Galaxy Note 5 Vs Galaxy S6 Edge+: What's The Difference?

Welcome to Samsung’s latest and arguably most confusing new smartphones. Having split the Galaxy S line in two earlier in the year with the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge, now Samsung has effectively split its phablet range into two huge but confusingly similar new models: the Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 Edge+.

The good news is Samsung has drawn a distinct line in the sand between the two phones, so let’s break them down and also help you understand where they sit compared to the existing S6 and S6 Edge…

What Is Different?

Understanding The Names

The first place to start with these new models is their names because they help distinguish their target markets.

The Galaxy Note 5 is the successor the Galaxy Note 4 (despite a massive redesign) which means it is primarily a productivity device targeted at business users. Simple.

The Galaxy S6 Edge+ is a Galaxy Note 4-sized device, but essentially a massive version of the existing Galaxy S6 Edge and therefore primarily a consumer device.

As such what Samsung has done is give consumers who want a huge, premium smartphone (phablet) an option which isn’t weighed down by the Note’s business pretensions and stylus.

Then again there’s a lot more to them than that:

Displays: Straight Vs Curved

• Galaxy Note 5 - 5.7 inches, 1440 x 2560 pixels (515 ppi), Gorilla Glass 4
• Galaxy S6 Edge+ - 5.7 inches, 1440 x 2560 pixels (515 ppi), Gorilla Glass 4

On paper both the new phones look identical, but this is actually their biggest design differentiator since the S6 Edge+ features the same dual curved display as the S6 Edge. I’ll get into the functionality changes this brings in the Software section, but first: how do they look?

In short, drop dead gorgeous. The phones use the same panel technology which makes the S6 and S6 Edge the best smartphone displays currently on the market and enlarging them only increases the Wow Factor.

Are they better than the S6 and S6 Edge? Personally my limited time with them concluded that they were at least on a par and that’s a strong start.

More importantly, however, is the difference in how they feel in use. I’ll discuss this more in the next section, but the Galaxy S6 Edge+ is more manageable because it is slightly narrower, thinner and noticeably lighter.

That said, you will find yourself accidentally activating the S6 Edge+ screen edges when stretching to reach corners. This already happens on the S6 Edge, but with a 5.7-inch display more stretching means it occurs more often. Perhaps that’s the price for the Edge+ looking cooler than the Note 5 - at least in my opinion.

Read more - Galaxy S6 Edge Vs Galaxy S6 Three Month Review: Which To Buy?

Design: Style Precedes Practicality

Speaking of style, however, this is where Samsung is likely to attract a great deal of criticism. While the Galaxy S6 Edge+ predictably follows in the footsteps of the S6 Edge with a glass and metal construction, so does the famously practical Galaxy Note range with the Galaxy Note 5.

This means two big consequences for both handsets: NO removable batteries and NO expandable storage.

For wannabe Galaxy S6 Edge+ owners that may not be a big deal, this is a fashion phone. But for Note devotees, they are likely to be penning their incandescent emails and tweets towards Samsung as we speak and I can see why. By introducing the S6 Edge+ Samsung should have removed the pressure to make the Note range also conform, but that didn’t happen.

The change in build materials also means, despite being more compact, the Galaxy Note 5 hasn’t lost any tangible weight:

• Galaxy Note 5 - 153.2 x 76.1 x 7.6mm and 171g
• Galaxy Note 4 - 153.5 x 78.6 x 8.5 mm and176g
• Galaxy S6 Edge+ - 154.4 x 75.8 x 6.9mm and 153g
• Galaxy S6 Edge – 142.1 x 70.1 x 7mm and 132g

Why is the S6 Edge+ so much thinner and lighter? Because it doesn’t need to pack a stylus (more later).

Of course at this stage it must be stressed that, for all these compromises in favour of style, the Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 Edge+ are two beautifully made phones. Both are comparable to anything Apple or HTC has produced, but the Note 5 does now lack individualism.

I also do wish Samsung would ditch the glass backs from its phones. My long term review of the S6 and S6 Edge confirmed it as a rubbish choice of material because it is slippy when your hands are cold and sticky when they are hot. While tough, glass also cracks rather than the small dints metal and plastic pick up and glass backs can’t be swapped out.

Software: Business Vs Pleasure

While their displays are where the Note 5 and S6 Edge+ most differ visually, an equally big change comes with their software.

Despite its controversial design changes, the Note 5 remains a business-focused device. It retains its mass of productivity software and Samsung has given them a smart UI overhaul to fit in with the learner, faster TouchWiz we saw debut with the S6 and S6 Edge.

The S Pen (which does not eject automatically as some rumours speculated) has also been tweaked to be even more responsive - and it was the best phone stylus around.

As for the S6 Edge+, it lacks both the stylus and the Note 5’s productivity software instead focusing on upgrading the screen edge functionality seen in the S6 Edge.

This means you get the basics of:

• ‘Information Stream’ (headlines scroll on the screen edge)
• ‘Night Clock’ (time shows on the edge at night)
• ‘People Edge’ (swiping the top right corner brings up favourite contacts), and
• ‘Edge Lighting’ (colour specific edge lighting when favourite contacts call).

On top of this the S6 Edge+ also has enhanced People Edge so it can send photos and emoticons. These changes will also come to the Galaxy S6 Edge in time.

Where the Note 5 and Edge+ do meet, however, is their readiness for Samsung Pay. Crucially this Android Pay and Apple Pay rival will be able to perform both NFC and magnetic swipe payments (the latter is nearly obsolete in Europe, but vital to success in the US) and as such means on paper it is the most comprehensive of all these services.

Both the S6 Edge+ and Note 5 also support ‘SideSync’ which Samsung has built to counter Apple Continuity. SideSync allows owners to handle phone tasks on their computers such as seamlessly transferring phone calls, files and even playing mobile games on your PC. For now this is Windows-only.

Read more - Android M Vs Android Lollipop: The Differences In Google's New Android 6.0

Cost: Price Hikes

Samsung has yet to reveal the contract free pricing of the Note 5 and S6 Edge+, but it did confirm to me at the event they would sit above the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge following their price cuts and the Note 4.

As such logic dictates the two phones will occupy the brackets of $899 (32GB) and $999 (64GB). This could prove a nasty shock as historically the Note and Galaxy S lines have always been closely priced.

It is also worth pointing out that given the new models’ storage restrictions (more on the next page), users are likely to be forced to buy the more capacious models upfront. Long term telco contracts and launch offers should help early birds, but this is one to keep an eye on and I will update this post when US contract-free pricing is confirmed.

Next: where the Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 Edge+ are the same and potential deal breakers...

What Is The Same?

Despite all the differences mentioned, the Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 Edge+ are actually far more similar than you might expect. These are the crucial areas where you will find no difference - both for better and worse…

Battery And Storage Are Potential Deal Breakers

I touched upon this in earlier, but it cannot be stressed enough: Samsung has taken a massive risk with both the Galaxy Note 5 and S6 Edge+ in ditching the company’s traditional expandable storage and removable batteries.

But this is just the start…

Where Samsung compounds matters neither phone has a 128GB model like the S6 and S6 Edge. Instead they come in just 32GB and 64GB versions, which also looks woeful compared to the Note 4’s potential to offer 164GB of storage via a combination of 32GB of native storage and a 128GB microSD card.

Samsung counters this with the fact the new phones use its stunningly fast UFS 2.0 storage (and it is brilliant), but that won’t be enough to counter the loss of expandable storage or a bigger native storage option - particularly with the Note 5.

And the battery situation is just as concerning.

While hopeful rumours suggested Samsung would stop complaints about the loss of removable batteries by fitting massive 4100mAh batteries in these phones, the reality is they come with just 3000mAh capacities which is smaller than the 3220mAh removable battery in the Note 4.

What’s stranger is the Edge+ should have had more space for a big battery given it doesn’t have the Note 5’s stylus, but instead Samsung chose to make it even thinner. I don’t get that at all.

But with the storage, Samsung has a counter argument: the Exynos 7420 chipset and their next generation displays are more power efficient than their predecessors. The problem is Samsung made the same argument with the S6 and S6 Edge+, but in reality their battery life was far worse than the Galaxy S5 and turned a traditional strength into their biggest weakness. It remains to be seen whether this will be the case again.

There are some notable compensatory factors: both the Note 5 and S6 Edge+ have wireless charging (compatible with both Qi and PMA) and super fast mains charging that is 27% quicker than the S6 and S6 Edge. This won’t help you if you’re away from a power source, but they do make life more convenient when wall sockets are nearby.

Want some good news? From here on, the similarities the Note 5 and S6 Edge+ share are all positive...

Cameras: Familiarly Brilliant

Both the Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 Edge+ use the same camera modules as Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge (which we have extensively tested), so I’ll keep this section short.

• Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 Edge+ - 16 megapixel Sony IMX240 sensor, F1.9 aperture, OIS, LED flash, 4K video. Front facing 5MP camera, F1.9, 1080p video

At this point everyone knows how good this camera is. Apple will try to unseat it with the upcoming iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus, but right now it is king of the hill and consequently I can’t see Note 5 and Edge+ owners being anything other than thrilled with their performance and start up time.

There are some improvements too: VDIS (Video Digital Image Stabilisation) improves video recording and there’s also now facial recognition when shooting video. Samsung has also improved the Collage and Slow Motion modes and added the ability to host live broadcasts via YouTube.

Read more - Google Android M (Android 6.0) Has 9 Great Secret Features

Super Fast Performance

Like the camera, there is no split between the Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 Edge+ when it comes to their performance. Rumours had suggested the Edge+ would get a slower Qualcomm 808 chipset, but Samsung has again eschewed Qualcomm for the Exynos 7420 which performs so admirably in the S6 and S6 Edge:

• Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 Edge+ - Exynos 7420, Quad-core 2.1GHz and 1.5GHz CPUs and Mali-T760 GPU, 4GB RAM

Furthermore the eagle eyed will have spotted above that both new models also get an extra 1GB of RAM compared to the S6 and S6 Edge. With memory management the worst feature of Android Lollipop, this is welcome. Android M may fit it, but Samsung is notoriously slow in upgrading its phones to the latest version of Android.

As such I expect benchmarking will see the Note 5 and S6 Edge+ become the new benchmarks for Apple and Qualcomm to beat.

Superior Fingerprint Sensor

Yes, Samsung has put the excellent fingerprint sensors of the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge into both the Note 5 and S6 Edge+ and in my time with them they worked equally well.

Expect all premium Samsung phones to feature these sensors (and increasingly midrange options too) as it is a key component in the security of Samsung Pay. It should also improve further with the launch of Android M, which includes native platform-wide support for biometric security.

Improved Speaker

As with the fingerprint sensor, the external speaker on the Note 5 and S6 Edge+ has also copied the S6 and S6 Edge moving from the back to the bottom edge. It still can’t beat phones with front mounted speakers (notably the HTC One range), but it is loud and clear and a step in the right direction.

Early Thoughts

In my time with the Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 Edge+ what strikes me is the two devices are more similar than they needed to be. Samsung has been smart in creating what is essentially a big S6 Edge for mainstream consumers who want a larger screen, but that should’ve freed it to keep the Note 5 as a dedicated business device.

Instead both phones, while featuring everything that made the S6 and S6 Edge great, are also hamstrung by everything that made them so polarising the eyes of many consumers. With S6 and S6 Edge sales figures proving disappointing, that suggests Samsung is taking a massive (and needless) risk in making the Note 5 and Edge+ so similar.

Consequently I can’t really see whether either device fits in. The Note 5 ditches the practical features so loved by Note fans and the S6 Edge+ gives Edge admirers a bigger screen they may crave, but without addressing the Edge’s biggest fault: its poor battery life.

All of which makes me a little frustrated. Samsung popularised the phablet sector to the extent that Apple had to play catch up with the iPhone 6 Plus, but after just one iPhone phablet it seems Samsung is more determined to mimic Apple than continue the path which brought it success in the first place.

There’s a lot to love about the Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 Edge+, but I can only hope having more time with them will dispel my fears about all their potential deal breakers...

Read more - Samsung Galaxy S6 Vs Galaxy Note 4 Review: Raises Big Questions

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