SAMSUNG GALAXY NOTE 7 BANNED ON ALL U

Stylish look and unique buildCool new S-Pen featuresComfortable to lớn holdGreat cameraQuick charging is super fast

Now that almost every điện thoại comes in a jumbo-sized package, Samsung’s lưu ý isn’t the outlandish trùm cuối phone it once was. But it’s still one of the only phablets lớn truly make the most of all that screen real estate. The S Pen is what sets the lưu ý apart from every other phablet (at least in the U.S.), và each year, Samsung perfects its stylus a little bit more.

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With its slick, Galaxy S6-like toàn thân and brand-new S Pen, the Galaxy note 5 is Samsung’s best note yet. It introduced the Galaxy S6 Edge Plus at the same time as the cảnh báo 5, and seemed to back it with more resources. The Edge Plus offers all the same specs in a nearly identical package, minus the S Pen.

Regardless of what Samsung thinks about the S Pen, we know where we stand: The note 5 is the best phablet you can buy with a stylus, hands down.

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Editor’s Note: We’ve updated this đánh giá after many months of using the Galaxy lưu ý 5. Be sure to lớn also kiểm tra out our danh mục of the best plus-sized, phablet phones.

Curved glass body and metal edges feel slick

Samsung’s chú ý has finally grown up – It’s done playing with pleather, imitating Band-Aids, & shining cheaply in plastic. The cảnh báo 5 is a stunner – just lượt thích the Galaxy S6. Its metal frame gleams subtly, và the glass back glows lượt thích a pearl. There’s a slight curve lớn the glass backs edges that makes the massive 5.7-inch phablet more comfortable to lớn hold than every other note before it.

Only the edges curve in, though, so it’s not a fully curved back lượt thích the xe máy X or LG G4. The curved edges also give the otherwise slippery phone some grip, so you don’t feel as though it’s going to slip through your fingers và shatter on the floor. Its buttons are sturdy and well placed along the metal frame as well. From the side, it is easy to lớn mistake it for an iPhone or the Galaxy S6, và that’s a good thing.

The glass back is not without downsides. It’s slippery, so you’ll probably want a case for protection. I was nervous carrying it around for the first few days, afraid I’d drop it and shatter the back. No matter how strong the glass, it could easily crack if you’re a butterfingers. Speaking of fingers, glass also happens khổng lồ be a huge fingerprint magnet. If you want your phone lớn be fingerprint-free, you’ll have lớn wipe it off every time you use it.

We tested the shimmering gold variant, which regretfully, isn’t coming to lớn the U.S. The champagne gold looks gorgeous, and the reflective glass really shows off the metallic sheen. However, the fingerprint situation was out of control. Whenever you get a new phone, all your friends and family inevitably want to hold it, và I felt mildly embarrassed by the proliferation of fingerprints all over the device. After a few days, I stopped compulsively wiping it clean, but it made me wish I had a case.

New S-Pen features

The S-Pen stylus nestles into a cutout in the metal frame along the bottom of the chú ý 5. The S Pen itself has a nifty little eject button on the end, so popping it out is easy. The stylus is as sleek as the phone with a nice shiny cap (for lack of a better term) and its very own clicky button. Clicking the button doesn’t seem lớn actually vì anything, but if you’re a notorious pen clicker, the S Pen’s new clickity clacking will give you so much pleasure.

The S Pen is a truly versatile tool that makes the cảnh báo stand out in the overcrowded sea of phablets.

As soon as you pop the stylus out, you can use it – even if the screen is off. It’s the best brand-new feature Samsung came up with for the S Pen this year. It eliminates several steps that used to lớn impede the natural writing experience with the stylus. You no longer have to lớn turn your screen on, unlock your phone, pull out the S Pen, wait for the app to pop up, & then start writing. You simply whip the stylus out & get writing or drawing right away on the fresh, black screen.

Personally, I love this option. Sometimes, I get an idea for a drawing or I suddenly remember something important, và it’s nice khổng lồ be able khổng lồ jot things down quickly without too much effort. Also, at work, I often jot things down on a notepad or take notes during interviews with pen và paper. When I’ve got the chú ý in my hands, there’s no need to waste paper. The S Pen writes so smoothly that you can’t even tell you’re not writing on paper.

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That cấp độ of fluidity & control is even more important when I’m drawing. Using ArtFlow and the S Pen, I made several quick sketches, and a few more detailed drawings right on my phone. As an artist, I can say that the chú ý 5’s new S Pen is fantastic. It’s on the same màn chơi as styli from Adonit and Wacom, but it’s made for a smaller screen.

Malarie Gokey/Digital Trends
Malarie Gokey/Digital Trends

Another superb new feature is the Scroll Capture option, though it’s harder lớn activate. When you’re reading an article online or checking directions that you want to save for offline viewing later on, you can save it as a scroll capture. You simply use the screenshot option in the Air Command menu, & take a screen capture. The option for a scroll capture will pop up afterward, & then you can select the capture more option until everything you want has been saved. The software stitches your screen grabs together into a single continuous scrolling screenshot. I used it lớn read articles offline while I was on the train to lớn work.

Other new features include the ability lớn mark up PDFs, write on the screen, và a new scrapbook with topical folders that should make it easier to lớn find the clipping you’re looking for.

Samsung also improved the Air Command menu, so now it blurs out the screen khổng lồ better show you your phầm mềm options, which are customizable. Once you’ve made your selection, everything goes back to normal. A little bubble with a pen in it will float along the home screen while the S Pen is out, too, and a simple tap on it brings up the Air Command menu again. You can move the bubble around or remove it if you hate it. It’s very useful for those who lượt thích to use the S Pen as much as I do.

If you haven’t guessed, the S Pen is one of my favorite things about Samsung’s cảnh báo series. It’s a genius addition khổng lồ the phablet, và it turns the chú ý into something more than a phone. The cảnh báo can be a sketchbook, a scrapbook, a canvas, & yes, a notepad. It’s a versatile tool that makes the lưu ý stand out in the overcrowded sea of phablets.

Meanwhile, the curved edge on the S6, the S6 Edge Plus is much less useful. If Samsung has khổng lồ hedge its bets in the phablet category, we’d rather it stuck with the note and left the curved edges khổng lồ the flagship S series.

Powerful specs, questionable battery life

The lưu ý 5 is chock full of impressive numbers, from its 5.7-inch Quad HD screen (2,560 x 1,440 pixels), khổng lồ its octa-core Exynos processor and 4GB of RAM. Samsung offers both 32GB & 64GB versions of the cảnh báo 5, so you won’t have to lớn worry too much about storage – unless you’re a real hog. A lot of people are upset about the lack of expandable storage via a MicroSD card, & it’s a fair criticism, since most lưu ý users are power nguồn users. After almost a year of use, our 32GB, of which only around 24GB is available for use, has almost completely filled up.

The 3,000mAh battery charges wirelessly on both of the popular standards và quickly – Samsung says it can charge just as fast wirelessly as the Galaxy S6, even though it’s a much bigger phone. We’ve tested the Qi wireless charging extensively & it works well. The lưu ý 5 does heat up slightly, but it charges quickly, even with a thin case on. If you have a couple of hours lớn spare, nothing beats the convenience of wireless charging. Thankfully, for when you’re in a hurry, the Micro USB cable is incredibly fast. It’s nice lớn plug the phone in & see it zip up to lớn 100 percent in no time at all.

The battery life isn’t terrible, but it sure isn’t as good as it should be. Samsung actually put a smaller battery in the note 5 than the chú ý 4, which just doesn’t make sense. The cảnh báo 5 easily handled a full day of use, but it couldn’t make it through a day & a half, let alone two. It’s a shame, because that was one of the things that made older Notes different. The battery is not removable either, which will annoy many old-school users. This becomes more of an issue over time, because battery performance deteriorates. As our note 5 approaches its first birthday, the battery already seems to be running out of juice earlier than it used to. This may be partly down to teething troubles with the update to app android 6.0.1 Marshmallow, but we have concerns about how it will perform after two years.

By the numbers

Screen size – 5.7-inchesResolution – 2,560 x 1,400Thickness – 7.6mmOS – app android 5.1 LollipopRAM – 4GBFront camera – 5MPRear camera – 16MPBattery – 3,000mAh

That said, those who are used khổng lồ charging their phones every night won’t be upset. The chú ý 5’s battery lasted me through a very busy day, which included a briefing during which the phone’s screen was on the whole time, because I was taking notes with the S Pen. I was down khổng lồ 40 percent by 4 p.m. That day, but most days I lingered around 60 percent by 4 p.m., which is on the same màn chơi as the iPhone 6 Plus.

Samsung popped a fingerprint sensor on the trang chủ button for added security & mobile payments (more on that later). With a single press, you’re in the phone, which is much nicer than the swiping you used to have to vì chưng to unlock Samsung phones with fingerprint sensors before the Galaxy S6 launched. It works quickly và well, though not as well as Apple’s cảm ứng ID. It’s a very close second, though.

Fantastic cameras

The 16-megapixel camera on the back of the lưu ý 5 takes great photos, as it’s the same sensor that’s found on the Galaxy S6. It focuses quickly & performs well in most lighting conditions. You can more or less snap away with the cảnh báo 5 & get some great pictures in return.