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Galaxy Note 5

While the Theme is being applied, that will always slow the phone down temporally. That happens even on my Nexus 6, which was tweaked and overclocked to run super warp speed smooth, but applying themes would slow it down, then a reboot after theme is installed, and that lag is gone forever.

I've consistently heard from reviewers that applying different themes to the latest Samsung phones has slowed them down, even after reboots. I remember Micheal Fisher from PocketNow complaining a lot about the S6 slowing down a lot after applying any themes. Now Erica is reporting the same thing in her Note5/Edge+ review. Pretty odd for sure.

So are you all still able to use Samsung Pay on these after rooting? Wasn't sure if there was a workaround for that or not since Samsung disables that if you're rooted.
 
I have seen a few iPhone 6S Plus's in the wild lately, with clients of mine.

And man, for some reason that phone looks so large, and just huge in the hands of other people. And then I look at my Note 5, and it doesn't seem nearly as big, even though it does have a larger screen. Why does the iPhone 6 Plus look so giant compared to my Note 5 in real life ?
 
The iPhone 6s Plus looks huge because it is bigger than the Note 5...

A coworker has a 6s Plus in a life proof case... It feels gigantic compared to my Note 5 even if comparing it with my UAG case on it...
 
I have seen a few iPhone 6S Plus's in the wild lately, with clients of mine.

And man, for some reason that phone looks so large, and just huge in the hands of other people. And then I look at my Note 5, and it doesn't seem nearly as big, even though it does have a larger screen. Why does the iPhone 6 Plus look so giant compared to my Note 5 in real life ?
Because it IS big compared to the Note 5!! I posted that pic of my 5 and 6+ on the same stand and still can't believe the size difference. :eek:

I'm sick at the thought of lugging around my 6+ again after having my Note for several days. :(
 
I didn't realize how extra large the iPhone 6 Plus actually was. It looks sort of silly in peoples hands, like strangely abnormal large.

Where my Note 5 with slim Rearth case, looks like a regular sized phone to me. But I think it's the bezels, they add so much extra space on the top and bottom, really sticks out, and the white 6 Plus is the worst for looking fat.
 
I didn't realize how extra large the iPhone 6 Plus actually was. It looks sort of silly in peoples hands, like strangely abnormal large.

Where my Note 5 with slim Rearth case, looks like a regular sized phone to me. But I think it's the bezels, they add so much extra space on the top and bottom, really sticks out, and the white 6 Plus is the worst for looking fat.

Don't worry. I'm sure Apple will eventually get around to slimming down the bezels on their phones. But knowing Apple, the PR people will market it as a revolution in the smartphone design and try to patent it.
 
Don't worry. I'm sure Apple will eventually get around to slimming down the bezels on their phones. But knowing Apple, the PR people will market it as a revolution in the smartphone design and try to patent it.
I don't care if Apple claims they invented the bezel-free smartphone. Just give us a better design for the 7.
 
After having my Note 5 for a month now, I have really come to like the captivate buttons as opposed to software nav keys on the Nexus 6 and OnePlus One and HTC One M8 phones I owned previously. And I typically love the software keys on Nexus phones, I have been a big fan of those.

But going to my back up OnePlus One, the soft nav keys take up so much space, you seem to lose a decent amount of screen real estate, compared to the Note 5, with no soft keys, it seems like you getting more usable screen, and a sleeker looking phone, with full screen.

Now I don't really care for the soft nav keys. I turned off the back light on my Cap keys on my Note 5, so they never glow, and it just seems right to me, and I like how they vibrate little when touched.
 
After having my Note 5 for a month now, I have really come to like the captivate buttons as opposed to software nav keys on the Nexus 6 and OnePlus One and HTC One M8 phones I owned previously. And I typically love the software keys on Nexus phones, I have been a big fan of those.

But going to my back up OnePlus One, the soft nav keys take up so much space, you seem to lose a decent amount of screen real estate, compared to the Note 5, with no soft keys, it seems like you getting more usable screen, and a sleeker looking phone, with full screen.

Now I don't really care for the soft nav keys. I turned off the back light on my Cap keys on my Note 5, so they never glow, and it just seems right to me, and I like how they vibrate little when touched.

Just to be sure, you do remember that the OnePlus One has capacitive buttons right below the screen right? You enable them by turning off the on-screen nav bar in the Settings -> Buttons page.
 
Just to be sure, you do remember that the OnePlus One has capacitive buttons right below the screen right? You enable them by turning off the on-screen nav bar in the Settings -> Buttons page.

I know, but they don't seem to work as well or smaller area to tap than my Note 5's. But I was just thinking of the overall idea of soft nav keys vs cap keys.
 
I turned off the back light on my Cap keys on my Note 5, so they never glow, and it just seems right to me, and I like how they vibrate little when touched.

This is exactly how I set up my S6 since day one. I turned off the lights for the capacitive buttons (waste of battery and unnecessary) and I keep a slight feeback for them.

There was once a bug with my phone where the battery died and once I powered the phone back on, the haptic feedback on the capacitive buttons would not turn on no matter what I did. Not having it felt really awkward and it was driving me nuts. Turns out the solution was forcing the battery saving mode on, and then turning it back off. That restored the buttons. Weird right?
 
Don't mind on-screen buttons except they cut off part of the screen in some apps like emulators so prefer capacitive buttons.

As for the themes, I noticed it takes up a nice chunk of resources. What you can try though is disable the theme apps and services after you select your theme.
 
Don't mind on-screen buttons except they cut off part of the screen in some apps like emulators so prefer capacitive buttons.

As for the themes, I noticed it takes up a nice chunk of resources. What you can try though is disable the theme apps and services after you select your theme.

I run the Material Light theme, and I don't see any slow downs or hiccups whatsoever. But then again I am running a custom ROM and Kernel, so maybe that's why ? And I use a lot of Google apps, like Google Keyboard, Google Messenger, Chrome, Gmail, and I run Nova launcher.

I also haven't really played with the phone without a Theme, I think I installed a Theme from day one.
 
I stopped using Samsung's Messages, it just isn't that good IMO. It's not this ROM, it's any Samsung device, the stock Messages I find to be kind of lame.

I used to like Google Messenger, but actually the Pro version of Texta is just fantastic. Textra can be setup to look 100% exactly like stock Messages, with the same action and the way is alerts you, etc... But with a ton of customization options, for a million different colors, White background, Dark background, Deep Black background, and chat bubbles can each be set to any color you like. Plus even the LED Notification light can be altered to different colors, and it blinks more often than Messages, which I like a lot.

Textra IMO is the best. Plus it's rock solid as far as texting goes, it works in areas other text apps have a difficult time sending from., it seems stronger in the way it sends and receives.
 
I don't care if Apple claims they invented the bezel-free smartphone. Just give us a better design for the 7.

This. Who gives a shit what their PR/Marketing department claims, just change up the design for the better next time around. Very curious to see where the design will go next Sept.

I stopped using Samsung's Messages, it just isn't that good IMO. It's not this ROM, it's any Samsung device, the stock Messages I find to be kind of lame.

I used to like Google Messenger, but actually the Pro version of Texta is just fantastic. Textra can be setup to look 100% exactly like stock Messages, with the same action and the way is alerts you, etc... But with a ton of customization options, for a million different colors, White background, Dark background, Deep Black background, and chat bubbles can each be set to any color you like. Plus even the LED Notification light can be altered to different colors, and it blinks more often than Messages, which I like a lot.

Textra IMO is the best. Plus it's rock solid as far as texting goes, it works in areas other text apps have a difficult time sending from., it seems stronger in the way it sends and receives.

I really didn't like the default messages app when I got my Note 3, it just didn't do it for me. I was really into using hangouts as my sms and mms go-to app (when it wasn't lagging), but the redone Google Messenger app works quite well, and looks great to boot.
 
This. Who gives a shit what their PR/Marketing department claims, just change up the design for the better next time around. Very curious to see where the design will go next Sept.

It's inevitable that they reduce the bezels. They probably have the worst screen/bezel ratio of any flagship in the industry. The easy part will be redcuing the top bezel. What I'm curious is if Apple will ever consider changing the design the of their home button. As long as it's a large circle, their phone will pretty much always have a fairly meaty chin.
 
Screw it. I'm keeping my Note 5. It won't be my daily phone, but I like it too much to send back. :D
 
This DarthSTALKER ROM v 2.0 + Arty97 Kernel 4.2 ( Not 5.0 ) is giving me sick battery life :)

I am getting like 6.5h Screen On time.

I checked it last night, was unplugged like 15 hours, with 4h 40m Screen On time, and still had 33% battery left.
 
I don't have pictures right now, i can get those later this weekend. I love my Note 5, naked it's an awesome phone, but a slippery mofo, I'm afraid will drop and crack, so a case is a must when going to work or out and about IMO. At home I run naked :)

Least liked cases :(

Tech 21; = Grade D
https://www.tech21.com/en_us/evo-tactical-tactical-case-for-samsung-galaxy-note-5-black

Great protection, but very wide, and thick, and too plain jane looking. Buttons hard to click. Just not a fan of this one, made the phone heavy like a brick.

Tech 21; = Grade F

Flexible TPU case. This cased sucked, doesn't even fit my Wife's Note 5 snugly, always comes loose.

Ok Case;

Poetic - Affinity case = Grade C
http://www.amazon.com/Affinity-Premium-Protection-Material-Protective/dp/B013A1FTNS

Cool looking case, not thick, but not thin, sort of medium. Offers nice protection, but gets very oily and messy, and the rear of the phone itself needs to be spotless, or else it will be shown through the clear gel. Was ok to me.

Awesome case, must have's;

Ringke slim = Grade A+
http://www.amazon.com/Ringke-Essent...18016&sr=1-1&keywords=note+5+case+ringke+slim

Wow, this case is so thin, and tight, it hugs the phone like a thick skin, and not an actual case. But covers it well enough to keep any scratches from happening, and looks really cool in the matte black, and offers minor protection from small drops. The matte black version has a sort of sticky rubbery feel, in a good way, but still slick enough to slide in your pants. If you want a super thin case, but still offers a bit of protection, that's looks great, this case hands down is the best.

Caseology; = Grade A
http://www.amazon.com/Caseology®-Wa...4418476&sr=1-3&keywords=note+5+case+caseology

Wow, this one surprised the heck out of me, just wow. My Wife hated her Tech 21 TPU case that didn't fit for sh!t, so I took a gamble on this Caseology salmon colored case. Holy crap this thing is amazing, just blew me away with the fit and finish and feel. The feel on the back of this case, is just so perfect, and the two tone color, with the pink and gold trim, really looks rich, not cheesy at all, but very well done, and classy. Not my color choice, but for my Wife and her White N5, it really does look superb. And yes it's more bulky than the Ringke Slim, but really not that bulky. Out of all these cases I have tried, I would say thickness wise, the Caseology is thinner than all of them, except the Ringke. I am going to buy the Black Caseology now.
 
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i-Blason Halo clear case is nice for ding protection, protects the camera housing hump, doesn't hide the looks of the phone, all the ports line up perfectly and is only $10.
 
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I'm thinking about picking up one of these, I currently have an S4 and love it but wouldn't mind having a newer phone. I also have a Note 10.1 (2014 ed) so I'm quite used to the S-pen and multi app use so I don't think that a transfer over would be that complicated.
 
I'm thinking about picking up one of these, I currently have an S4 and love it but wouldn't mind having a newer phone. I also have a Note 10.1 (2014 ed) so I'm quite used to the S-pen and multi app use so I don't think that a transfer over would be that complicated.

If you're already comfortable with Touchwiz, and have an S4, the Note 5 will be a very welcome upgrade. Blazing fast in comparison. IMO a no brainer upgrade, just do it.
 
Hey Zorachus and Tyler Durden, did the custom ROMs you installed correct some of the Note 5's memory management multitasking issues? I would love to see what the Note 5 could do with all 4GB of RAM at its disposal.
 
Came across ZArchiver app that supports 7zip archival and was curious how it compares to RAR app and also against Windows 10 laptop equivalent.

Tested against a highly compressible 953.67MB enwik9 file (extract before testing).

RAR4 Fast Thinkpad X200 Core2Duo P8400
1m 36s 255MB

ZArchiver LZMA2 Fast Note 5
1m 55s 274MB

7Zip LZMA2 Fast Thinkpad X200 Core2Duo P8400
1m 57s 274MB

RAR4 Fast Note 5 (relatively new and has room for further optimization since it doesn't tax the SoC like ZArchiver)
2m 15s 255MB

Wanted to include iPhone 6S+ for comparison but iOS app ecosystem is not as good lacking both of these archival apps.
 
Wow, the battery life of these custom ROM's + kernels is blowing me away. My Note 5 is getting me same battery life as my iPhone 6 Plus last year, which was rated my #1 best battery life smartphone ever.

Getting 7h Screen On time with my Note 5, mostly on 4G network, not WiFi.

DarthStalker ROM and Arty97 Kernel 4.2

Unplugged the phone at 6:00am with 100% full charge, and at 10:00pm and 15h 25m later down to 47% battery left, and had used the phone a ton, with 3h 53m Screen On time. I can get close to 8h Screen On time.



 
I've had good results similar to Zorachus since reinstalling the Darthstalker 2 ROM and switching to the Arty97 4.2 kernel. Battery life now is every bit as good as my 6+; maybe better. I'm still much more of an iOS fan, but this Note 5 is the best smartphone I've ever used. :)
 
I've had good results similar to Zorachus since reinstalling the Darthstalker 2 ROM and switching to the Arty97 4.2 kernel. Battery life now is every bit as good as my 6+; maybe better. I'm still much more of an iOS fan, but this Note 5 is the best smartphone I've ever used. :)
But how is the memory management/multitasking with the custom rom? That's kind of what I want to know to decide between this or the Nexus 6P.
 
But how is the memory management/multitasking with the custom rom? That's kind of what I want to know to decide between this or the Nexus 6P.
In all honesty, I don't know. My Note 5 isn't my main phone. My focus has been on its battery life and smooth operation. I'm sure Z could give you much better info than I.
 
In my opinion, the Note 5 is still the best Android device released in 2015. If you get a version that can be rooted and ROM'd, the development community is really turning this thing into a beast. No lag, no stutter, just pure butter smoothness, with AMAZING battery life ( 6h Screen On time easily ). Thanks to the great ROM's, and some really good kernel development.

The display is gorgeous, and the camera takes perfect pictures. And the shape and feel in hand with a skin or very slim case makes it easy to hold. For a Phablet it actually is a small phone to hold.

I think the Exynos 7420 SOC has a lot to do with this, and sadly most Android phones in 2015 got the poor SD810, which I am staying far away from. Even phones with huge batteries still have crap battery life, due to the 810 being a drainer and oven. But next years SD820 devices will rock, it is a MAJOR night and day improvement over the 810.

For now, I am saying the Note 5 is the best Android phone released this year. And yes it may even be slightly better than the Nexus 6P, but we'll see.

Curious what's coming next ? What's the next big phone release, that's not a tiny mini like the S7 or M10 ? I'd like to see a 5.5" screen size phone with the SD820 and 4GB RAM, running Android 6.0. I suppose that may be the LG G5 ?
 
In my opinion, the Note 5 is still the best Android device released in 2015. If you get a version that can be rooted and ROM'd, the development community is really turning this thing into a beast. No lag, no stutter, just pure butter smoothness, with AMAZING battery life ( 6h Screen On time easily ). Thanks to the great ROM's, and some really good kernel development.

The display is gorgeous, and the camera takes perfect pictures. And the shape and feel in hand with a skin or very slim case makes it easy to hold. For a Phablet it actually is a small phone to hold.

I think the Exynos 7420 SOC has a lot to do with this, and sadly most Android phones in 2015 got the poor SD810, which I am staying far away from. Even phones with huge batteries still have crap battery life, due to the 810 being a drainer and oven. But next years SD820 devices will rock, it is a MAJOR night and day improvement over the 810.

For now, I am saying the Note 5 is the best Android phone released this year. And yes it may even be slightly better than the Nexus 6P, but we'll see.

Curious what's coming next ? What's the next big phone release, that's not a tiny mini like the S7 or M10 ? I'd like to see a 5.5" screen size phone with the SD820 and 4GB RAM, running Android 6.0. I suppose that may be the LG G5 ?

Don't worry it will be abandoned inside of a year by the community.
 
Let my 4 year old draw with the s-pen (she's been playing with the s-pen since the Note 2, great kid distraction) and she immediately stuck the pen in the wrong way. Aaaargh. This was my second Note 5 too. (First one drowned in a capsized boat...long story).

We got it out without having to yank it using the paper trick but the sensor still broke. Aggravating design choice if you ask me. Other than that I love this phone.
 
Don't worry it will be abandoned inside of a year by the community.

Wow. Taking the time to shit on Samsung. That's so not like you Skripka. I'm Shocked. :D

I think Zorachus has proven over the years that he's pretty agnostic when it comes to manufacturers. In fact I would say that historically he's been one to bash Samsung more than not. So if he's saying it's a great phone, I would say that chances are, it's a great phone.
 
Wow. Taking the time to shit on Samsung. That's so not like you Skripka. I'm Shocked. :D

I think Zorachus has proven over the years that he's pretty agnostic when it comes to manufacturers. In fact I would say that historically he's been one to bash Samsung more than not. So if he's saying it's a great phone, I would say that chances are, it's a great phone.

Spot on, I have owned very few Samsung phones, and typically hated Touchwiz with a passion. My last Samsung phone was the S4 a few years ago, and I HATED that phone, laggy piece of crab OS.

But this Note 5 has really surprised me, and I got the version that could be specifically rooted and ROM'd. And wow the development for the Note 5 has some really smart people on it, making a pretty good phone, into a great phone.

Super fast, buttery smooth, outstanding battery life. Gorgeous display, and awesome camera.

Plus I love the size of this phone. For a large 5.7" screen, this thing is actually pretty damn tiny. Is very thin, lightweight, and feels almost like a 5.3" phone in the hand.

Plus I wanted to stay away from SD810 phones this year, rather wait for a SD820 phone.
 
I am glad that Z is doing this so I don't have to. I'm waiting on the Lumia 950/950XL reviews and the HTC One A9 camera tests. I think I'm dropping the Note 5 based on what Z said though. I don't want to have to root a phone ever. I've unjailbreak my iPhone after purchasing two tweaks and installing four more free ones, and found that I'd rather have tacos emoticons and the live photo updates over custom theming and adblock for apps...
 
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