So I picked up mine yesterday afternoon. Some good stuff but some bad stuff too.
Good:
- Phone is gorgeous per every review. Sammy's design is amazing here. A 5.7" phone that's probably the most comfortable phone to hold ever produced. (Aesthetic note: Black is beautiful out of the box, but then it is a fingerprint magnet. If that kind of thing drives you nuts, buyer beware.)
- TouchWiz: this version isn't just an improvement, it isn't just cleaner, it is GREAT. Period. If you straight up prefer vanilla Android or a different skin, that's fine. But anyone still claiming TW is ugly is just making sh*t up at this point.
- Iris scanner: I called it a gimmick. I was WRONG. It works, works great, and is only going to get better.
- The most useful iteration of the stylus yet. It really does feel like a pen writing on paper. Gif creation is beyond cool and brilliantly implemented.
- Yup - they completely fixed the false touch issue with the GS7E. Palm rejection is spot on. And this is *not* an Edge phone. Yes, the screen runs down the sides but it's not as pronounced, not even close. So if you're hesitating because you don't want an "edge phone", stop hesitating. This is a Note.
- Secure folder: I see virtually zero circumstances in which I will need this feature except maybe for work here and there BUT it is awesome and brilliantly implemented.
Bad:
- While this may be the most useful version of the stylus software, it's also the cheapest. This thing feels so flimsy and breakable. C'mon, Sammy. So close to perfection on build, why go cheap on the stylus?
- I set my device up as new and it's not running fantastic. I'm getting good amounts of stutter and lag. Most disconcerting is that it seems the phone fails to register touches a good amount. I'm clicking things multiple times.
- Fingerprint scanner has straight up sucked. I've wiped and reregistered my prints a couple of times. Phone fails a good amount when I try to activate through this route.
As you may have guessed, I'm starting to think the unit I got specifically is a lemon. I'm going to give it today and if nothing changes, I'm off to VZW to exchange.
Having said that, I disagree with anyone who says this is just an S7E with a stylus or there isn't much reason to upgrade from a Note 5. Use it for a few minutes and it becomes really apparent that this is going to be a much better experience than those two phones, and that's coming from someone who greatly enjoyed both those devices.
! I immediately notice a difference when I had both variants of the Note 5. The ATT display was warmer than the TMO variant; the TMO had bright whites and colors had more pop!
