Samsung has shown its commitment to phablets by coming up with some staggering releases in the last couple of years or so. The Note series, as Samsung calls it, shot to fame with its very first release as it brought larger than ever displays and wholesome specifications to the plate.
While the Note7 has recently been recalled by Samsung due to the “exploding batteries” fiasco, there’s no denying that it is one of the finest smartphones ever to be assembled. We thoroughly pay our respects to smartphones that revolutionize the industry and the Note7 with its Iris Scanner is the first of its kind. The Note series has always produced some excellent smartphones so we just couldn’t help but compare them to one another.
This brings us to a clash between the giants as this article encircles around the Galaxy Note7 (not to be confused with Galaxy Note6) competing with its predecessor from 2015, the Galaxy Note 5. How do these two differ from each other? Which has the edge over the other? Do they feature the same screen size and finally which one is the better choice to go for? We’ve got all your questions answered over here.
Build quality and display
The Note series feature some of the largest dimensions in smartphones as it belongs to the phablet category. Let’s dissect these two one by one.
The Galaxy Note7 and the Note 5 feature near similar designs with the difference coming in the materials used to compile them. The Note7 comprises of two glass panels at the front and back protected by the latest Corning Gorilla Glass 5. It’s one of the very first smartphones to receive this protection as the Galaxy S7 too features the slightly older version. Both the glass panels are separated by a metallic frame and the smartphone is 7.9mm in width.
It could’ve been a lot slimmer had Samsung not gone with the dust and waterproof technology plus a curved screen so don’t be alarmed if you find the Note7 thicker than its predecessor. Apart from that, it weighs in at 169g which is a very respectable amount for a phablet. The smartphone’s body feels great to touch and it feels lighter in hand compared to what it seems on paper. Its display covers 78% area of the front panel meaning thinner bezels.
Its display features a 5.7 inch Super AMOLED curved edge capacitive touchscreen with 518ppi pixel density. 1440p resolution automatically tags along and it also supports Always On technology. Therefore, we can say this with confidence that the Note7 feels like a complete package.
The Galaxy Note 5 on the other hand features exactly the same design. What separates the two is the use of the Corning Gorilla Glass 4 in the Note 5’s glass panels. It is 7.6mm at its thickest which is considered to be excellent but it lacks dust and waterproofing unlike the Note7. Its display features many similarities to the Note7 except for the fact that it does not come with a curved screen, is devoid of Always On technology and covers 75.9% of the front panel.
While technically, both the smartphones feature almost similar build quality with only the Note7 receiving the newer version of the Corning Gorilla Glass 4. However, dust and waterproofing is a rather notable upgrade on the previous Note5 while the successor also features a curved 2.5D screen.
Cameras
There’s simply no denying the fact that Samsung produces some of the very best smartphone cameras in the business.
The Galaxy Note7 and the Galaxy S7 feature the same primary camera. It is touted as 2016’s best mainly due to two reasons that symbolize Samsung’s camera manufacturing prowess; its primary camera features a 12 dual-pixel sensor with wide aperture that allows more wider pictures without compromising on quality. Other than that, OIS and phase detection ensure that the Note7 is both the unstoppable force and the immovable object at once.
The primary camera is said to perform superbly in the bleakest of lighting conditions which is why it is the best in many peoples’ eyes. The secondary camera features a 5 megapixel sensor. Though we did expect it to be at least an 8 megapixel one, we’ll bank on Samsung’s strong camera manufacturing capabilities and give this sensor the benefit of our doubt.
The Galaxy Note 5 on the other hand features a huge 16 megapixel primary sensor with OIS. It does not feature dual-pixel technology but we were thoroughly impressed by its snapping abilities as 16 megapixels is no small quantity. The selfie camera also features a 5 megapixel sensor to which, like the Note7’s selfie camera, we’ll give our complete confidence to.
Now that we’ve talked about the cameras with numbers, one can easily distinguish the Note7’s camera from the Note5’s. This is because of its dual-pixel technology, added phase detection and a wider aperture. These features do bring a tremendous improvement upon the Note5’s camera which in, all fairness, is a marvel in itself as well
Performance and hardware
With regards to their performance, both the smartphones have received excellent responses after some rigorous benchmark testing.
The Galaxy Note7 is powered by an Octa-Core processor with 4GB of additional RAM. Every bit as fast as it seems on paper, the Note7 will excellently run the built-in Android Marshmallow meaning you won’t have to worry about lag at all. The smartphone is manufactured in a 64GB internal storage variant but it also features an external memory card slot.
Now we’ll talk about its crowning feature: the Iris Scanner. This is one of the very first of its kind. It does exactly the things a fingerprint sensor does but it’s more secure and we could see much more functionality coming to smartphones with this. Other than this, it also features a fingerprint sensor, Fast Charge technology and a large 3500 mAh battery.
The Note 5 is also powered by an Octa-Core processor with 4GB of RAM. The Note5 was one of the first smartphones to ever see 4 gigs of RAM which is known to get the very best out of the built-in Android Lollipop. It is manufactured in three variants with different internal storage but none of these contain an external card slot. Other than that, it does not contain anything like the Iris Scanner but it does support the fingerprint reader and Fast Charge technology.
Both the Notes’ provide excellent processing power as they don’t see any lag or waiting. However, the Iris Scanner’s integration into the latest Note7 does bring something new to the table although the Note5 can do virtually the same things with its fingerprint sensor.
The obvious verdict
The verdict in the end is a very simple one as the Galaxy Note7 emerged victorious in all categories. It features strong upgrades to its camera and processor while the Iris Scanner proved to be the icing on the cake. Be sure to check out the price list of the Galaxy Note7 and Galaxy Note5 before making a decision on which one you’re going to go for.
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