own OS.
If ram management is a concern, I am happy to report most users will be happy with the Note 5. It's ram limits only become apparent when placed side by side with another device and actively challenged. Generally in day to day use you will be perfectly served by it.
The apps load blazing fast and being able to keep more open / backgrounded means the device feels in everyday use very snappy indeed.
If however you are a heavy mobile gamer and like having multiple open games then I would suggest looking more at a Nexus 6 or other stock android devices with 3gb
Hope that helps.