Software and Camera

The Galaxy Note five comes pre-loaded with Android 5.1.ane out of the box, and of course we're getting a custom skin as well. Bated from the Due south Pen features I described on the previous page, and some new icons for included apps, the Annotation 5 uses essentially the same software every bit the Galaxy S6, including the aforementioned features and same visual fashion.

Over the past few years Samsung has done a pretty skillful job of cleaning upwards their skin, making information technology more responsive and removing a lot of the unnecessary clutter that plagued previous iterations. I still prefer the visual style of stock Android, as I'1000 sure many other people do, merely Samsung'due south skin blends in a lot better with other Android apps than past versions, which makes the device experience at lot more cohesive as you move from app to app.

I appreciate many of the Note five'south software features, including the easy admission to settings in a small section of the notification screen, and full theming functionality. Other features, such every bit split-screen app support and Quick Connect, I can meet being handy for some users fifty-fifty if I didn't use them very oftentimes myself. Live streaming to YouTube directly from the phone is besides a handy feature, exclusive to the Note v, though again I didn't find myself using information technology very often.

On the other mitt, and this has been the example with Samsung devices for some fourth dimension, some aspects of the software notwithstanding crave polish, especially apropos the out of the box experience. Having auto-right disabled by default in the keyboard is a cardinal sin, and the loud, annoying touch sounds should be muted from the get go. There'south likewise some bloatware to contend with, including 'apps' that are really merely shortcuts to install something, and the pointless Galaxy Apps shop.

By and large speaking, though, the software experience from the Note 5 is perfectly adequate, and certainly less intrusive and annoying than previous versions, including what you get on the Annotation four.

Every bit for the photographic camera, Samsung has taken the very aforementioned hardware from the Galaxy S6 and slapped it in the Note five. We're looking at a Sony IMX240 rear 1/2.6" 16-megapixel sensor with one.12 micron pixels paired with an f/1.9 lens and optical image stabilization. On the front is a five-megapixel sensor besides with an f/ane.ix lens.

I won't spend a ton of time on the Galaxy Note v'due south camera every bit you lot can read more nigh the results in my review of the Galaxy S6. However what I will say is that this photographic camera is excellent, and its ability to capture superb images in auto style whether you're indoors or out is one of its many strengths. The f/ane.9 lens lets in plenty of light, and too delivers surprisingly good bokeh for close up shots. Post processing and metering is too excellent, helping the phone to capture authentic yet vibrant images.

Samsung's camera application is very skillful, peculiarly the automatic HDR manner that really enhances the detail in shadows and highlights where appropriate. The Pro way lets you control a decent corporeality of settings to further enhance your shots, while in that location's a large range of video features including 4K capture and 120 FPS slow motion.