Maybe I just don't use my phone enough, but typically at the end of the day I still have around 40-50% battery life on my iPhone 6. My previous device was a Moto G, which was supposedly great with battery life but it would die on me around dinner time even on a light use day.
Of course, I'm actually getting work done during the day instead of screwing around on Facebook or Bejeweled clones for 8+ hours at work, so there's that.
The reason the iphone 6 runs down fast is because it doesn't throttle the frame rate. It doesn't have to throttle because the metal enclosure can dissipate the heat efficiently enough to keep up.
iPhone 6s has basically the same battery lifetime in real life experience because the battery is a bit smaller. So I really think "wreck" is a way to strong word.
It has presumably has a very fast chipset and storage though. Let's see how the camera stacks up to this, as well. I love how they designed the Note 5 but I'm so hesitant to go back to Samsung software after reading all those threads about people running into issues, on reddit :(
In my family, 2 S4's died quickly after being purchased. My brother has a perfect Note 4, but my neighbor's sister bought an S6. Even after a fresh reformat, it always has the "google play services has stopped responding" error. No way to fix as far as I can tell... it's useless for her, and all the money wasted... My Nexus never has any software bugs, so I'm sticking with Nexus myself. I've had 3 perfect Nexus phones, so I'll buy another Nexus. Not very scientific, but....
Ya I've owned the Nexus 4 and 5 in the past, they were both A+! Currently on WP but really considering getting either the Z5 or the iP6S. Waiting for the reviews to come in :)
Sony Z5? Hmm... If Anandtech ever do reviews on Xperia phones, it would break them Sony fanboys' hearts. And AT will probably save a lot of people from becoming victims of Sony marketing gimmicks. I have owned more than 20 smartphones (bought them all brand new) in the last 9 years. The 3 biggest mistakes I'd ever made were purchasing the Sony ZR, ZL and Z3C. Yup, 3 times. I can't believe I could be that stupid.
AT please do a review on an Xperia phone, I'll happily donate $100 for it.
What was your problem with the Z3C? I had a Samsung S4 and it was horrible (I had barely any apps installed, disabled everything I did not need, power saving mode etc. and still randomly the phone decided to use 5-10% per hour). I managed to sell it and got a Sony Z3C. Best android phone I ever had. Got regularly 4 days battery life out of it without any issues at all. Right now, I have an iPhone 6s and it is great so far. Great camera, great build quality, uses about 20% battery per day so I only have to charge it every 3-4 days (I do not play any games on the phone and do not watch any videos, I just use it as a PHONE plus for email/occasional looking at a website/occasional music listening).
The Z3C Hardware: The worst IPS display I've ever seen on a smartphone. DeltaE is way off. Digitizer grids are clearly visible whether the screen on or off. The back glass creaks when slightly squeezed. Cover flaps won't seal tightly anymore after a couple hundreds of openings and closings. Sony has retracted their claim as the phone is submersible which means it's no longer safe being submersed. Remember the commercial of the Z3C - A boy taking pictures with the phone under water? Back camera cover isn't glass, it's easily scratched. Front stereo speakers sound muffled.
Software: Bloatwares, junkwares and crapwares... Two ecosystems on one device (Google and Sony). Factory reset, nothing installed with everything turned off (wifi, data, location service...) and stamina mode turned on, wakelock still eats battery in sleep mode. It stays awake the whole time draining 10% in 4 hours in sleep mode. Camera app and phone app when in use would suck battery from 100% to 0% in about ~4.5 hours. Back camera takes terrible pictures compares to Samsungs which use the same Sony lens.
I have owned 1000s of Sony products since I was born - TV, AV system, headphone, laptop... You name it. But after the last 3 phones from them and 5 days on the phone with their terrible customer service refs about the Z3C, I swear that I will never buy another Sony product again. And if any of my relatives buy Sony, I'll cut them loose. Yes, I WILL divorce my wife if she buy anything with a Sony logo.
I have A+ and MCSE/MCSA since windows 2000 and been in IT since, just so you know.
Z2 is a good phone, all models since have been incremental upgrades of it. Z5 Premium review would be interesting, especially since Sony already came out and said everything will not run in 4K. 4K videos will playback in 4K, but everything else, including the homescreen will run in 1080. Wonder if there will be a setting to change that.
You little guys are soooo cute with your Apple vs Samsung bs......Go back to starbucks you yuppie geek hipster, and worry about some real world problems instead.
Coming from someone getting involved in an argument he doesn't want to exist :D by your own post your are also one of these yuppie geek hipsters you so despise.
WTF, so you want him to voice on something that doesn't exist then? That's just stupid. I bet you use this argument all the time to feel good about yourself. lol. Be easier if you just tell him to not bother in your little fight at all. Makes much more sense.
Go cry about your real world problems and leave the comments sections of a tech site to us! I'm sure there is a starving kid somewhere that can use your tiny violin services.
He's not crying, he's laughing at you and the other people bitching about the two companies RATHER than enjoying the devices. You totally misunderstood and misinterpreted his comment. Tech sites needs smart people, please just leave. Take your fanboy arguments elsewhere.
And thanks for sharing something a little about your selfish self, all from your stupidity.
A more recognized source is the industry standard DisplayMate. Take a look at their tests of the newest Samsung flagships. Ever since the S5, they have been leading in the mark, and ever since the Note 4, their displays have been "considerably better" than the best LCD display (iPhone 6) out there, on virtually every category (contrasts, black levels, efficiency, color accuracy, brigthness, performance in bright lights, viewing angles, sharpness, etc.)
Anandtech's test is hard to take seriously when they can't even rate the true peak brigthness of the Samsung phones. They don't even mention that they have left it out of their test! When put on auto brigthness, the Note 4, S6 and Note 5 all get far higher brightness than on manual. The Note 5 can reach 861 cd/m2. That's 50% more than Anandtech claim.
Take a look at DisplayMate's review. They give a proper analysis of the display, which contradicts the Anandtech review on so many areas it's funny.
What the hell are you talking about... first of all read the DisplayMate Samsung review again and search for "Diamond" where they outline the Diamond sub-pixel arrangement. They also have a completely separate article detailing this arrangement (including a zoomed in picture):
Also in the review in their spec lists they list the sub-pixel count so you can fully compare resolution and sub-pixel counts... hell for their distance in which 20/20 vision can be resolved by the human eye they include stats for the different subpixel counts (which are different per color based on the Diamond arrangement).
How you missed all that I have no clue other than you didn't bother to actually read it.
Also on your first point, Displaymate has been a leader in screen calibration for a long time now... this is their specialty and not the speciality of Anandtech, hence why people take them far more seriously on that topic... it's also why it's a bit surprising Anandtech keeps coming up with different (and less detailed) results, especially when Anandtech doesn't include important values and analysis)... You should really know what you're talking about before you make such a bold response.
Also Displaymate rates the iPhone screens *very* well, just not as a good as Samsung for the past couple generations. You do realize of course that Apple sources their screen manufacturing from a variety of companies... including Samsung, so it makes complete sense that Samsung is doing better when they finally decided to put the resources into it.
On par? You do realize that a Delta below 3 is very much unnoticeable when it comes to gamut and grayscale calibration right?
This means that even the galaxy note 4 display smokes any iPhone display to date, because EVERY LCD that has ever been made has downright comical contrast ratio. And OLED on the other hand has the end game in contrast, as in, its perfect. The only reason this isn't more obvious is because most of the content viewed in smartphones is bright and viewed in very bright environments. Which sort of gives LCDs a free pass since its contrast ratio deficit isn't as obvious as in those situations.
You should know that videophilies spend thousands of dollars on displays that offer even slightly better contrast ratios. And here we have a situation where we go from terrible contrast, to perfect. Watch any sort of dark content on both displays at the same time in a light controled environment and you'll immediately see how these Samsung displays are simply in a whole different league.
Then there's is also the fact that the color gamut is also much wider on OLED, so if the day ever came that we finally decide to stop using the obsolete sRGB standard, OLED would also have an advantage there. (Somethg that had been ironically seen as a disadvantage before they started shiphing phones with color profiles, because the gamut is so wide it results in over saturated colors if a profile isn't is used for sRGB)
I also have to question the brightness results that anandtech got from their unit. Displaymate stated that this is the brightest smartphone display they have ever tested, they get over 800 Nits on their unit. Making it by far the best display you can use under the sun.
To meet it seems obvious that LCD has been surprised in most meaningful metrics, and its only going to get worse for LCD as OLED continues to evolve. LCD has never been good enough, but as it matured it got to a point where it became really good in a lot of ways compared to CRTs (never in contrast or switching times)
TL;DR: these Samsung displays are the benchmark every other display has to be compared to.
Yeah, but it's made by Apple, and is pretty much exclusively sold, therefore, to sheep, whom generally have no idea what they are talking about. I'd rather not have a smartphone at all, than one of those ugly ass iphones. But then, that's probably because I actually have taste, and don't just buy whatever hipster rubbish is currently en vogue.
Their Apple overlords ordered iAnandtech to hold off publishing the Note 5/Edge 6 + review until iPhone6S/6S+ are released as to not jeopardize their sales.
If that were true then their Apple overlords would also have ordered them to include the iPhone 6s benchmark results to show the Exynos 7420 being crushed by the A9. Since that didn't happen, your assertion is wrong.
They did just that few days ago by showing preliminary iPhone 6S benchmarks.
A9 GPU is much faster yes, but CPU is faster only on single/dual apps/benchmarks. Android utilizes quad-cores when running apps as shown on Anandtech last month, so CPU performance for exynos 7420 or Snapdragon 810 should be able to match or beat that of the A9.
Android uses 8 cores well - that article also showed apps themselves don't. Games and such which need the performance most, usually don't use more than 3-4, even if Android is good at using 8.
I'm not convinced that the 8/4 solution is a good one. Four weak cores, and four even weaker cores may look good in multiprocessing tests, but in the real world, it's going to lag.
Irrelevant to the statement darwinosx made.. he stated Apple sales have destroyed Samsung's sales. Clearly they havnt. The type of phones Mali g up the figures is irrelevant to that statement.
Well, if you mention sales, you know, exchange of stuff for money, then money made is much much more important than unit numbers to judge someones performance. Because, they do sales to earn money, not to ship units. And Apple destroys Samsung in that regard.
Remember that since the first iPhone till now most of the SOCs used were made by Samsung. Also Samsung supplied RAM, screens, flash etc for the iPhones and iPads. The IPhone 6 SOC and RAM is supplied by samsung. So for every iPhone/IPad sold, Samsung makes money. It has been thisnway since the first IPhone, enjoy.
yay apple makes more money, but samsung sells more phones.. hmm interesting. i would say android wins because they make it all up on app sales and profits
No, not true at all. As far as app sales go, iOS is about twice what Android sales are, in dollars. As far as profits for phone makers go, Apple made 91% of the profits in the cell manufacturing industry, and Samsung made 12%. Everyone else lost money.
When apple actually make a high end phone, then we could answer that, but seeing as everything they manufacture is saddled with their God awful software, we will never know!
Yeah, when you include $80 smartphones, Samsung does better. But if you consider phones that we would use, Samsung is in trouble. Here, in the states, Apple's sales are 43% and Samsung's are 28%. A similar ratio exists with higher price phones everywhere.
In fact, Samsung's sales have been down for at least two years.
What a pathetic comment. Everyone in the developed world, knows that the average US consumer is an utter moron. You will buy literally anything, no matter how crap it really is. I guess it's something to do with the woeful education standards in America. Americans = dumb consumers, and we all know it... Well, apart from you, it seems!
Yes, and most of Samsung's sales are low end devices, not flagships. There is no comparison between iPhone sales and the high end phones from any other OEM.
I'm guessing you're not great with numbers then, as higher equals better when it comes to selling. Samsung sells more devices than apple, hence why their sales numbers are higher... Do you see how that works?? Idiot.
just a side note, in your comparisons between phones, why does the Lumia 735 (one i'm pondering) and a few others have a handful of lights reflecting? odd setup on your behalf? or is the CCD actually picking that up?
Dude... I can //feel// your disdain by reading written words. This review was clearly a chore. It's such a "meh" effort.
I understand you prefer Apple products, and in this case, I can even readily admit that the 6S Plus is probably going to trounce this phone.
I used to come here because there was very little non-technical (specs don't lie) bias in your reviews. I guess those days are gone now.
Here is the major problem - some of us just don't LIKE iOS. It has nothing to do with whether or not it's a technically superior device year to year or whether it has a this or a that.
Reviews like this are what made me stop clicking a lot of other places. I can appreciate that you like iOS better. But an unbiased review of the product in which I can't hear you saying "whatever, it's not an iPhone" the entire time is not what Anandtech used to be.
While we appreciate the feedback all the same, just to be clear here, Josh is a day-to-day Android user. Which is not to say that he doesn't do a thorough job on both kinds of phones, but I hope you aren't ignoring a good article just because of misconceptions about the author.=)
he-he, I was about to say that Anand (the former site owner) was much into Apple (he joined it and sold the site to the owners of Tom's hardware) but he was trying to be as objective as possible until the last few years when it was clear he was becoming increasingly seduced by the dark side" :) I got Iphone 6 free from work and like it despite its limitations but if it comes to buying my own Samsung note or Nexus 6p would be on the top of my list. There are many intangibles like having to call Apple to switch my country store and then of course not being able to purchase apps outside the particular country store etc. that remind we why Apple products are not my thing.
Um, you don't need to call Apple to change your country store, and there are a myriad of ways to purchase content from other stores. I have accounts in the US, Canada, and the UK and I use them interchangeably to purchase Apps, Programmes (UK) and more all the time....
Agreed with every word you said zimmybz, and I feel exactly the same as you.
I've been an Anandtech reader since 1998, and it was usually the first site that I came to for informative and unbiased tech reviews. But those days are over, especially since Anandtech became iAnandtech a few years ago. Most people can't tell or read between the lines, but I am sure old-time readers did. To me the Apple worship is obvious.
After noticing the bias few years ago, we found out some Anandtech guys joined Apple, including Anand himself. I guess Ryan, Joshua and the rest at iAnandtech are hoping to join Apple too, but it seems to me they arevalready under Apple's payroll.
Notice in this review the over use of the word decent, decent design, decent color accuracy, acceptable blah blah. And when testing the display and battery, there's no mention that the Galaxy phones are pushing almost 4 times the pixels as iPhone 6. Even a blind person can tell that the Amoled display on the Galaxy phones is better and noticeably sharper. Yet iJoshua insists that Amoled just finally reached Lcd quality (hinting at iPhone) and in a year or two-mile surpass it, what a joke... Actually Note 4 display from last year already surpassed the LCD display on iPhones.
By *far* the best part of Anandtech these days is reading the comments from angry, butt hurt nerds upset that their favorite brand got slighted, pretending it's all about "facts" and "figures." Dude, you're as bad as an Apple fanboi. Worse, actually, because you channel your irrational brand attachment into fist-shaking. So certain you have it figured out, you're going to post over and over again about how *wrong* the writer got it, as if you're correcting some great universal injustice.
How true. Even better is the fact that they don't really have a favorite brand. They just have a most-hated brand, for some unknowable reason. I say: just because *that* girl, who won't give you the time of day, has an iPhone, it doesn't mean that Apple sucks. It just means that you need to exercise and shave a bit more often.
See - you misunderstood, and I don't blame you, because 9 out of 10 times, you'd be correct.
But, in this case - I don't have a favorite brand. I used to be an iPhone guy. I got bored of iOS and have been playing with Android for a few years. I'm sure I'll go back at some point, but that point is not right now.
What I was really looking for is a review where the author put (AS MUCH) time and effort and energy into the Note 5 work as he/she did their Apple reviews.
This is clearly not the place for that anymore - which is sad, because it used to be.
Whichever tech you prefer, good on you brother, I mean that sincerely, I hope you enjoy it and it treats you well, and I'm not being sarcastic. In fact, you will see in my original comment that I am well aware the 6S is probably going to drop the hammer on the Note 5.
That is, however, irrelevant considering that I will not be buying one, and would still (shocking, I know, right?) like a review written without the eye-rolling tone of "this is not an iPhone but..." "this is not an iPhone but...." "this is not an iPhone but..."
While not a fanboy.. (it's a phone for (censored) sake..) I do use Samsung phones pretty much exclusively these days simply because I am familiar with them and I've yet to see a company make one I like better.. That being said.. I am a long reader and commenter here as well.. and I certainly don't see any hate-on for any company or love-in for that matter.
Occasionally some reviewers may know they have a certain amount of bias for some companies and may go overboard in trying to be fair ..coming across as to critical.. but that's pretty rare.
Apple is designing extremely fast chips these days with amazing performance combined with iOS 9, it's hard to deny that iPhone 6s is the leader right now, by a LONG shot.
Only thing 6s is better is better singlethread performance and GPU. 7420 still has better multithread performance (which android does use, says anandtech article!) and comes with better and larger display, smaller and lighter device, and true wacom pen and better camera.
I just don't get it how 6s is "the leader" as it lacks in many division compared to now old GS6.
It's not about the quanity of your cores but their quality. Just look at how Intel obliterates AMD because of their stronger IPC in each core. It's not of the same Apple has set the single core benchmark so high that others will HAVE to focus on single core performance. What some real world comparisons of iPhone 6s vs Note 5, anytime it's a larger app like a game or something the iPhone 6s just destroys those weak cores in the Exynos 7422.
What a moronic comment! If your assertion were actually true, then literally everyone would buy an iPhone. They don't, however, because not everyone wants to suck on apples tainted teat. Their software is utter garbage, and the only reason they close it down so much, is because they know that it would simply break otherwise. IOS is woeful, as is OS-x, hence why user rates are so incredibly low. Even windows 8, which lots of people hated, has user numbers that OS-X could only dream of. Primarily, it's because windows is just better. Android beats IOS in almost every respect, and the only people that can't comprehend that, are idiot fanboys like you. You are actually, and truly, pathetic.
I have been a regular reader since 2003/04 time period - so a good 10+ years. Although I am an Apple user I do feel the site has progressively increased their bias/tilt towards Apple. If its true that "Galaxy Phones are pushing 4 times more pixels" then this should have been mentioned in the review.
Note 5 should be compared with iPhone 6s PLUS, not the regular size one. QHD on the regular S6 is just stupid but consider Samsung cheats with the sub-pixels counts on AMOLED the smaller screen does need QHD to not show pixels.
Even though the Galaxy S6 uses a non standard pixel arrangment, it's 575 PPI screen is much sharper than the comparatively low res (by today's standards) 325 PPI screen of the iPhone 6S.
The fact that you are willing to admit that you don't like iOS shows your own bias. Your bias won't allow you to read a review that goes against your bias. That's why you, and those others here who are biased against iOS, and Apple in general, find reviews that show products that you are biased for, to be worse than the iOS products, you say that the reviews are biased, rather that your views of the reviews.
So you would prefer all reviews to be biased towards the products you like.
Joshua, consider using Samsung's stock browser as it is better optimized. Vanilla Chrome is notorious for sucking hard across all Android devices. Apple optimizes constantly their web performance on mobile. Google does not care so much so Android OEMs have to go the extra mile.
It's very frustrating really. They did an article with the Note 4 showing that the stock browser (coupled with Exynos) is indeed more optimized. They then recently did an even more detailed technical article proving that Samsung's stock browser is MUCH faster and MUCH more efficient than Chrome, but then they completely ignore it and use Chrome...
Oh well. I'm tired of asking them to do what they obviously DON'T want to do for whatever reason...
This is the reason given by the same author as to why he used Samsung's stock browser in the S6/Edge review.
"As always, we'll start things off with our browser benchmarks. After getting to use the phone, it became clear to me that Chrome is poorly optimized against the Galaxy S6 as Samsung’s browser is clearly superior in performance. For that reason I've gone ahead and run our benchmarks on both Chrome and on the stock browser, as seen below."
Thanks for contributing more evidence as to why Anandtech's comparison charts are an inconsistent mess.
"So what changed?" I'm assuming you mean what has changed between the GS6 on release and the Note5?
I don't know....... More software optimization? Newer build of Android? Battery life? Potentially better performance because of more thermal headroom? Take a pick.
I'm able to draw my own conclusions from certain reviews. But it's getting harder and much more frustrating with time.
Guys I get 3900ms on my Galaxy S6 For Kraken 1.1 using stock browser.
I also think it's odd since most Android makers already include a faster stock browser with their phones. But hey, this is the new iAnandtech after all :)
Why? At least Chrome being the same software actually means it shows true SoC power, because it doesn't have sneaky optimisations and shows real world use
But they do not use Chrome on iPhones and iPads. If they have a different standard for those, I would hope they make it clear in every review applicable and remove those iDevices numbers from Android device charts.
I do have one suggestion. It would be really nice if you setup a nice image gallery for these devices when you do reviews. Maybe each picture could link to the gallery? That way we could click on an image and get to see all of the photos of the device.
Also odd that the author thinks the color shift on the Edge+ is due to RGBG subpixel layout. I thought the color shift would be there due to curves regardless of subpixel layout.
In any case I give the author props for this effort. A rather thorough review, even if a little heavy on editorials.
After being called out so many times, your "comparison charts" are still an absolute (intentional?) mess. Why do you have 25 different phones on one chart, and 10 completely different ones on others? Why is the crappiest browser on Android still being used for battery tests? Why is the iPhone 6 in GPU tests and the 6plus absent?
While they do have really nice articles, Anandtech scores the lowest in the consistency department out of all sites. Please try being more consistent.
Can you just put 4-5 most popular phones of each platform on the SAME darn charts and keep them that way, without conveniently leaving some out and putting them back here and there? Like PLEASE?
Also, it would be nice if you'd explain why you're posting NAND performance benchmarks with your particular set of settings. I seriously find it VERY hard to believe that UFS 2.0 is equal or often slower than the very best of eMMC in sequentials and randoms.
The real mess is the camera samples. (which by the way is not limited to Android devices for a change) It is maddening to sift through camera samples without knowing ahead what I am going to see only to click dozen more times to find out what I am looking for.
The gigantor phone market is more competitive than ever, so it's interesting to see them dropping features and generally not taking full advantage of being the most vertically integrated Android OEM. They dropped microSD but capacity maxes out at 64GB. They had the opportunity to be ballsy and go higher capacity PCIe NVMe and absolutely crush every other Android OEM in storage performance. You have to *really* want the pen, because this looks like a tough sell at $780 for 64GB when $650 gets you a 128GB Nexus 6P and $500 gets you a 64GB Moto X Pure with expandable storage. Sure Samsung's SOC is better, but this is a pretty underwhelming release for me.
Sealed, non removable battery = better looking device. Simple as. Never mind the fact, that most users do not want to swap the battery, as they simply don't need to. How obsessed with your phone are you anyway? You should probably try getting a life instead!!
You are missing the point. They are charging more than "good enough" money for this thing. They need to offer compelling reasons to spend way more on this than the other solid new entries in this segment. Something like a PCIe NVMe solution would have been a good way to justify that price gap. I predict steep discounts (~$100+) shortly after launch.
"I predict steep discounts (~$100+) shortly after launch"
They already priced the Note 5 cheaper than the Note 4 at launch. Sorry if American carriers are over charging.
"You are missing the point"
Read my *short* comment again. Their storage solution isn't particularly inferior. Random reads and writes are comparable, if not better. If you honestly believe that sequential performance is more important than random for everyday workloads, then I have nothing else to tell you. It's not like we have an extensive comparison of performance and power consumption/efficiency between Samsung's UFS 2.0 vs Apple's sourced NVMe solution (might not even be possible at this stage), nor is it the case that Samsung has already developed a miniature PCIe V-NAND 950 PRO NVMe SSD and is holding back to "cut corners".
Everything in this segment is overpriced, for better or worse. We just learn to "deal with it". That said, your point boils down to overall manufacturer costs, ie: BoM. You shouldn't make assumptions on your own over bits and pieces of the package. Samsung, despite manufacturing most of their parts, have a costlier BoM than most other OEMs, including Apple. Their external enclosure, AMOLED screens, Wacom Digitizers, DACs, etc. are always best in class and cost more than comparable parts from the competition. Other than the omission of SD-card controller, they went all out in every other detail (removable batteries don't contribute to cost, it's a design choice rather).
That said, I'd rather have them start with 64GB of standard storage (128GB option) and an SD-Card slot for a much more value proposition at that price range. A larger ~4000mah battery would have also been possible since the Note 5 is relatively large but is one of the lightest "phablet" out there. This goes for all manufacturers, not only Samsung.
"With this generation of AMOLED, Samsung has definitely equaled the best LCDs on the market. I suspect within the next year or two it will be inevitable that Samsung AMOLED will be clearly superior to even the best LCDs"
Except that in reality Amoled surpassed LCDs since 2014.
Anandtech will not admit Amoled is great until Apple starts using it in their devices (my guess is next year). Of course Apple would bump up the resolution and give it a fancy name, and Anandtech will sing the praises of how amazing Apple's Amoled is. When in reality the screen panel will be made by Samsung or LG :p
PPI will become important and talked about by Anandtech again only when Apple bumps the resolution.
If AMOLED is anywhere close to IPS why aren't EIZO, NEC, Dell switch their professional lineup to AMOLED? Why are 31" calibrated IPS monitors going for $3000 while the same money can get you 55" 4K OLED TV?
Just because your eyes cannot see the difference doesn't mean professionals cannot. That goes for your rant vis-a-vis iPhone.
You can't compare Professional monitors with TVs. If these Dell. NEC monitors were using OLED technology then probably they would have cost double the amount.
Also keep in mind that color accuracy of the Samsung OLED screens only became comparable to the best IPS LCDs since a year ago or so. So these manufacturers didn't get the chance yet to move to OLED. There are only cost and capacity considerations, it might be that Samsung is keeping all the capacity for themselves at this time.
Don't be surprised when in a year you see Apple move to OLED.
LCD is crap compared to OLED, or AMOLED, there is no denying that, and those who don't buy into that fact, are utter morons. The reason they aren't yet ubiquitous, is cost. Every display will eventually replace LCD, with something superior, like OLED. Hence why top end Tvs are now transitioning to that tech, because it is simply much, much better technology. Apple just can't afford it, hence why they persist with inferior tech.
Maybe it would be a good idea to address concerns regarding battery durability and quickcharge in the light of the non-removable battery. What should I do if my battery lost half it's capacity after 2 years? A normal user just can't buy a new on and change it himself.
I'd like to know this as well. Maybe someone can go crazy and charge and discharge popular smartphones using its default charger for 100/200 cycles and run the same battery test to see if there are obvious signs of battery degradation.
Is the maximum display brightness reported here achievable simply with the brightness slider or just with the boost feature triggered by direct sunlight?
Just read through the whole article. Did I miss a section regarding mobile data and call reception? Wifi performance is detailed, which is fine, but honestly, if I'm at home or somewhere where I know there is going to be wifi, I'll just bring my tablet.
#1 most important feature on a smart phone? Reception. Its maddeningly difficult to get good comparisons across phones when it comes to reception for data and call quality / handlng.
I agree that reception quality is important, but the issue here is that proper testing is an enormously difficult task. This is something that I want to resolve but I'm not sure how long it will take.
Sup with the Samsung NAND results getting nuked? In the GS6 review they were head and shoulders above the rest of the Android camp, now they're upper-middling. Different settings?
To add on to this, the main difference is that we're only showing a single IO thread and QD=1 to avoid unnecessarily penalizing eMMC as we found that multiple IO threads is usually an unrealistic workload and that it would negatively affect eMMC performance.
If the Note series are going to use the same SoC as the Galaxy S series, it would make sense to release them at the same time. Like Apple does. I was disappointed to see that the Nexus 6P uses the SD810. It's far worse than the competition. Since I like Android, and dislike Touchwiz, I have little choice. 2015 has been a bust for all SoC vendors except Samsung and Apple....
Syxbit, I own an Xperia Z4 Tablet that runs on SD810 v2.1, this newer version doesn't suffer from the overheating and excessive throttling issues first found on the HTC M9, and performance is around 10% higher.
I compared it with my Galaxy S6 and found performance pretty similar, the Xperia is actually slightly faster in GFX Bench and 3Dmark graphics tests. The GS6 has slightly faster CPU and IO performance. But overall performance is great, and that is running 2560x1600 resolution.
My guess is that all newer devices released after June/July this year are running the improved SD810 V2.1. So Nexus 6P will surely run on this.
Why weren't 6s benchmarks included? This is stupid, and misleading. You're trying to make Samsung look good. It'll embarrass the Note 5, like iPhone 6s is about 4 times the onscreen graphics performance lol. Did Samsung increase their advertising on Ananadtech.com?
1 . At the front page, Note 4 rear camera's aperture is stated as F/2.0, it is actually F2.2 2. At the battery life page it is stated that note 4 has a "planar 20nm process". This is only true for Exynos Note 4 which has the 5433, but it appears on the front page that the Snapdragon Note 4 is being compared instead, which has a 28 nm process. 3. On the camera architecture page, the front camera's aperture of Note 4 is stated as F2.4. It should be F1.9. 4. I disagree with the line "Samsung has actually managed to implement low light image processing that's good enough to beat" ( Lightroom's noise reduction ability). Not a fair comparison. In JPEG shots, samsung has been known to always activate "night mode", which uses a sort of "image stacking" process by combining (my guess is 3) images taken in quick succession to reduce noise (and improving the SNR of an image). By using raw, only one image of shutter speed 1/7 is taken. With only 1 image worth of data to process, the lightroom processed image will definitely lose out! But your point is there, that samsung's really good at JPG processing for night photos.
Note 5 is awesome. Moved up from the 3. Screen is clearly the best in business including the iphone. Fast and great camera. Low light pix much better. It's a winner.
Okay now I absolutely hate anandtech reviews. THEY INTENTIONALLY OMITTED ANY COMPARISON THAT MAKE APPLE DEVICES LOOK BAD.
-Display review lacks contrast and outdoor contrast (both AMOLED dominates) -Browser benchmark uses terrible mobile chrome, not stock browser which is way better. -Processor benchmark lacks any multithread benchmarks (like geekbench multi) -NAND R/W results makes absolutely sense at all, compared to this http://blog.gsmarena.com/samsung-galaxy-s6-storage... -Camera comparison only shows the focus lag comparison and no resolution / noise / dynamic range that actually matters
I'm really surprised to see this low level of journalism at anandtech. Why cherry pick test results to make apple device look the best? Even worse thing is that most people will take those graphs as 'unbiased and technical'
I have noticed the same thing for a few years now. Anandtech has been cherry picking benchmarks or omitting when needed to always try to show Apple devices in the best light.
In Geekbench multicore exynos 7420 gets 5200, while IPhone 6 gets 2800, and even the iPhone 6S gets only 4400. The story is the same for any other multithreaded tests such as Antutu, 3dmark Physics test etc.
Thanks for the feedback. A couple quick responses to specific items.
Contrast; OLED is infinite contrast since a pure black screen doesn't emit any light. We literally can't even plot it. Which is why we note in the text "Meanwhile the use of OLED means that black levels are perfect and contrast remains solely determined by the lighting of the room and the reflectance of the display"
NAND: There are two factors here. The first is that the NAND has changed relative to the S6. Second, as Josh has commented elsewhere "To add on to this, the main difference is that we're only showing a single IO thread and QD=1 to avoid unnecessarily penalizing eMMC as we found that multiple IO threads is usually an unrealistic workload and that it would negatively affect eMMC performance."
And our benchmarks are based on the metrics we believe are important and are practical to repeatedly and scientifically measure. Truth be told who wins is immaterial, we just want to develop tests that are meaningful while meeting the above goals. And on a related note, this is the same benchmark suite we use in every review, so there is no specific benchmark picking going on.
You say "scientific", then use browser benchmarks to provide _evidence_ for cross-platform processor superiority... I'm really curious now, Don't you find your statement a bit misleading?
It will depend on what we're trying to measure and the what we're trying to investigate. If we want to evaluate the whole phone as a platform, as is the case here, then browser benchmarks are a great tool due to how much use mobile browsers get.
Otherwise if we want to measure just SoCs, then we need to be a bit more mindful to account for things like different JS engines. Which is also why we never put too much emphasis on one benchmark, and make sure to run a varied collection.
Though I will add that I'm not sure what this comment is in reference to? The only thing we state with respect to the browser benchmarks on this specific article is "It's probably fair to say that the Exynos 7420 will continue to be the best SoC for Android mobile devices in 2015"
Benchmarks prove nothing. And to rely on them so heavily, is just idiotic. Benchmark results, mean absolutely jack sh#t, compared to real life, user experience. If you're not aware of this fact, then why on earth should I listen to a single word that you say?? Benchmarks are for morons, pure and simple.
Geekbench aggregates thousands of scores to get their numbers. I think I'll accept their results over those posted online. Especially by someone like Kuzi, who seems to hate Apple so much that he feels the need to lie online to make a point.
BTW, I also refer to Geekbench themselves for iPhone scores, before someone claims bias.
GFXBench is a graphics test. Geekbench is a cpu test so that's why the scores are direct, they're feeding student things. Where did you get 5600 Geekbench multi-core score from? That's an inflated number vs Geekbench's own charts.
Samsung lost me the second they announced they weren't releasing the note 5 in Europe. I hope they get enough of a dent in their sales from annoyed customers that they release the note 6 here after. I have a feeling that's wishful thinking though.
Excellent review as always Joshua never mind the brand wars in the comments. I was always an iOS user and thought Galaxy Note 5 is a good enough device to jump the ship for the terms of a contract. While I am reasonably happy with the device, I still think Software is Samsung's biggest issue.
I also noticed an issue with the S-Pen sensitivity where it does not work at all at the bottom left and right corners of the device. This means that if I need to take a screenshot which goes right until the bottom right or left corner I cannot do it because the sensitivity simply vanishes. Also attaching a video to exactly show what the issue is. Can you check if your device also exhibits the same behaviour.
Samsung relied too much on Exynos 7420 this year. The Note 5 is supposed to be a huge improvement and their better phone from the S6 which is already considered kinda old in the tech world. It's all the same tech just later in the year. Yawn. The iPhone 6s technology just obliterates this phone. Good luck Samsung, you're going to need it
At first I was sad to see that neither of these included a microSD slot. That would be an awful omission on devices extremely well fitted to media consumption. That would rule them out of my consideration. But the photos made me wonder, so I looked further and found the slot mentioned in the middle of the review.
Really... I know it is AT's sworn position that microSD is useless, irrelevant and obsolete... but how could you not even list it in the spec table? Just for those of us who continue to be deluded by our daily use of it. I never cease to wonder at the time and effort spent on describing case colors, and the blindness to important functional features.
Then these sentences are grammatically broken (wrong tense throughout): "The back cover is faux-leather plastic that peels off much like the Galaxy S2's back cover, with a removable battery and microSD slot. The display has the same buttons, but the bezel had a striped design for unknown reasons." As written this refers to the new devices, not the old ones!
I won't even consider a device of this screen size without microSD. A read-only implementation would be fine (satisfying Android security needs).
Read the entire page, please. They're comparing the designs of Note 4 and Note5, and that sentence describes the back of Note 4. That part of the review IS a bit confusing, though, but understandable if you concentrate on what you're reading.
You do realise though, that the feature YOU so clearly desire, is not even slightly relevant to the vast majority of smartphone users? That puts YOU in a subset, and therfore, YOU need to look harder when buying a device. The rest of the world, literally, could not care less. You're in the minority dude, pure and simple.
I have a new Note 5 in box and am still using my Note 4. Microsd is the reason why.
If I'd paid I would have 100% bought the 128gb version. As it is I'm not sure if I can use it.
Best alternative is to use another device to Bluetooth to my vehicle. Lack of a microsd option will hurt Samsung. We're not all interested in Knox and corporate security.
At least make a "virus allowing hacked unsafe dangerous murder bot phone with a death slot" (microsd) as an option. Your 14 arbitrary nearly identicle model selections prove you could do it.
No it won't... No-one, apart from butt hurt retards like you, give a flying fook about microSD. It's 2015, not 2010, so get with the times grandad. You've obviously never heard of the Cloud for a start.
No-one need microSD these days, unless you are an idiot. The Cloud exists, and is way more useful than local storage on a slow as hell and completely outdated format like microSD. The world has moved on grandad, so maybe you should too!!
The ability to use the Note 5 as a yellow sticky pad (i.e., write memo from sleep state) is a killer feature that will attract a lot of people, especially past Note users who left. I bought a Note II thinking that it can act as my digital notepad, but I ended up rarely touching the stylus because it was a hassle to claw it out of the silo, unlock the phone, and hunt down the memo app to launch it. With the Note 5's new abilities, I can see myself using the stylus on a daily basis and finally attain that seemingly always out-of-reach goal of having a digital notepad.
the issue with samsung is not the phone but the horrible customer service which is why i would never buy a phone from them. the power plug of my brand new GS6 did not work. when calling customer service they asked i return the broken one before sending a new one. fine but how am i supposed to work for 2 weeks as they sorted out the issue. and when i complained i was treated like c*ap So much better with Apple. you go in and they fix everything for you on the spot no major Qs asked. I am glad samsung is losing a ton of share in the US. it will teach them to take their customers' hard earned money and loyalty for granted. here is to samsung zero market share. i even changed everything at home (3 TVs) to LG...terrible service
Did you really but your phone directly from Samsung? Or are you just another one of those Apple trolls posting your useless scripted BS? Yeah, that was a rhetorical question as we both know the answer to that question.
You do know the Apple have 24/7 Apple Store in big cities right? What do you think those stores are for? Just because you are not used to 24/7 face-to-face support doesn't mean it is a bad thing.
Apple also does cross shipping in case you don't know. You'd have 30 days to ship the bad parts back with the included envelope.
Apple genius = regular retard. Those morons don't have a clue. I know more about iOS, than those idiots. Customer service does not equal customer satisfaction. Especially when the idevice in question breaks every few minutes.
Nice review that hits most of the major points, but I would like to see a few more things returned to AT's reviews:
- Audio performance (for many people, a phone is their primary audio source, so quality counts);
- Battery configuration (not to push the discussion one way or the other, just remind us whether it does or doesn't have a removable battery.);
- More on storage (considering AT's roots as a PC website, and smartphones' inexorable drive to eventually replace PCs, a wider discussion of storage is needed. Especially with phone cameras recording 4K and everyone's storage needs going up in formation, it is important to discuss how to store things on the device and how to offload them from the device. This issue is dogging Apple, Google, and Samsung, all of whom have now eschewed internal removable storage, without stating when they will develop a replacement, if ever.).
----------------
I would also like to see something added to AT's phone reviews:
- How to control audio playback without looking at the phone (particularly Play, Skip Forward to Next Song, and Skip Back to Previous Song, and Mute. Blackberry nailed most of this with their very helpful physical button configuration, and thus when driving in a car and playing music, I cannot be without a Blackberry. What are Apple, Google, Samsung and the others doing for audio control while driving... without having to buy a new car, that is. Is voice control the only way, and if so does it work well.)
Any info about the HEVC encoding? We know the SOC support it, however there is no way to use it, I think this relate to the HEVC licensing knightmare, do You think we will ever be able to use it? Maybe using some third parts app? Thanks a lot.
My biggest issues with these phones are that Samsung surveyed Iphone users about what features they wanted in their next phone and of course the Isheep said nothing about Micro SD Card slots and changeable batteries.
I went with Samsung because I want my 10,000 MAH extended battery and 200gb MicroSDXC card from Sandisk.
Now all Samsung makes is a cheap IPhone that runs anroid.
And the 128gb version was an after though and "might" be released in the next 2 months, and it still will be missing a micro SDXC card slot and have a low powered worthless battery......
As per the Kuzi's earlier comment: +the S6/Edge/Note 5 resolution of 2560x1140 = 3,686,400 pixels +iPhone 6S Plus is 1920x1080 = 2,073,600 pixels.
A fewquestions: #1 how do these screens look next to each? (is there a noticeable quality difference) #2 how much of a battery/performance penalty is there for Samsung? (are they competitive despite handling way more pixels, or do they suffer for it) #3 how bright do the Samsung's get on "auto" b/c my S6 is visible in any sunlight conditions when in that mode, are the latest iPhone's also able to be viewed easily in full sun?
Lastly, why do AMOLED displays have difficulty with the "painted on" effect vs. LCDs? I notice that my wife's Moto X Pure's LCD looks crisper and more "painted on" than my S6.
Thanks for the site showing the resolution and PPI for devices.
To answer #2, Samsung have been improving/reducing the power draw of their AMOLED panels with each generation. So even while pushing such high resolutions the penalty is minimal, especially when compared to LCD technology.
For #3, you can check below and "Expand" the results to show more phones for the Sunlight Visibility test:
The power consumption for the higher resolution isn't just the display and technology. It's the GPU power required to drive that display. It takes more processing power to drive more pixels. Especially if you want day-to-day activities to be smooth (like scrolling).
So even though the Galaxy S6 is pushing 3.6 times more pixels compared to iPhone 6S it doesn't seem like the battery perfomance is suffering.
And the GPU doesn't run at high frequencies when web browsing or playing videos. Although for 3D games the battery will get drained faster with higher res screens for sure.
Funny you picked the iPhone 6S and not the 6S Plus, which is a better comparison due to it having a larger screen and more "pixels to push".
It scored 85 hours on their endurance rating, easily beating the GS6's 73 hours. Further, the 6S Plus beat last years 6 Plus even with a smaller battery. GS6 actually had less battery life than the GS5.
So Apple gives you the most powerful processor on the planet, decreases the battery size by 8%, and manages to increase battery life.
iPhone 6s Plus is a phablet the same size of the Note 5, so should be compared with the Note 5 which gets the same rating of 85 too, but is pushing 1.7 times more pixels while offering faster multithreaded performance.
No, it's not faster. I already explained this to you before and you're still coming back and posting incorrect information again?
Primate Labs (makers of Geekbench) rates the Note5 at 4351, the iPhone 6S/6S Plus at 4330/4331. So yes, the Note5 is a fraction of a percent faster in multi core performance.
How many times do I have to explain that I own a Galaxy S6 and I get +5200 on Geekbench multicore test. I also own an Xperia Z4 tablet (SD 810 based) that gets +4800. So both are faster than A9 in multicore.
Both curves of the plus have a disgusting green hue to them, and when you tilt it until one disappears, the entire front gets the baby poo greens. It is easily the worst viewing angle on any modern phone, and on an AMOLED of all places, a technology known for its viewing angles. I can't imagine how they could have screwed up worse.
Then you lack imagination... Apple has already made a worse phone for starters, or are you so ignorant, that you can't tell the difference between apples and oranges????
I wonder why Anandtech still had one standard for Samsung and one standard for everybody else when it comes to displays? I don't see you people scrutinise and down rank ocular quality issues with LCD displays like to do with AMOLED. AMOLED haven't just caught up to LCD this year, it's been superior for years, Anandtech. Fix your flawed and biased tests.
If AMOLED is anywhere close to IPS why aren't EIZO, NEC, Dell switching their professional lineup to AMOLED? Why are 31" calibrated IPS monitors going for $3000 while the same money can get you 55" 4K OLED TV? For that matter, how come no one is selling a calibrated OLED anything? With all the green/purple tint and grayish white you'd think OLED could use some calibration.
Leave the review to the professionals. Your eyeballing review aren't worth the hot air carrying the sound bits.
There are issues for desktop sized high resolution displays. The biggest one is volume and production cost. Just look at what you have to pay for an LG OLED telly compared to a nano LED telly. Like Kamus said, look up what professional display calibration companies says about SAMOLED. It's not "on par", it's in a league of its own.
You are an idiot. The reason that top end monitor manufacturers don't use OLED, or AMOLED, is because they can't afford to. Eventually they will replace LCD, when they can afford to. LCD is crap technology and outdated, and will eventually be entirely replaced, when the costs make sense. Samsung can produce AMOLED screens, because they actually build them!! Apple builds nothing. At all. They buy their tech from others whom have the know how. Therefore, they pay through the nose for it, and aren't ever even offered the superior tech, because, why would you bother?! You'd maybe understand these issues, we're you not such an utter moron.
Hi I've been wondering, having the best chip to process still photos and good software - why still slow motion FPS rate is still kept too low compared to the slow motion fps for iPhone. Is this a limitation with hardware or can be fixed through an software update?
Dude, seriously, smartphones take terrible pictures. The camera tech they employ is light years behind that used in actual cameras. Any photographer using their smartphone as there primary photographic device, is an utter moron!! Probably an unsuccessful one too!!
As an iPhone user that also played with Samsung and LG flagships extensively, I feel Samsung Galaxy S and Note are the only phone that can be mentioned in the same sentence as iPhone. No other Android phones come close to S and Note's Apple-like hardware and refinements. Android + TouchWiz still lags and not as stable as iOS but where Samsung did their homework it is at Apple's level. I hope the upcoming V10 and Z5 Premium is as well made and tweaked as Note 5.
Your opinion is entirely meaningless, as you haven't used any flagship Android devices, other than Samsung. Sony make great phones, as do HTC, and Google and Motorola, and Huawei... Need I go on?? You might know this, if you weren't so entirely blinkered and pathetic.
Just picked up a Note 5 today, ugraded from the Nexus 6 and wow its way faster ! The batter drains a little faster but the fast charge feels just sweet and that see coming from another fast charge device. The screen is beautiful and the spen is going to come in handy. The only thing I really like better in the Nexus 6 was the two front facing speakers. I thought I would not like TouchWiz because I heard it's slow compared stock androld but the hardware on the phone makes up for it like 10 fold ! I'm very happy with this device :)
The Nexus 6 had splendid speakers! That was my biggest complaint switching from it to a smaller Galaxy S6.
For another set of nice stereo phone speakers, check out the Moto X Pure Edition. My wife has one and the speakers sound good, better than any phone from Samsung or Apple IMHO. :-)
Speaking of Apple, I am excited to hear the speakers on the new iPad Pro. I'm *hoping* they really advance the tablet speaker situation to a new level!
Thank you! The opinion of someone who has actually bought the device in question, is always going to be more legitimate, than the reams of idiots who have only ever used an iPhone. Good work, for bothering to add your two cents, it is appreciated.
Hey staff @ Anand. I tried to look for any review of Xperia's (Z3, Z3+/Z4 or new Z5's) but came up empty. Since the sensors and image/video quality is considered as best by some benchmarks in the industry (look at dxomark), it would be nice to see your take on the latest versions.
Anyone who thinks the iPhone 6 is a worthwhile purchase based on the awful camera that they supply, is an utter moron. Smartphones have crap cameras. They always have, and always will. A ten year old, cheap as chips Canon digital, would piss all over smartphone cameras. Indeed, only complete morons take pictures with their smartphone. It's convenient, sure, but the quality will always be woeful in comparison to a proper camera.
I must say Samsung galaxy note 5 is a nice phone and complete all my android needs. I have been using this phone since long time and am glad to have this with me. The smartphone is enriched with many features which are liked by everyone. Available Bluetooth and GPS work well. Phone looks stylish and adds flavor on once personality. Available powerful processor and attractive 5.7” Super AMOLED screen make me feel relax about it style and capacity. This Smartphone takes HD images using its 16 megapixel rear and 5 megapixel of front camera. Its 3,000 mAH battery provide long life to all supportable network(2g, 3g and 4g). This android cellphone supports connectivity via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and NFC.
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kspirit - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
Display and battery numbers, etc are on par with the iPhone 6 which is a year old now. The 6S looks like it'll wreck this thing.RMSe17 - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
Except for the GFX battery, judging by how quickly the 6 ran out.kaidenshi - Sunday, October 4, 2015 - link
Maybe I just don't use my phone enough, but typically at the end of the day I still have around 40-50% battery life on my iPhone 6. My previous device was a Moto G, which was supposedly great with battery life but it would die on me around dinner time even on a light use day.Of course, I'm actually getting work done during the day instead of screwing around on Facebook or Bejeweled clones for 8+ hours at work, so there's that.
LoganPowell - Friday, November 27, 2015 - link
Both phones are good. But between the two, the Galaxy S6 Edge is way better receiving a higher review (see http://www.consumerrunner.com/top-10-best-phones/ for instance...) than S5.farhadd - Monday, October 5, 2015 - link
The reason the iphone 6 runs down fast is because it doesn't throttle the frame rate. It doesn't have to throttle because the metal enclosure can dissipate the heat efficiently enough to keep up.Oyeve - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
Isnt the display on the 6 and 6s basically the same?close - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
iPhone 6s has basically the same battery lifetime in real life experience because the battery is a bit smaller. So I really think "wreck" is a way to strong word.tipoo - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
The 6S has nearly identical display and battery properties (slightly worse) as the 6...?kspirit - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
It has presumably has a very fast chipset and storage though. Let's see how the camera stacks up to this, as well. I love how they designed the Note 5 but I'm so hesitant to go back to Samsung software after reading all those threads about people running into issues, on reddit :(abrogan - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
In my family, 2 S4's died quickly after being purchased. My brother has a perfect Note 4, but my neighbor's sister bought an S6. Even after a fresh reformat, it always has the "google play services has stopped responding" error. No way to fix as far as I can tell... it's useless for her, and all the money wasted... My Nexus never has any software bugs, so I'm sticking with Nexus myself. I've had 3 perfect Nexus phones, so I'll buy another Nexus. Not very scientific, but....kspirit - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
Ya I've owned the Nexus 4 and 5 in the past, they were both A+! Currently on WP but really considering getting either the Z5 or the iP6S. Waiting for the reviews to come in :)sonny73n - Saturday, October 3, 2015 - link
Sony Z5? Hmm... If Anandtech ever do reviews on Xperia phones, it would break them Sony fanboys' hearts. And AT will probably save a lot of people from becoming victims of Sony marketing gimmicks. I have owned more than 20 smartphones (bought them all brand new) in the last 9 years. The 3 biggest mistakes I'd ever made were purchasing the Sony ZR, ZL and Z3C. Yup, 3 times. I can't believe I could be that stupid.AT please do a review on an Xperia phone, I'll happily donate $100 for it.
jbm - Sunday, October 4, 2015 - link
What was your problem with the Z3C? I had a Samsung S4 and it was horrible (I had barely any apps installed, disabled everything I did not need, power saving mode etc. and still randomly the phone decided to use 5-10% per hour). I managed to sell it and got a Sony Z3C. Best android phone I ever had. Got regularly 4 days battery life out of it without any issues at all. Right now, I have an iPhone 6s and it is great so far. Great camera, great build quality, uses about 20% battery per day so I only have to charge it every 3-4 days (I do not play any games on the phone and do not watch any videos, I just use it as a PHONE plus for email/occasional looking at a website/occasional music listening).sonny73n - Monday, October 5, 2015 - link
The Z3CHardware: The worst IPS display I've ever seen on a smartphone. DeltaE is way off. Digitizer grids are clearly visible whether the screen on or off. The back glass creaks when slightly squeezed. Cover flaps won't seal tightly anymore after a couple hundreds of openings and closings. Sony has retracted their claim as the phone is submersible which means it's no longer safe being submersed. Remember the commercial of the Z3C - A boy taking pictures with the phone under water? Back camera cover isn't glass, it's easily scratched. Front stereo speakers sound muffled.
Software: Bloatwares, junkwares and crapwares... Two ecosystems on one device (Google and Sony). Factory reset, nothing installed with everything turned off (wifi, data, location service...) and stamina mode turned on, wakelock still eats battery in sleep mode. It stays awake the whole time draining 10% in 4 hours in sleep mode. Camera app and phone app when in use would suck battery from 100% to 0% in about ~4.5 hours. Back camera takes terrible pictures compares to Samsungs which use the same Sony lens.
I have owned 1000s of Sony products since I was born - TV, AV system, headphone, laptop... You name it. But after the last 3 phones from them and 5 days on the phone with their terrible customer service refs about the Z3C, I swear that I will never buy another Sony product again. And if any of my relatives buy Sony, I'll cut them loose. Yes, I WILL divorce my wife if she buy anything with a Sony logo.
I have A+ and MCSE/MCSA since windows 2000 and been in IT since, just so you know.
mattscottshea - Sunday, October 4, 2015 - link
Z2 is a good phone, all models since have been incremental upgrades of it. Z5 Premium review would be interesting, especially since Sony already came out and said everything will not run in 4K. 4K videos will playback in 4K, but everything else, including the homescreen will run in 1080. Wonder if there will be a setting to change that.bigstrudel - Saturday, October 3, 2015 - link
Google Play services can be disabled and all apps can be downloaded through other means or over the web as .apk.thedons1983 - Sunday, October 18, 2015 - link
So take it back and exchange it, you fool. Or are you really such a retard that you're not aware that warranties exist??imaheadcase - Sunday, October 4, 2015 - link
You will find issues with both phones if you look for them. No one goes to reddit to scream how great something is.dsraa - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
You little guys are soooo cute with your Apple vs Samsung bs......Go back to starbucks you yuppie geek hipster, and worry about some real world problems instead.hughlle - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
Coming from someone getting involved in an argument he doesn't want to exist :D by your own post your are also one of these yuppie geek hipsters you so despise.The0ne - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
WTF, so you want him to voice on something that doesn't exist then? That's just stupid. I bet you use this argument all the time to feel good about yourself. lol. Be easier if you just tell him to not bother in your little fight at all. Makes much more sense.Sttm - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
Go cry about your real world problems and leave the comments sections of a tech site to us! I'm sure there is a starving kid somewhere that can use your tiny violin services.The0ne - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
He's not crying, he's laughing at you and the other people bitching about the two companies RATHER than enjoying the devices. You totally misunderstood and misinterpreted his comment. Tech sites needs smart people, please just leave. Take your fanboy arguments elsewhere.And thanks for sharing something a little about your selfish self, all from your stupidity.
melgross - Saturday, October 3, 2015 - link
Oh, shut up!kspirit - Saturday, October 3, 2015 - link
No. >:(generalako - Saturday, October 3, 2015 - link
A more recognized source is the industry standard DisplayMate. Take a look at their tests of the newest Samsung flagships. Ever since the S5, they have been leading in the mark, and ever since the Note 4, their displays have been "considerably better" than the best LCD display (iPhone 6) out there, on virtually every category (contrasts, black levels, efficiency, color accuracy, brigthness, performance in bright lights, viewing angles, sharpness, etc.)http://www.displaymate.com/Galaxy_Note5_ShootOut_1...
Anandtech's test is hard to take seriously when they can't even rate the true peak brigthness of the Samsung phones. They don't even mention that they have left it out of their test! When put on auto brigthness, the Note 4, S6 and Note 5 all get far higher brightness than on manual. The Note 5 can reach 861 cd/m2. That's 50% more than Anandtech claim.
Take a look at DisplayMate's review. They give a proper analysis of the display, which contradicts the Anandtech review on so many areas it's funny.
Peichen - Monday, October 5, 2015 - link
DisplayMate is a Samsung marketing partner. I wouldn't trust it consider them never mention the lackluster AMOLED sub pixel arrangement.MattL - Saturday, October 10, 2015 - link
What the hell are you talking about... first of all read the DisplayMate Samsung review again and search for "Diamond" where they outline the Diamond sub-pixel arrangement. They also have a completely separate article detailing this arrangement (including a zoomed in picture):http://www.displaymate.com/Diamond_29.html
Also in the review in their spec lists they list the sub-pixel count so you can fully compare resolution and sub-pixel counts... hell for their distance in which 20/20 vision can be resolved by the human eye they include stats for the different subpixel counts (which are different per color based on the Diamond arrangement).
How you missed all that I have no clue other than you didn't bother to actually read it.
Also on your first point, Displaymate has been a leader in screen calibration for a long time now... this is their specialty and not the speciality of Anandtech, hence why people take them far more seriously on that topic... it's also why it's a bit surprising Anandtech keeps coming up with different (and less detailed) results, especially when Anandtech doesn't include important values and analysis)... You should really know what you're talking about before you make such a bold response.
Also Displaymate rates the iPhone screens *very* well, just not as a good as Samsung for the past couple generations. You do realize of course that Apple sources their screen manufacturing from a variety of companies... including Samsung, so it makes complete sense that Samsung is doing better when they finally decided to put the resources into it.
Kamus - Sunday, October 4, 2015 - link
On par? You do realize that a Delta below 3 is very much unnoticeable when it comes to gamut and grayscale calibration right?This means that even the galaxy note 4 display smokes any iPhone display to date, because EVERY LCD that has ever been made has downright comical contrast ratio. And OLED on the other hand has the end game in contrast, as in, its perfect.
The only reason this isn't more obvious is because most of the content viewed in smartphones is bright and viewed in very bright environments. Which sort of gives LCDs a free pass since its contrast ratio deficit isn't as obvious as in those situations.
You should know that videophilies spend thousands of dollars on displays that offer even slightly better contrast ratios. And here we have a situation where we go from terrible contrast, to perfect. Watch any sort of dark content on both displays at the same time in a light controled environment and you'll immediately see how these Samsung displays are simply in a whole different league.
Then there's is also the fact that the color gamut is also much wider on OLED, so if the day ever came that we finally decide to stop using the obsolete sRGB standard, OLED would also have an advantage there. (Somethg that had been ironically seen as a disadvantage before they started shiphing phones with color profiles, because the gamut is so wide it results in over saturated colors if a profile isn't is used for sRGB)
I also have to question the brightness results that anandtech got from their unit. Displaymate stated that this is the brightest smartphone display they have ever tested, they get over 800 Nits on their unit. Making it by far the best display you can use under the sun.
To meet it seems obvious that LCD has been surprised in most meaningful metrics, and its only going to get worse for LCD as OLED continues to evolve. LCD has never been good enough, but as it matured it got to a point where it became really good in a lot of ways compared to CRTs (never in contrast or switching times)
TL;DR: these Samsung displays are the benchmark every other display has to be compared to.
thedons1983 - Sunday, October 18, 2015 - link
Yeah, but it's made by Apple, and is pretty much exclusively sold, therefore, to sheep, whom generally have no idea what they are talking about. I'd rather not have a smartphone at all, than one of those ugly ass iphones. But then, that's probably because I actually have taste, and don't just buy whatever hipster rubbish is currently en vogue.osxandwindows - Saturday, October 24, 2015 - link
People don't buy the iPhone because of that.You must be one your self to call people who by them a sheep.
lucam - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
Why you haven't add the iPhone 6s results? Are you still updating the bench?Ryan Smith - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
The iPhone 6s is still being reviewed. This was actually completed ahead of the 6s launch, though we had to hold off on publishing it for a few days.lucam - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
Fair enough, thanks.harrietpubman - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
Is there any timeline for when the 6s/6s+ review will be completed and published? Next week perhaps?Kuzi - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
Their Apple overlords ordered iAnandtech to hold off publishing the Note 5/Edge 6 + review until iPhone6S/6S+ are released as to not jeopardize their sales.ws3 - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
If that were true then their Apple overlords would also have ordered them to include the iPhone 6s benchmark results to show the Exynos 7420 being crushed by the A9. Since that didn't happen, your assertion is wrong.Kuzi - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
They did just that few days ago by showing preliminary iPhone 6S benchmarks.A9 GPU is much faster yes, but CPU is faster only on single/dual apps/benchmarks. Android utilizes quad-cores when running apps as shown on Anandtech last month, so CPU performance for exynos 7420 or Snapdragon 810 should be able to match or beat that of the A9.
tipoo - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
Android uses 8 cores well - that article also showed apps themselves don't. Games and such which need the performance most, usually don't use more than 3-4, even if Android is good at using 8.Morawka - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
because most arm soc's never use 8 cores all at once.. it's big.Little.. 4 core for high performance, then 4 core for mundane taskmelgross - Saturday, October 3, 2015 - link
I'm not convinced that the 8/4 solution is a good one. Four weak cores, and four even weaker cores may look good in multiprocessing tests, but in the real world, it's going to lag.mercucu1111 - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
Exynos 7420 Full load Geekbench : 5600A9 Full load Geekbench : 4400
So E7420 CPU is 30% higher.
According to GFX 3.0 and 2.7
A9 GPU is 40% higher.
So Nobody can say which is better lol
melgross - Saturday, October 3, 2015 - link
The multiprocessing tests mean little though. They're often questioned. The problem is that real world use doesn't function that way.darwinosx - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
Heh. Kids. Apple sales have destroyed Samsung as is well known.Kuzi - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
As of Q2 2015, Samsung has 21.4% of the Smarphone market, Apple has 13.9%:http://www.idc.com/prodserv/smartphone-market-shar...
Well known yeah right.
tipoo - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
Is that 21% high end phones like the GS6, or all the cheap phones with razor margins they also have?hughlle - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
Irrelevant to the statement darwinosx made.. he stated Apple sales have destroyed Samsung's sales. Clearly they havnt. The type of phones Mali g up the figures is irrelevant to that statement.lukarak - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
Well, if you mention sales, you know, exchange of stuff for money, then money made is much much more important than unit numbers to judge someones performance. Because, they do sales to earn money, not to ship units. And Apple destroys Samsung in that regard.Kuzi - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
Remember that since the first iPhone till now most of the SOCs used were made by Samsung. Also Samsung supplied RAM, screens, flash etc for the iPhones and iPads. The IPhone 6 SOC and RAM is supplied by samsung. So for every iPhone/IPad sold, Samsung makes money. It has been thisnway since the first IPhone, enjoy.Morawka - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
yay apple makes more money, but samsung sells more phones.. hmm interesting. i would say android wins because they make it all up on app sales and profitsmelgross - Saturday, October 3, 2015 - link
No, not true at all. As far as app sales go, iOS is about twice what Android sales are, in dollars. As far as profits for phone makers go, Apple made 91% of the profits in the cell manufacturing industry, and Samsung made 12%. Everyone else lost money.melgross - Saturday, October 3, 2015 - link
It's pretty well understood that it's meant that flagship phones, and near flagship phones are what are meant.But for cheap smartphones, cheap makers from China and India are crushing Samsung on the low end.
thedons1983 - Sunday, October 18, 2015 - link
When apple actually make a high end phone, then we could answer that, but seeing as everything they manufacture is saddled with their God awful software, we will never know!melgross - Saturday, October 3, 2015 - link
Yeah, when you include $80 smartphones, Samsung does better. But if you consider phones that we would use, Samsung is in trouble. Here, in the states, Apple's sales are 43% and Samsung's are 28%. A similar ratio exists with higher price phones everywhere.In fact, Samsung's sales have been down for at least two years.
thedons1983 - Sunday, October 18, 2015 - link
What a pathetic comment. Everyone in the developed world, knows that the average US consumer is an utter moron. You will buy literally anything, no matter how crap it really is. I guess it's something to do with the woeful education standards in America. Americans = dumb consumers, and we all know it... Well, apart from you, it seems!KoolAidMan1 - Saturday, October 3, 2015 - link
Yes, and most of Samsung's sales are low end devices, not flagships. There is no comparison between iPhone sales and the high end phones from any other OEM.beggerking@yahoo.com - Sunday, October 4, 2015 - link
What you said only applies in the states because American are more naive and uninformed than the rest of the world.For the rest of the world android rule
thedons1983 - Sunday, October 18, 2015 - link
I'm guessing you're not great with numbers then, as higher equals better when it comes to selling. Samsung sells more devices than apple, hence why their sales numbers are higher... Do you see how that works?? Idiot.melgross - Saturday, October 3, 2015 - link
Are you really that paranoid? What is with you guys?tempestglen - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
I believe the SPEC2006 test on iPhone6S is a big gift for the public.forgot2yield28 - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
How about a Moto X Pure review? I'm sure I'm not alone in wanting to get your take on how it stacks up against the big Samsung and Apple phones.danbob999 - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
I would like to see screen-off and idle battery tests. Most of the time my phone sits on the table, receiving emails in the background.Dobson123 - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
THIS! I got some bad battery numbers with the S6 in idle mode with an active internet connection (WLAN and LTE), don't know what causes this.Shark321 - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
Agreed. My phone sits around with screen off 90% of the day.WoodyPWX - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
Great review as always, thank you!plonk420 - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
just a side note, in your comparisons between phones, why does the Lumia 735 (one i'm pondering) and a few others have a handful of lights reflecting? odd setup on your behalf? or is the CCD actually picking that up?JoshHo - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
I believe this is some extra lighting Brett uses, not a sensor issue.zimmybz - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
Dude... I can //feel// your disdain by reading written words. This review was clearly a chore. It's such a "meh" effort.I understand you prefer Apple products, and in this case, I can even readily admit that the 6S Plus is probably going to trounce this phone.
I used to come here because there was very little non-technical (specs don't lie) bias in your reviews. I guess those days are gone now.
Here is the major problem - some of us just don't LIKE iOS. It has nothing to do with whether or not it's a technically superior device year to year or whether it has a this or a that.
Reviews like this are what made me stop clicking a lot of other places. I can appreciate that you like iOS better. But an unbiased review of the product in which I can't hear you saying "whatever, it's not an iPhone" the entire time is not what Anandtech used to be.
zimmybz - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
That last line should read: But a biased review of the product....Ryan Smith - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
"I understand you prefer Apple products"While we appreciate the feedback all the same, just to be clear here, Josh is a day-to-day Android user. Which is not to say that he doesn't do a thorough job on both kinds of phones, but I hope you aren't ignoring a good article just because of misconceptions about the author.=)
Bragabondio - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
he-he, I was about to say that Anand (the former site owner) was much into Apple (he joined it and sold the site to the owners of Tom's hardware) but he was trying to be as objective as possible until the last few years when it was clear he was becoming increasingly seduced by the dark side" :)I got Iphone 6 free from work and like it despite its limitations but if it comes to buying my own Samsung note or Nexus 6p would be on the top of my list. There are many intangibles like having to call Apple to switch my country store and then of course not being able to purchase apps outside the particular country store etc. that remind we why Apple products are not my thing.
makemineamac - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
Um, you don't need to call Apple to change your country store, and there are a myriad of ways to purchase content from other stores. I have accounts in the US, Canada, and the UK and I use them interchangeably to purchase Apps, Programmes (UK) and more all the time....Kuzi - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
I find this article more balanced and unbiased:http://www.gsmarena.com/apple_iphone_6s-review-131...
ws3 - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
It was a good review. I agree.nerd1 - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
A good article? are you serious?beggerking@yahoo.com - Sunday, October 4, 2015 - link
John's review has always been biased.Kuzi - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
Agreed with every word you said zimmybz, and I feel exactly the same as you.I've been an Anandtech reader since 1998, and it was usually the first site that I came to for informative and unbiased tech reviews. But those days are over, especially since Anandtech became iAnandtech a few years ago. Most people can't tell or read between the lines, but I am sure old-time readers did. To me the Apple worship is obvious.
After noticing the bias few years ago, we found out some Anandtech guys joined Apple, including Anand himself. I guess Ryan, Joshua and the rest at iAnandtech are hoping to join Apple too, but it seems to me they arevalready under Apple's payroll.
Notice in this review the over use of the word decent, decent design, decent color accuracy, acceptable blah blah. And when testing the display and battery, there's no mention that the Galaxy phones are pushing almost 4 times the pixels as iPhone 6. Even a blind person can tell that the Amoled display on the Galaxy phones is better and noticeably sharper. Yet iJoshua insists that Amoled just finally reached Lcd quality (hinting at iPhone) and in a year or two-mile surpass it, what a joke... Actually Note 4 display from last year already surpassed the LCD display on iPhones.
The Garden Variety - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
By *far* the best part of Anandtech these days is reading the comments from angry, butt hurt nerds upset that their favorite brand got slighted, pretending it's all about "facts" and "figures." Dude, you're as bad as an Apple fanboi. Worse, actually, because you channel your irrational brand attachment into fist-shaking. So certain you have it figured out, you're going to post over and over again about how *wrong* the writer got it, as if you're correcting some great universal injustice.Spare us.
ws3 - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
How true. Even better is the fact that they don't really have a favorite brand. They just have a most-hated brand, for some unknowable reason. I say: just because *that* girl, who won't give you the time of day, has an iPhone, it doesn't mean that Apple sucks. It just means that you need to exercise and shave a bit more often.zimmybz - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
See - you misunderstood, and I don't blame you, because 9 out of 10 times, you'd be correct.But, in this case - I don't have a favorite brand. I used to be an iPhone guy. I got bored of iOS and have been playing with Android for a few years. I'm sure I'll go back at some point, but that point is not right now.
What I was really looking for is a review where the author put (AS MUCH) time and effort and energy into the Note 5 work as he/she did their Apple reviews.
This is clearly not the place for that anymore - which is sad, because it used to be.
Whichever tech you prefer, good on you brother, I mean that sincerely, I hope you enjoy it and it treats you well, and I'm not being sarcastic. In fact, you will see in my original comment that I am well aware the 6S is probably going to drop the hammer on the Note 5.
That is, however, irrelevant considering that I will not be buying one, and would still (shocking, I know, right?) like a review written without the eye-rolling tone of "this is not an iPhone but..." "this is not an iPhone but...." "this is not an iPhone but..."
Sailor23M - Saturday, October 3, 2015 - link
Well said.just4U - Wednesday, October 7, 2015 - link
While not a fanboy.. (it's a phone for (censored) sake..) I do use Samsung phones pretty much exclusively these days simply because I am familiar with them and I've yet to see a company make one I like better.. That being said.. I am a long reader and commenter here as well.. and I certainly don't see any hate-on for any company or love-in for that matter.Occasionally some reviewers may know they have a certain amount of bias for some companies and may go overboard in trying to be fair ..coming across as to critical.. but that's pretty rare.
Tech_guy - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
Apple is designing extremely fast chips these days with amazing performance combined with iOS 9, it's hard to deny that iPhone 6s is the leader right now, by a LONG shot.nerd1 - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
Only thing 6s is better is better singlethread performance and GPU. 7420 still has better multithread performance (which android does use, says anandtech article!) and comes with better and larger display, smaller and lighter device, and true wacom pen and better camera.I just don't get it how 6s is "the leader" as it lacks in many division compared to now old GS6.
Tech_guy - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
It's not about the quanity of your cores but their quality. Just look at how Intel obliterates AMD because of their stronger IPC in each core. It's not of the same Apple has set the single core benchmark so high that others will HAVE to focus on single core performance. What some real world comparisons of iPhone 6s vs Note 5, anytime it's a larger app like a game or something the iPhone 6s just destroys those weak cores in the Exynos 7422.thedons1983 - Sunday, October 18, 2015 - link
What a moronic comment! If your assertion were actually true, then literally everyone would buy an iPhone. They don't, however, because not everyone wants to suck on apples tainted teat. Their software is utter garbage, and the only reason they close it down so much, is because they know that it would simply break otherwise. IOS is woeful, as is OS-x, hence why user rates are so incredibly low. Even windows 8, which lots of people hated, has user numbers that OS-X could only dream of. Primarily, it's because windows is just better. Android beats IOS in almost every respect, and the only people that can't comprehend that, are idiot fanboys like you. You are actually, and truly, pathetic.Sailor23M - Saturday, October 3, 2015 - link
I have been a regular reader since 2003/04 time period - so a good 10+ years. Although I am an Apple user I do feel the site has progressively increased their bias/tilt towards Apple. If its true that "Galaxy Phones are pushing 4 times more pixels" then this should have been mentioned in the review.Kuzi - Saturday, October 3, 2015 - link
Galaxy S6/Edge/Note 5 resolution:2560x1440= 3686400 pixels
IPhone 6/6S resolution:
1334x750= 100500 pixels
The Galaxy phones are pushing 3.68 times more pixels than iPhone 6 & 6S.
Peichen - Monday, October 5, 2015 - link
Note 5 should be compared with iPhone 6s PLUS, not the regular size one. QHD on the regular S6 is just stupid but consider Samsung cheats with the sub-pixels counts on AMOLED the smaller screen does need QHD to not show pixels.Kuzi - Tuesday, October 6, 2015 - link
Even though the Galaxy S6 uses a non standard pixel arrangment, it's 575 PPI screen is much sharper than the comparatively low res (by today's standards) 325 PPI screen of the iPhone 6S.melgross - Saturday, October 3, 2015 - link
The fact that you are willing to admit that you don't like iOS shows your own bias. Your bias won't allow you to read a review that goes against your bias. That's why you, and those others here who are biased against iOS, and Apple in general, find reviews that show products that you are biased for, to be worse than the iOS products, you say that the reviews are biased, rather that your views of the reviews.So you would prefer all reviews to be biased towards the products you like.
Tough! The reviews stand as they are.
KoolAidMan1 - Saturday, October 3, 2015 - link
You're angry about perceived bias that runs counter to your personal bias, even when that "bias" is backed up by hard data?Really?
beggerking@yahoo.com - Sunday, October 4, 2015 - link
Well said. Anand had been extremely biased for years now.id4andrei - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
Joshua, consider using Samsung's stock browser as it is better optimized. Vanilla Chrome is notorious for sucking hard across all Android devices. Apple optimizes constantly their web performance on mobile. Google does not care so much so Android OEMs have to go the extra mile.lopri - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
I also thought that was an odd change/omission since those benches do not take very long to conduct.lilmoe - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
It's very frustrating really. They did an article with the Note 4 showing that the stock browser (coupled with Exynos) is indeed more optimized. They then recently did an even more detailed technical article proving that Samsung's stock browser is MUCH faster and MUCH more efficient than Chrome, but then they completely ignore it and use Chrome...Oh well. I'm tired of asking them to do what they obviously DON'T want to do for whatever reason...
lopri - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
This is the reason given by the same author as to why he used Samsung's stock browser in the S6/Edge review."As always, we'll start things off with our browser benchmarks. After getting to use the phone, it became clear to me that Chrome is poorly optimized against the Galaxy S6 as Samsung’s browser is clearly superior in performance. For that reason I've gone ahead and run our benchmarks on both Chrome and on the stock browser, as seen below."
http://www.anandtech.com/show/9146/the-samsung-gal...
So what changed?
lilmoe - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
Thanks for contributing more evidence as to why Anandtech's comparison charts are an inconsistent mess."So what changed?" I'm assuming you mean what has changed between the GS6 on release and the Note5?
I don't know....... More software optimization? Newer build of Android? Battery life? Potentially better performance because of more thermal headroom? Take a pick.
I'm able to draw my own conclusions from certain reviews. But it's getting harder and much more frustrating with time.
Kuzi - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
Guys I get 3900ms on my Galaxy S6 For Kraken 1.1 using stock browser.I also think it's odd since most Android makers already include a faster stock browser with their phones. But hey, this is the new iAnandtech after all :)
ws3 - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
So If Anandtech used the stock browser, the Galaxy S6 would leapfrog the two year old iPhone 5s and be only 2.25 slower than the iPhone 6s.nerd1 - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
And that will make apple look really bad. That's why.nerd1 - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
Using stock browser for comparison will make apple devices look worse. That's why they keep using chrome for benchmarking samsung devices.Pissedoffyouth - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
Why? At least Chrome being the same software actually means it shows true SoC power, because it doesn't have sneaky optimisations and shows real world uselilmoe - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
"shows true SoC power".Wrong.
"because it doesn't have sneaky optimisations"
Not sure if hateful or biased... These "sneaky" optimizations do show in real world usage.
lopri - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
But they do not use Chrome on iPhones and iPads. If they have a different standard for those, I would hope they make it clear in every review applicable and remove those iDevices numbers from Android device charts.kpkp - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
No display power consumption curve :-(mpokwsths - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
Ridiculous NAND measurements.Purposely demoting Android phones: http://i-cdn.phonearena.com/images/articles/171432...
Once again...
vanilla_gorilla - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
Thanks for the review, very thorough as always.I do have one suggestion. It would be really nice if you setup a nice image gallery for these devices when you do reviews. Maybe each picture could link to the gallery? That way we could click on an image and get to see all of the photos of the device.
mayankleoboy1 - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
Could we have a Motox Style and Motox Pure Edition review ?JoshHo - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
It is coming although we won't be committing for an ETA.lopri - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
Also odd that the author thinks the color shift on the Edge+ is due to RGBG subpixel layout. I thought the color shift would be there due to curves regardless of subpixel layout.In any case I give the author props for this effort. A rather thorough review, even if a little heavy on editorials.
lilmoe - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
After being called out so many times, your "comparison charts" are still an absolute (intentional?) mess. Why do you have 25 different phones on one chart, and 10 completely different ones on others? Why is the crappiest browser on Android still being used for battery tests? Why is the iPhone 6 in GPU tests and the 6plus absent?While they do have really nice articles, Anandtech scores the lowest in the consistency department out of all sites. Please try being more consistent.
Can you just put 4-5 most popular phones of each platform on the SAME darn charts and keep them that way, without conveniently leaving some out and putting them back here and there? Like PLEASE?
Also, it would be nice if you'd explain why you're posting NAND performance benchmarks with your particular set of settings. I seriously find it VERY hard to believe that UFS 2.0 is equal or often slower than the very best of eMMC in sequentials and randoms.
lopri - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
The real mess is the camera samples. (which by the way is not limited to Android devices for a change) It is maddening to sift through camera samples without knowing ahead what I am going to see only to click dozen more times to find out what I am looking for.Kuzi - Saturday, October 3, 2015 - link
Agreed their charts are a mess.Bob Todd - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
The gigantor phone market is more competitive than ever, so it's interesting to see them dropping features and generally not taking full advantage of being the most vertically integrated Android OEM. They dropped microSD but capacity maxes out at 64GB. They had the opportunity to be ballsy and go higher capacity PCIe NVMe and absolutely crush every other Android OEM in storage performance. You have to *really* want the pen, because this looks like a tough sell at $780 for 64GB when $650 gets you a 128GB Nexus 6P and $500 gets you a 64GB Moto X Pure with expandable storage. Sure Samsung's SOC is better, but this is a pretty underwhelming release for me.TheinsanegamerN - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
Not to mention the sealed, non removable battery. And samsung's terrible track record with updates.thedons1983 - Sunday, October 18, 2015 - link
Sealed, non removable battery = better looking device. Simple as. Never mind the fact, that most users do not want to swap the battery, as they simply don't need to. How obsessed with your phone are you anyway? You should probably try getting a life instead!!lilmoe - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
Samsung knows a thing or two about fast storage, and their UFS 2.0 is pretty darn GOOD. It's just not showing well on you-know-who's charts.Bob Todd - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
You are missing the point. They are charging more than "good enough" money for this thing. They need to offer compelling reasons to spend way more on this than the other solid new entries in this segment. Something like a PCIe NVMe solution would have been a good way to justify that price gap. I predict steep discounts (~$100+) shortly after launch.lilmoe - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
"I predict steep discounts (~$100+) shortly after launch"They already priced the Note 5 cheaper than the Note 4 at launch. Sorry if American carriers are over charging.
"You are missing the point"
Read my *short* comment again. Their storage solution isn't particularly inferior. Random reads and writes are comparable, if not better. If you honestly believe that sequential performance is more important than random for everyday workloads, then I have nothing else to tell you. It's not like we have an extensive comparison of performance and power consumption/efficiency between Samsung's UFS 2.0 vs Apple's sourced NVMe solution (might not even be possible at this stage), nor is it the case that Samsung has already developed a miniature PCIe V-NAND 950 PRO NVMe SSD and is holding back to "cut corners".
Everything in this segment is overpriced, for better or worse. We just learn to "deal with it". That said, your point boils down to overall manufacturer costs, ie: BoM. You shouldn't make assumptions on your own over bits and pieces of the package. Samsung, despite manufacturing most of their parts, have a costlier BoM than most other OEMs, including Apple. Their external enclosure, AMOLED screens, Wacom Digitizers, DACs, etc. are always best in class and cost more than comparable parts from the competition. Other than the omission of SD-card controller, they went all out in every other detail (removable batteries don't contribute to cost, it's a design choice rather).
That said, I'd rather have them start with 64GB of standard storage (128GB option) and an SD-Card slot for a much more value proposition at that price range. A larger ~4000mah battery would have also been possible since the Note 5 is relatively large but is one of the lightest "phablet" out there. This goes for all manufacturers, not only Samsung.
Le Geek - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
I am curious as to why you referred to the new Note as the Note5 (without space) but the previous note was called Note 4.Ryan Smith - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
That is the official name according to Samsung. It was the "Note 4" and for this iteration they've removed the space so that it's the "Note5".http://www.samsung.com/global/galaxy/galaxy-note5/
We typically follow the manufacturer's naming convention unless there's a problem in doing so.
danbob999 - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
"With this generation of AMOLED, Samsung has definitely equaled the best LCDs on the market. I suspect within the next year or two it will be inevitable that Samsung AMOLED will be clearly superior to even the best LCDs"Anandtech has been saying this for years.
Kuzi - Saturday, October 3, 2015 - link
Except that in reality Amoled surpassed LCDs since 2014.Anandtech will not admit Amoled is great until Apple starts using it in their devices (my guess is next year). Of course Apple would bump up the resolution and give it a fancy name, and Anandtech will sing the praises of how amazing Apple's Amoled is. When in reality the screen panel will be made by Samsung or LG :p
PPI will become important and talked about by Anandtech again only when Apple bumps the resolution.
Peichen - Monday, October 5, 2015 - link
If AMOLED is anywhere close to IPS why aren't EIZO, NEC, Dell switch their professional lineup to AMOLED? Why are 31" calibrated IPS monitors going for $3000 while the same money can get you 55" 4K OLED TV?Just because your eyes cannot see the difference doesn't mean professionals cannot. That goes for your rant vis-a-vis iPhone.
Kuzi - Tuesday, October 6, 2015 - link
You can't compare Professional monitors with TVs. If these Dell. NEC monitors were using OLED technology then probably they would have cost double the amount.Also keep in mind that color accuracy of the Samsung OLED screens only became comparable to the best IPS LCDs since a year ago or so. So these manufacturers didn't get the chance yet to move to OLED. There are only cost and capacity considerations, it might be that Samsung is keeping all the capacity for themselves at this time.
Don't be surprised when in a year you see Apple move to OLED.
thedons1983 - Sunday, October 18, 2015 - link
LCD is crap compared to OLED, or AMOLED, there is no denying that, and those who don't buy into that fact, are utter morons. The reason they aren't yet ubiquitous, is cost. Every display will eventually replace LCD, with something superior, like OLED. Hence why top end Tvs are now transitioning to that tech, because it is simply much, much better technology. Apple just can't afford it, hence why they persist with inferior tech.Dobson123 - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
Maybe it would be a good idea to address concerns regarding battery durability and quickcharge in the light of the non-removable battery. What should I do if my battery lost half it's capacity after 2 years? A normal user just can't buy a new on and change it himself.Peichen - Monday, October 5, 2015 - link
I'd like to know this as well. Maybe someone can go crazy and charge and discharge popular smartphones using its default charger for 100/200 cycles and run the same battery test to see if there are obvious signs of battery degradation.An iPhone 6s+, Z5, V10, Note 5, Moto X, Oppo something.
Infy2 - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
Is the maximum display brightness reported here achievable simply with the brightness slider or just with the boost feature triggered by direct sunlight?JoshHo - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
This is with auto-boost. Given that the majority of people will only use auto-brightness the maximum brightness listed is achievable.Endgame124 - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
Just read through the whole article. Did I miss a section regarding mobile data and call reception? Wifi performance is detailed, which is fine, but honestly, if I'm at home or somewhere where I know there is going to be wifi, I'll just bring my tablet.#1 most important feature on a smart phone? Reception. Its maddeningly difficult to get good comparisons across phones when it comes to reception for data and call quality / handlng.
JoshHo - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
I agree that reception quality is important, but the issue here is that proper testing is an enormously difficult task. This is something that I want to resolve but I'm not sure how long it will take.Peichen - Monday, October 5, 2015 - link
Agreed about very difficult to test because the balls/bars on display doesn't really represent real dB.tipoo - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
Sup with the Samsung NAND results getting nuked? In the GS6 review they were head and shoulders above the rest of the Android camp, now they're upper-middling. Different settings?Ryan Smith - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
Different NAND.JoshHo - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
To add on to this, the main difference is that we're only showing a single IO thread and QD=1 to avoid unnecessarily penalizing eMMC as we found that multiple IO threads is usually an unrealistic workload and that it would negatively affect eMMC performance.syxbit - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
If the Note series are going to use the same SoC as the Galaxy S series, it would make sense to release them at the same time. Like Apple does.I was disappointed to see that the Nexus 6P uses the SD810. It's far worse than the competition. Since I like Android, and dislike Touchwiz, I have little choice. 2015 has been a bust for all SoC vendors except Samsung and Apple....
Kuzi - Saturday, October 3, 2015 - link
Syxbit, I own an Xperia Z4 Tablet that runs on SD810 v2.1, this newer version doesn't suffer from the overheating and excessive throttling issues first found on the HTC M9, and performance is around 10% higher.I compared it with my Galaxy S6 and found performance pretty similar, the Xperia is actually slightly faster in GFX Bench and 3Dmark graphics tests. The GS6 has slightly faster CPU and IO performance. But overall performance is great, and that is running 2560x1600 resolution.
My guess is that all newer devices released after June/July this year are running the improved SD810 V2.1. So Nexus 6P will surely run on this.
Ziich - Saturday, October 3, 2015 - link
I don't really know which doc you were expecting. i don't think the 820 is ready and i don't think samsung is selling their exynos soc to other oemslilmoe - Sunday, October 4, 2015 - link
Samsung is selling Exynos to anyone willing to buy...Tech_guy - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
Why weren't 6s benchmarks included? This is stupid, and misleading. You're trying to make Samsung look good. It'll embarrass the Note 5, like iPhone 6s is about 4 times the onscreen graphics performance lol. Did Samsung increase their advertising on Ananadtech.com?freeskier93 - Saturday, October 3, 2015 - link
Dude chill out, these phones were released before the 6s/+. The full 6s/+ review isn't even out yet so it only makes sense.thedons1983 - Sunday, October 18, 2015 - link
What a pathetic faggot. Please don't breed, as the world has enough ill-informed morons as it is!!secretmanofagent - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
No mention at all of it dropping multitasking? This is an important question.randomlm - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
A few errors in this review,1 . At the front page, Note 4 rear camera's aperture is stated as F/2.0, it is actually F2.2
2. At the battery life page it is stated that note 4 has a "planar 20nm process". This is only true for Exynos Note 4 which has the 5433, but it appears on the front page that the Snapdragon Note 4 is being compared instead, which has a 28 nm process.
3. On the camera architecture page, the front camera's aperture of Note 4 is stated as F2.4. It should be F1.9.
4. I disagree with the line "Samsung has actually managed to implement low light image processing that's good enough to beat" ( Lightroom's noise reduction ability). Not a fair comparison. In JPEG shots, samsung has been known to always activate "night mode", which uses a sort of "image stacking" process by combining (my guess is 3) images taken in quick succession to reduce noise (and improving the SNR of an image). By using raw, only one image of shutter speed 1/7 is taken. With only 1 image worth of data to process, the lightroom processed image will definitely lose out! But your point is there, that samsung's really good at JPG processing for night photos.
Still a pretty good review, thanks.
Ryan Smith - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
Thanks randomlm. I've taken care of 2 and 3. As for item #1, in my notes I have it down as 2.0, but I will get Josh to check this.beck2448 - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
Note 5 is awesome. Moved up from the 3. Screen is clearly the best in business including the iphone.Fast and great camera. Low light pix much better. It's a winner.
nerd1 - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
Okay now I absolutely hate anandtech reviews. THEY INTENTIONALLY OMITTED ANY COMPARISON THAT MAKE APPLE DEVICES LOOK BAD.-Display review lacks contrast and outdoor contrast (both AMOLED dominates)
-Browser benchmark uses terrible mobile chrome, not stock browser which is way better.
-Processor benchmark lacks any multithread benchmarks (like geekbench multi)
-NAND R/W results makes absolutely sense at all, compared to this http://blog.gsmarena.com/samsung-galaxy-s6-storage...
-Camera comparison only shows the focus lag comparison and no resolution / noise / dynamic range that actually matters
I'm really surprised to see this low level of journalism at anandtech. Why cherry pick test results to make apple device look the best? Even worse thing is that most people will take those graphs as 'unbiased and technical'
Yanic - Saturday, October 3, 2015 - link
If this is the case, then this will be the last Anandtech review I ever read. Really sad.Yanic - Saturday, October 3, 2015 - link
My entire reason for reading this site is because I felt it portrayed an unbiased informative review which is platform agnostic.Kuzi - Saturday, October 3, 2015 - link
I have noticed the same thing for a few years now. Anandtech has been cherry picking benchmarks or omitting when needed to always try to show Apple devices in the best light.In Geekbench multicore exynos 7420 gets 5200, while IPhone 6 gets 2800, and even the iPhone 6S gets only 4400. The story is the same for any other multithreaded tests such as Antutu, 3dmark Physics test etc.
Ryan Smith - Saturday, October 3, 2015 - link
Hi Nerd1,Thanks for the feedback. A couple quick responses to specific items.
Contrast; OLED is infinite contrast since a pure black screen doesn't emit any light. We literally can't even plot it. Which is why we note in the text "Meanwhile the use of OLED means that black levels are perfect and contrast remains solely determined by the lighting of the room and the reflectance of the display"
NAND: There are two factors here. The first is that the NAND has changed relative to the S6. Second, as Josh has commented elsewhere "To add on to this, the main difference is that we're only showing a single IO thread and QD=1 to avoid unnecessarily penalizing eMMC as we found that multiple IO threads is usually an unrealistic workload and that it would negatively affect eMMC performance."
And our benchmarks are based on the metrics we believe are important and are practical to repeatedly and scientifically measure. Truth be told who wins is immaterial, we just want to develop tests that are meaningful while meeting the above goals. And on a related note, this is the same benchmark suite we use in every review, so there is no specific benchmark picking going on.
lilmoe - Sunday, October 4, 2015 - link
You say "scientific", then use browser benchmarks to provide _evidence_ for cross-platform processor superiority... I'm really curious now, Don't you find your statement a bit misleading?Ryan Smith - Sunday, October 4, 2015 - link
It will depend on what we're trying to measure and the what we're trying to investigate. If we want to evaluate the whole phone as a platform, as is the case here, then browser benchmarks are a great tool due to how much use mobile browsers get.Otherwise if we want to measure just SoCs, then we need to be a bit more mindful to account for things like different JS engines. Which is also why we never put too much emphasis on one benchmark, and make sure to run a varied collection.
Though I will add that I'm not sure what this comment is in reference to? The only thing we state with respect to the browser benchmarks on this specific article is "It's probably fair to say that the Exynos 7420 will continue to be the best SoC for Android mobile devices in 2015"
thedons1983 - Sunday, October 18, 2015 - link
Benchmarks prove nothing. And to rely on them so heavily, is just idiotic. Benchmark results, mean absolutely jack sh#t, compared to real life, user experience. If you're not aware of this fact, then why on earth should I listen to a single word that you say?? Benchmarks are for morons, pure and simple.0razor1 - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
Note 4 aperture size is *incorrect* on page1 :F/2.0 OIS
Should be F/2.2 OIS ?
mercucu1111 - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
According to GFX 2.7 and 3.0 offscreen. A9 is 40% better than E7420But According to Geekbench
E7420 is 30% better (5600 vs 4400 lol)
So nobody can't say which is better.
ciderrules - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
Uh, according to Primate Labs the multi score result for the Note5 is 4323. S6 Edge us 4441.Not sure where you're getting 5600 from.
mercucu1111 - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
It is not overclocked or inflated score.When its 8-core is in full load state. It reachs 1500/5600.
ciderrules - Saturday, October 3, 2015 - link
Who said anything about overclocking?Geekbench aggregates thousands of scores to get their numbers. I think I'll accept their results over those posted online. Especially by someone like Kuzi, who seems to hate Apple so much that he feels the need to lie online to make a point.
BTW, I also refer to Geekbench themselves for iPhone scores, before someone claims bias.
Kuzi - Monday, October 5, 2015 - link
Lie about what? You can find Geekbench multicore numbers for Galaxy devices on many review sites, an example is below:http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_note5-revie...
Kuzi - Monday, October 5, 2015 - link
More Geekbench numbers here:http://www.greenbot.com/article/2973534/smartphone...
Kuzi - Saturday, October 3, 2015 - link
I just tested Galaxy S6 and got 1505 single and 5264 multi on Geekbench.Running Android 5.1.1 here.
Kuzi - Saturday, October 3, 2015 - link
GSM Arena also getting same numbers as me:http://www.gsmarena.com/apple_iphone_6s-review-131...
Tech_guy - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
GFXBench is a graphics test. Geekbench is a cpu test so that's why the scores are direct, they're feeding student things. Where did you get 5600 Geekbench multi-core score from? That's an inflated number vs Geekbench's own charts.mercucu1111 - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
I mean CPU Perf of Exynos is much higher but GPU Perf of Apple Ax chip is much higher.So We can't say which is better
ciderrules - Saturday, October 3, 2015 - link
Not according to Primate Labs. You know, the people who actually CREATED Geekbench.flashbacck - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
What ever happened to the benchmark cheating that was happening with some android phones? Is that no longer happening?KoolAidMan1 - Saturday, October 3, 2015 - link
I assume its not happening, otherwise their results wouldn't be there in the first place.Maybe the slipped through but I doubt it. Anandtech is incredibly thorough.
neoraiden - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
Samsung lost me the second they announced they weren't releasing the note 5 in Europe. I hope they get enough of a dent in their sales from annoyed customers that they release the note 6 here after. I have a feeling that's wishful thinking though.Lavkesh - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
Excellent review as always Joshua never mind the brand wars in the comments. I was always an iOS user and thought Galaxy Note 5 is a good enough device to jump the ship for the terms of a contract. While I am reasonably happy with the device, I still think Software is Samsung's biggest issue.I also noticed an issue with the S-Pen sensitivity where it does not work at all at the bottom left and right corners of the device. This means that if I need to take a screenshot which goes right until the bottom right or left corner I cannot do it because the sensitivity simply vanishes. Also attaching a video to exactly show what the issue is. Can you check if your device also exhibits the same behaviour.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XN41nE1lWGI
Tech_guy - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
Samsung relied too much on Exynos 7420 this year. The Note 5 is supposed to be a huge improvement and their better phone from the S6 which is already considered kinda old in the tech world. It's all the same tech just later in the year. Yawn. The iPhone 6s technology just obliterates this phone. Good luck Samsung, you're going to need itmercucu1111 - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
Exynos 8890 is on ready dudeTech_guy - Monday, October 5, 2015 - link
Single core and most likely graphics performance won't match A9. I read a 45% increase in CPU performance that puts it under 2000 geekbench still.Arbie - Friday, October 2, 2015 - link
At first I was sad to see that neither of these included a microSD slot. That would be an awful omission on devices extremely well fitted to media consumption. That would rule them out of my consideration. But the photos made me wonder, so I looked further and found the slot mentioned in the middle of the review.Really... I know it is AT's sworn position that microSD is useless, irrelevant and obsolete... but how could you not even list it in the spec table? Just for those of us who continue to be deluded by our daily use of it. I never cease to wonder at the time and effort spent on describing case colors, and the blindness to important functional features.
Dobson123 - Saturday, October 3, 2015 - link
The S6, S6 edge, S6 edge+ und Note 5 DO NOT have a microSD slot.Arbie - Saturday, October 3, 2015 - link
Then these sentences are grammatically broken (wrong tense throughout): "The back cover is faux-leather plastic that peels off much like the Galaxy S2's back cover, with a removable battery and microSD slot. The display has the same buttons, but the bezel had a striped design for unknown reasons." As written this refers to the new devices, not the old ones!I won't even consider a device of this screen size without microSD. A read-only implementation would be fine (satisfying Android security needs).
Devo2007 - Sunday, October 4, 2015 - link
Those sentences shouldn't even be in this review. Definitely confusingDobson123 - Sunday, October 4, 2015 - link
They're about the Note 4.Kepe - Tuesday, October 6, 2015 - link
Read the entire page, please. They're comparing the designs of Note 4 and Note5, and that sentence describes the back of Note 4. That part of the review IS a bit confusing, though, but understandable if you concentrate on what you're reading.thedons1983 - Sunday, October 18, 2015 - link
You do realise though, that the feature YOU so clearly desire, is not even slightly relevant to the vast majority of smartphone users? That puts YOU in a subset, and therfore, YOU need to look harder when buying a device. The rest of the world, literally, could not care less. You're in the minority dude, pure and simple.hero4hire - Sunday, October 4, 2015 - link
I have a new Note 5 in box and am still using my Note 4. Microsd is the reason why.If I'd paid I would have 100% bought the 128gb version. As it is I'm not sure if I can use it.
Best alternative is to use another device to Bluetooth to my vehicle. Lack of a microsd option will hurt Samsung. We're not all interested in Knox and corporate security.
At least make a "virus allowing hacked unsafe dangerous murder bot phone with a death slot" (microsd) as an option. Your 14 arbitrary nearly identicle model selections prove you could do it.
Kepe - Tuesday, October 6, 2015 - link
If you don't want it, send it to me :pthedons1983 - Sunday, October 18, 2015 - link
No it won't... No-one, apart from butt hurt retards like you, give a flying fook about microSD. It's 2015, not 2010, so get with the times grandad. You've obviously never heard of the Cloud for a start.thedons1983 - Sunday, October 18, 2015 - link
No-one need microSD these days, unless you are an idiot. The Cloud exists, and is way more useful than local storage on a slow as hell and completely outdated format like microSD. The world has moved on grandad, so maybe you should too!!10basetom - Saturday, October 3, 2015 - link
The ability to use the Note 5 as a yellow sticky pad (i.e., write memo from sleep state) is a killer feature that will attract a lot of people, especially past Note users who left. I bought a Note II thinking that it can act as my digital notepad, but I ended up rarely touching the stylus because it was a hassle to claw it out of the silo, unlock the phone, and hunt down the memo app to launch it. With the Note 5's new abilities, I can see myself using the stylus on a daily basis and finally attain that seemingly always out-of-reach goal of having a digital notepad.eeg1 - Saturday, October 3, 2015 - link
the issue with samsung is not the phone but the horrible customer service which is why i would never buy a phone from them. the power plug of my brand new GS6 did not work. when calling customer service they asked i return the broken one before sending a new one. fine but how am i supposed to work for 2 weeks as they sorted out the issue. and when i complained i was treated like c*ap So much better with Apple. you go in and they fix everything for you on the spot no major Qs asked. I am glad samsung is losing a ton of share in the US. it will teach them to take their customers' hard earned money and loyalty for granted. here is to samsung zero market share. i even changed everything at home (3 TVs) to LG...terrible servicetheduckofdeath - Monday, October 5, 2015 - link
Did you really but your phone directly from Samsung? Or are you just another one of those Apple trolls posting your useless scripted BS? Yeah, that was a rhetorical question as we both know the answer to that question.Peichen - Monday, October 5, 2015 - link
You do know the Apple have 24/7 Apple Store in big cities right? What do you think those stores are for? Just because you are not used to 24/7 face-to-face support doesn't mean it is a bad thing.Apple also does cross shipping in case you don't know. You'd have 30 days to ship the bad parts back with the included envelope.
thedons1983 - Sunday, October 18, 2015 - link
Apple genius = regular retard. Those morons don't have a clue. I know more about iOS, than those idiots. Customer service does not equal customer satisfaction. Especially when the idevice in question breaks every few minutes.hrrmph - Sunday, October 4, 2015 - link
Nice review that hits most of the major points, but I would like to see a few more things returned to AT's reviews:- Audio performance (for many people, a phone is their primary audio source, so quality counts);
- Battery configuration (not to push the discussion one way or the other, just remind us whether it does or doesn't have a removable battery.);
- More on storage (considering AT's roots as a PC website, and smartphones' inexorable drive to eventually replace PCs, a wider discussion of storage is needed. Especially with phone cameras recording 4K and everyone's storage needs going up in formation, it is important to discuss how to store things on the device and how to offload them from the device. This issue is dogging Apple, Google, and Samsung, all of whom have now eschewed internal removable storage, without stating when they will develop a replacement, if ever.).
----------------
I would also like to see something added to AT's phone reviews:
- How to control audio playback without looking at the phone (particularly Play, Skip Forward to Next Song, and Skip Back to Previous Song, and Mute. Blackberry nailed most of this with their very helpful physical button configuration, and thus when driving in a car and playing music, I cannot be without a Blackberry. What are Apple, Google, Samsung and the others doing for audio control while driving... without having to buy a new car, that is. Is voice control the only way, and if so does it work well.)
SydneyBlue120d - Sunday, October 4, 2015 - link
Any info about the HEVC encoding? We know the SOC support it, however there is no way to use it, I think this relate to the HEVC licensing knightmare, do You think we will ever be able to use it? Maybe using some third parts app? Thanks a lot.kogaharukka - Sunday, October 4, 2015 - link
For Nand performance, please check it with Androbench v.4.0.The numbers from Androbench v.3.6 cannot show real Nand performance.
SnowleopardPC - Sunday, October 4, 2015 - link
My biggest issues with these phones are that Samsung surveyed Iphone users about what features they wanted in their next phone and of course the Isheep said nothing about Micro SD Card slots and changeable batteries.I went with Samsung because I want my 10,000 MAH extended battery and 200gb MicroSDXC card from Sandisk.
Now all Samsung makes is a cheap IPhone that runs anroid.
And the 128gb version was an after though and "might" be released in the next 2 months, and it still will be missing a micro SDXC card slot and have a low powered worthless battery......
thedons1983 - Sunday, October 18, 2015 - link
You are an idiot. Pure and simple. What a loser. Benchmarks are for idiots.coolhardware - Sunday, October 4, 2015 - link
As per the Kuzi's earlier comment:+the S6/Edge/Note 5 resolution of 2560x1140 = 3,686,400 pixels
+iPhone 6S Plus is 1920x1080 = 2,073,600 pixels.
A fewquestions: #1 how do these screens look next to each? (is there a noticeable quality difference)
#2 how much of a battery/performance penalty is there for Samsung? (are they competitive despite handling way more pixels, or do they suffer for it)
#3 how bright do the Samsung's get on "auto" b/c my S6 is visible in any sunlight conditions when in that mode, are the latest iPhone's also able to be viewed easily in full sun?
Lastly, why do AMOLED displays have difficulty with the "painted on" effect vs. LCDs? I notice that my wife's Moto X Pure's LCD looks crisper and more "painted on" than my S6.
PS thanks for the great review as always!
PSS For reference on the first questions, here are iPhone pixel densities: http://pixensity.com/search/?search=iphone
and Samsung Galaxy pixel densities: http://pixensity.com/search/?search=samsung%20gala...
Kuzi - Monday, October 5, 2015 - link
Thanks for the site showing the resolution and PPI for devices.To answer #2, Samsung have been improving/reducing the power draw of their AMOLED panels with each generation. So even while pushing such high resolutions the penalty is minimal, especially when compared to LCD technology.
For #3, you can check below and "Expand" the results to show more phones for the Sunlight Visibility test:
http://www.gsmarena.com/apple_iphone_6s-review-131...
ciderrules - Monday, October 5, 2015 - link
The power consumption for the higher resolution isn't just the display and technology. It's the GPU power required to drive that display. It takes more processing power to drive more pixels. Especially if you want day-to-day activities to be smooth (like scrolling).Kuzi - Tuesday, October 6, 2015 - link
The Galaxy S6 is getting 73 hours battery endurance rating:http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_s6-review-1...
iPhone S6 is getting 62 hours:
http://www.gsmarena.com/apple_iphone_6s-review-131...
So even though the Galaxy S6 is pushing 3.6 times more pixels compared to iPhone 6S it doesn't seem like the battery perfomance is suffering.
And the GPU doesn't run at high frequencies when web browsing or playing videos. Although for 3D games the battery will get drained faster with higher res screens for sure.
ciderrules - Tuesday, October 6, 2015 - link
Funny you picked the iPhone 6S and not the 6S Plus, which is a better comparison due to it having a larger screen and more "pixels to push".It scored 85 hours on their endurance rating, easily beating the GS6's 73 hours. Further, the 6S Plus beat last years 6 Plus even with a smaller battery. GS6 actually had less battery life than the GS5.
So Apple gives you the most powerful processor on the planet, decreases the battery size by 8%, and manages to increase battery life.
Kuzi - Tuesday, October 6, 2015 - link
iPhone 6s Plus is a phablet the same size of the Note 5, so should be compared with the Note 5 which gets the same rating of 85 too, but is pushing 1.7 times more pixels while offering faster multithreaded performance.ciderrules - Tuesday, October 6, 2015 - link
No, it's not faster. I already explained this to you before and you're still coming back and posting incorrect information again?Primate Labs (makers of Geekbench) rates the Note5 at 4351, the iPhone 6S/6S Plus at 4330/4331. So yes, the Note5 is a fraction of a percent faster in multi core performance.
Kuzi - Wednesday, October 7, 2015 - link
How many times do I have to explain that I own a Galaxy S6 and I get +5200 on Geekbench multicore test. I also own an Xperia Z4 tablet (SD 810 based) that gets +4800. So both are faster than A9 in multicore.Also GSMArena & Phonearena get similar results for exynos 7420 based devices as per below:
http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_galaxy_note5-revie...
http://www.phonearena.com/news/Our-Samsung-Galaxy-...
There is some variance with each test run, and if the phone is warmer it gets slightly lower results. In my case the lowest I got was 5000 for GS6.
thedons1983 - Sunday, October 18, 2015 - link
What a fucki#g moron. You are pathetic!!coburn_c - Sunday, October 4, 2015 - link
Both curves of the plus have a disgusting green hue to them, and when you tilt it until one disappears, the entire front gets the baby poo greens. It is easily the worst viewing angle on any modern phone, and on an AMOLED of all places, a technology known for its viewing angles. I can't imagine how they could have screwed up worse.thedons1983 - Sunday, October 18, 2015 - link
Then you lack imagination... Apple has already made a worse phone for starters, or are you so ignorant, that you can't tell the difference between apples and oranges????theduckofdeath - Monday, October 5, 2015 - link
I wonder why Anandtech still had one standard for Samsung and one standard for everybody else when it comes to displays? I don't see you people scrutinise and down rank ocular quality issues with LCD displays like to do with AMOLED. AMOLED haven't just caught up to LCD this year, it's been superior for years, Anandtech. Fix your flawed and biased tests.Peichen - Monday, October 5, 2015 - link
If AMOLED is anywhere close to IPS why aren't EIZO, NEC, Dell switching their professional lineup to AMOLED? Why are 31" calibrated IPS monitors going for $3000 while the same money can get you 55" 4K OLED TV? For that matter, how come no one is selling a calibrated OLED anything? With all the green/purple tint and grayish white you'd think OLED could use some calibration.Leave the review to the professionals. Your eyeballing review aren't worth the hot air carrying the sound bits.
Kamus - Tuesday, October 6, 2015 - link
"The professionals" agree with him, go read displaymate's reviews.theduckofdeath - Thursday, October 8, 2015 - link
There are issues for desktop sized high resolution displays. The biggest one is volume and production cost. Just look at what you have to pay for an LG OLED telly compared to a nano LED telly. Like Kamus said, look up what professional display calibration companies says about SAMOLED. It's not "on par", it's in a league of its own.thedons1983 - Sunday, October 18, 2015 - link
You are an idiot. The reason that top end monitor manufacturers don't use OLED, or AMOLED, is because they can't afford to. Eventually they will replace LCD, when they can afford to. LCD is crap technology and outdated, and will eventually be entirely replaced, when the costs make sense. Samsung can produce AMOLED screens, because they actually build them!! Apple builds nothing. At all. They buy their tech from others whom have the know how. Therefore, they pay through the nose for it, and aren't ever even offered the superior tech, because, why would you bother?! You'd maybe understand these issues, we're you not such an utter moron.sany - Monday, October 5, 2015 - link
HiI've been wondering, having the best chip to process still photos and good software - why still slow motion FPS rate is still kept too low compared to the slow motion fps for iPhone. Is this a limitation with hardware or can be fixed through an software update?
thedons1983 - Sunday, October 18, 2015 - link
Dude, seriously, smartphones take terrible pictures. The camera tech they employ is light years behind that used in actual cameras. Any photographer using their smartphone as there primary photographic device, is an utter moron!! Probably an unsuccessful one too!!Peichen - Monday, October 5, 2015 - link
As an iPhone user that also played with Samsung and LG flagships extensively, I feel Samsung Galaxy S and Note are the only phone that can be mentioned in the same sentence as iPhone. No other Android phones come close to S and Note's Apple-like hardware and refinements. Android + TouchWiz still lags and not as stable as iOS but where Samsung did their homework it is at Apple's level. I hope the upcoming V10 and Z5 Premium is as well made and tweaked as Note 5.thedons1983 - Sunday, October 18, 2015 - link
Your opinion is entirely meaningless, as you haven't used any flagship Android devices, other than Samsung. Sony make great phones, as do HTC, and Google and Motorola, and Huawei... Need I go on?? You might know this, if you weren't so entirely blinkered and pathetic.jrich7 - Monday, October 5, 2015 - link
Just picked up a Note 5 today, ugraded from the Nexus 6 and wow its way faster ! The batter drains a little faster but the fast charge feels just sweet and that see coming from another fast charge device. The screen is beautiful and the spen is going to come in handy. The only thing I really like better in the Nexus 6 was the two front facing speakers. I thought I would not like TouchWiz because I heard it's slow compared stock androld but the hardware on the phone makes up for it like 10 fold ! I'm very happy with this device :)coolhardware - Tuesday, October 6, 2015 - link
The Nexus 6 had splendid speakers! That was my biggest complaint switching from it to a smaller Galaxy S6.For another set of nice stereo phone speakers, check out the Moto X Pure Edition. My wife has one and the speakers sound good, better than any phone from Samsung or Apple IMHO. :-)
Speaking of Apple, I am excited to hear the speakers on the new iPad Pro. I'm *hoping* they really advance the tablet speaker situation to a new level!
thedons1983 - Sunday, October 18, 2015 - link
Thank you! The opinion of someone who has actually bought the device in question, is always going to be more legitimate, than the reams of idiots who have only ever used an iPhone. Good work, for bothering to add your two cents, it is appreciated.Thounee - Monday, October 12, 2015 - link
Hey staff @ Anand. I tried to look for any review of Xperia's (Z3, Z3+/Z4 or new Z5's) but came up empty. Since the sensors and image/video quality is considered as best by some benchmarks in the industry (look at dxomark), it would be nice to see your take on the latest versions.thedons1983 - Sunday, October 18, 2015 - link
Anyone who thinks the iPhone 6 is a worthwhile purchase based on the awful camera that they supply, is an utter moron. Smartphones have crap cameras. They always have, and always will. A ten year old, cheap as chips Canon digital, would piss all over smartphone cameras. Indeed, only complete morons take pictures with their smartphone. It's convenient, sure, but the quality will always be woeful in comparison to a proper camera.FL777 - Friday, October 30, 2015 - link
SAMSUNG BEATS APPLE IN SMARTPHONE SALES!!!!! By quite a bit.http://www.sammobile.com/2015/10/29/samsung-beats-...
Samsung is dominating the smartphone market.
gaurisharma - Tuesday, November 3, 2015 - link
I must say Samsung galaxy note 5 is a nice phone and complete all my android needs. I have been using this phone since long time and am glad to have this with me. The smartphone is enriched with many features which are liked by everyone. Available Bluetooth and GPS work well. Phone looks stylish and adds flavor on once personality. Available powerful processor and attractive 5.7” Super AMOLED screen make me feel relax about it style and capacity. This Smartphone takes HD images using its 16 megapixel rear and 5 megapixel of front camera. Its 3,000 mAH battery provide long life to all supportable network(2g, 3g and 4g). This android cellphone supports connectivity via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and NFC.Aritra Ghatak - Sunday, December 20, 2015 - link
Which icon pack is it, in fifth screen shot & onwards in Software and UX section of the review?davidr1212 - Thursday, January 14, 2016 - link
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