Last week, I checked out the Galaxy Note 5 and today, I have a Note 5 though in a terrible AT&T box rather than this beefy looking Samsung box. So bear through the eye strain of the orange and white box as we unbox the brand new Samsung Galaxy Note 5.
As I said, the box is pretty hideous. Let’s keep the time on-screen down to a minimum. Inside, you’ll find a Quick Start Guide sitting on top of the Galaxy Note 5 wrapped up in its plastic. But for now, let’s move the Note 5 aside and take a look at what else you get inside the box.
Underneath the cardboard tray lies some more paperwork that you’ll never take a look at. Then we have the fast-charging wall wart adaptor, some nice headphones, a SIM ejector tool, a tool to remove the S Pen tips, and last but not least the micro USB to USB cable. Moving all of that aside, let’s get back to the Galaxy Note 5.
As you probably know, the size of the Note 5 didn’t change much from the Galaxy Note 4. It still has a beautiful 5.7-inch Quad HD Super AMOLED display but what has changed is the thickness of the device. The Note 5 comes in considerably thinner than the Galaxy Note 4. That’s due to a new enclosed construction that went with a design language more reminiscent of the Galaxy S6.
Internally, we’re looking at an octa-core processor called the Exynos 7420, the same chip you’ll find in your S6 or S6 edge, 4GB of DDR4 RAM, and a Mali GPU. Also, 32/64GB of internal storage are the only models available as of right now. And if you live in the US, there is no microSD card expansion. There is a model in Hong Kong that does offer microSD card expansion. The Note 5 also features a 16MP f1.9 camera on the back with LED flash. And last but not least, inside you’ll find a 3000mAh battery which is slightly smaller than the Galaxy Note 4.
Compared to the Galaxy Note 4, the Galaxy Note 5 has changed significantly in terms of exterior. As I said previously, it’s a design more in line with the Galaxy S6 rather than the Galaxy Note 4. The back sides are actually curved to fit your hand and the buttons on the side are chamfered. And there’s also some relocation of its buttons and ports. For example, the speaker port is now a downward-facing speaker instead of a backside-facing speaker. And the 3.5mm headphone jack now lives on the bottom of the phone rather than the top.
One big change of the Note 5 is the all-new S Pen that has been redesigned all the way down to how you remove it from the phone. Unlike the previous Galaxy Note models, the Note 5 has a spring-loaded system. Also, software on the Galaxy Note 5 is now Android 5.1.1 Lollipop with the latest iteration of TouchWiz. Visually, it looks vastly different due to new icons but the overall functionality is in line with previous versions and generations of TouchWiz.
That basically wraps up the unboxing experience of the Note 5. If you want to see more of the Note 5, make sure to check out my impressions video. I also want to hear from you on what you’d like to see me cover on the Galaxy Note 5 and the Galaxy S6 edge+.
