{"video_id":"uCkP93pt32w","title":"Samsung Galaxy Note 5","channel":"Linus Tech Tips","show":"Linus Tech Tips","published_at":"2016-05-06T14:53:29Z","duration_s":652,"segments":[{"start_s":0.32,"end_s":7.12,"text":"The last time we got a Galaxy Note device for review, I declared it to be","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":4.64,"end_s":10.8,"text":"too big for humans and handed it off like a pair of dirty gym socks to the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":8.8,"end_s":16.32,"text":"nearest Linus Media Group employee. In this case, it ended up being Luke to do","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":12.559,"end_s":19.119,"text":"the video for me. And yet, here we are a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":16.32,"end_s":24.96,"text":"mere 2 years later, and not only have I been using the Note 5 as my daily driver","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":21.92,"end_s":27.91,"text":"for a couple of weeks, I might have even","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":24.96,"end_s":34.96,"text":"enjoyed it.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":34.96,"end_s":41.04,"text":"The Master Case 5 by Cooler Master gives you the freedom to truly make your","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":38.8,"end_s":44.559,"text":"midtower PC case your own with a variety of modular parts and accessories. Check","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":43.04,"end_s":50.239,"text":"out the link in the video description to learn more. So, let's start with a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":47.6,"end_s":55.44,"text":"physical tour of the Galaxy Note 5. At the back is a camera, the flash, and a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":53.199,"end_s":60.399,"text":"sexy leather finish vinyl skin, courtesy of Dbrand, who provided our phone. On","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":57.76,"end_s":64.479,"text":"the sides are the almost perfect lock button on the right and volume rockers","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":62.399,"end_s":68.96,"text":"on the left. They've got great tactile feedback and are easy to feel for when","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":66.56,"end_s":73.2,"text":"you're not looking, but I wish the lock button was just a touch lower so that I","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":71.439,"end_s":78.56,"text":"wouldn't accidentally mash the volume down while pressing it. On the bottom is","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":76.08,"end_s":84.0,"text":"the headphone jack, the hopefully not long for this world microb charging","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":81.04,"end_s":88.32,"text":"port, the retractable SPEN housing, and a speaker that makes up for its poor","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":86.4,"end_s":92.64,"text":"positioning by being surprisingly loud without distortion. A definite calling","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":90.479,"end_s":99.28,"text":"card of the Note series. And then finally at the front is the stunner of a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":95.439,"end_s":102.24,"text":"5.7 inch 1440p AMOLED display with","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":99.28,"end_s":108.32,"text":"shockingly thin bezels, a 5 megapixel selfie camera, a satisfyingly","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":105.079,"end_s":110.84,"text":"tactile physical home button, and a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":108.32,"end_s":116.56,"text":"couple of difficult to avoid in landscape capacitive buttons for back","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":113.52,"end_s":118.719,"text":"navigation and multitasking. something","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":116.56,"end_s":123.6,"text":"that I found myself wishing I could turn off in favor of onscreen buttons like","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":120.799,"end_s":128.52,"text":"with the OnePlus 2 during the frequent times that I was watching videos on this","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":125.52,"end_s":132.64,"text":"device thanks to how gorgeous the screen","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":128.52,"end_s":135.8,"text":"is. And yet the physical tour somehow","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":132.64,"end_s":138.72,"text":"doesn't tell the whole story of the Note","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":135.8,"end_s":144.239,"text":"5 somehow. And I don't know how they did it but I'm not the only one who noticed.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":140.879,"end_s":147.44,"text":"The Note 5 is big, but it doesn't feel","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":144.239,"end_s":149.68,"text":"as ungainainely and difficult to hold as","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":147.44,"end_s":155.519,"text":"other Fab class devices that I've played with in the past, like the One Max,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":151.84,"end_s":157.28,"text":"iPhone 6 Plus, and previous Notes. And","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":155.519,"end_s":163.28,"text":"there's more that's different about it as well. While Samsung used to use the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":160.48,"end_s":168.0,"text":"bulky size of the Note series to cram every feature under the sun and their","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":165.76,"end_s":172.239,"text":"fastest hardware into what we argued at the time wasn't even really a phone","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":169.599,"end_s":178.959,"text":"anymore. They've backpedalled on that a fair bit this time. I mean, sure, almost","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":176.08,"end_s":185.68,"text":"everything the S6 can do, the Note 5 can do better. It lacks a 128 gig model, but","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":182.64,"end_s":189.76,"text":"it's got the same Exynos 7420 octaore","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":185.68,"end_s":193.12,"text":"CPU and GPU. a hefty bump up from 3 gigs","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":189.76,"end_s":195.2,"text":"to 4 gigs of low power DDR4 RAM surely","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":193.12,"end_s":198.959,"text":"to assist with those uh TouchWiz multi-wind and split screen features","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":197.12,"end_s":203.599,"text":"that only really make sense on a large screen device like this. The Corning","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":201.2,"end_s":208.56,"text":"Gorilla Glass 4 topped display, I know I already said this, but it merits another","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":204.959,"end_s":211.36,"text":"mention. Is absolutely fantastic with","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":208.56,"end_s":216.879,"text":"pitch blacks, vibrant whites, and thanks to its barely existent bezels, a kind of","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":213.84,"end_s":219.04,"text":"like window into another place look to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":216.879,"end_s":225.519,"text":"it. And it's got all the usual tech specs. NFC looking at you OnePlus AC","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":223.04,"end_s":229.599,"text":"wireless quick charging both on a wire and wirelessly on the Note and a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":227.68,"end_s":233.68,"text":"fingerprint sensor on the home button whose speed and accuracy I didn't","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":231.519,"end_s":240.48,"text":"properly appreciate until I spent a couple of weeks with the ZTE Axon along","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":236.64,"end_s":243.76,"text":"with of course an absolutely kick-ass 16","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":240.48,"end_s":246.4,"text":"megapixel still 4K video rear camera","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":243.76,"end_s":251.2,"text":"whose lightning fast launch times, great lowlight performance, and generally","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":248.319,"end_s":256.0,"text":"amazing usability have contributed to a lot of captured moments of my kids that","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":254.159,"end_s":262.52,"text":"wouldn't have happened before I upgraded my wife to the S6 Active, which features","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":258.479,"end_s":265.12,"text":"the same camera. But is that good","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":262.52,"end_s":269.04,"text":"enough? Well, I guess there's also the S Pen. You click it and it turtles out","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":267.199,"end_s":273.759,"text":"kind of like Luke's lightsaber in that scene on Jabba's sailbarge. Then you","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":271.28,"end_s":279.04,"text":"unchath it so you can unleash your ideas, goals, and dreams or some [ __ ]","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":277.12,"end_s":284.479,"text":"like that. Actually, it's nothing to do with Dreams. It's just a stylus. A","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":281.6,"end_s":291.04,"text":"pretty good and thankfully batteryfree passive stylus, but still just a stylus.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":288.24,"end_s":295.759,"text":"It's low latency, but not latency free, it's not particularly ergonomic. While","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":293.28,"end_s":300.8,"text":"the palm rejection really is very excellent and the software does offer","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":298.08,"end_s":304.639,"text":"some handy features. Uh being able to press the button on the stylus to load","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":302.56,"end_s":310.24,"text":"up useful cloud syncing apps like OneNote or quickly scribble on a screen","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":307.28,"end_s":314.96,"text":"capture stood out to me. I just didn't find myself using it much to jot down","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":312.88,"end_s":319.12,"text":"quick notes about like eggs I need to buy or whatever. I mean, maybe if I","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":317.199,"end_s":324.16,"text":"didn't type as quickly as I do on a touchcreen, or if I needed to add little","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":321.36,"end_s":327.12,"text":"doodles in any of the seemingly infinite number of ink colors, thicknesses, and","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":326.0,"end_s":331.919,"text":"pen tips, each with their own distinctive simulated writing sound, it","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":329.44,"end_s":336.4,"text":"might make more sense for me. But personally, the benefit of quickly","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":334.4,"end_s":341.039,"text":"launching a note-taking app is quickly outweighed by the relative slowness of","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":338.56,"end_s":346.08,"text":"writing with a pen compared to typing. But if you're like me and you don't care","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":343.6,"end_s":350.24,"text":"about the stylus, never fear. Just put it into the phone backwards and you'll","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":348.32,"end_s":353.44,"text":"never be able to get it out again. Or you could just ignore it, whatever is","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":351.68,"end_s":358.16,"text":"better for you. Now, we're almost at the conclusion, but I do have a couple of","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":355.44,"end_s":362.16,"text":"more notes. Uh, TouchWiz adds a triple tap on the home button to get a smaller","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":360.72,"end_s":367.479,"text":"version that's easier to reach with one hand. That's a winner for me. The uh","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":365.039,"end_s":373.28,"text":"smart lock with trusted Bluetooth devices still sucks so much ass that","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":370.88,"end_s":377.6,"text":"it'll turn your teeth brown. I was using fingerprint authentication and when I'm","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":375.199,"end_s":382.0,"text":"in range of a trusted device sometimes and I can't quite find the pattern, I","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":379.44,"end_s":385.52,"text":"actually have to press unlock, slide the screen, and finally I still have to use","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":383.919,"end_s":390.319,"text":"my fingerprint to unlock the freaking thing. This is something that works just","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":386.96,"end_s":391.759,"text":"fine on other phones. There's more good","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":390.319,"end_s":398.24,"text":"news though. The battery life is surprisingly good considering the anemic","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":394.8,"end_s":399.919,"text":"3000 milliamp battery. And um yeah, I","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":398.24,"end_s":404.24,"text":"don't know. I I guess okay, we can get on with the conclusion. It's like it's","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":401.759,"end_s":411.6,"text":"kind of an S series but bigger and ever so slightly better with a pen. And maybe","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":408.639,"end_s":416.8,"text":"that's my issue here. Since when is the Note series supposed to be the S series","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":414.479,"end_s":422.16,"text":"with a couple of minute improvements and a bigger screen? In the past, it really","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":419.28,"end_s":428.4,"text":"had its own identity as a as a power user phone or a productivity phone. And","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":424.479,"end_s":430.4,"text":"while the stylus or S Pen remains, gone","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":428.4,"end_s":435.44,"text":"is the removable battery that allowed creative users to stuff multi-day","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":433.199,"end_s":441.039,"text":"battery packs under modified rear housings. Gone is the expandable storage","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":438.16,"end_s":449.4,"text":"that allowed this user to equip his Note 2 with 288 gigs of storage back in 2013.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":446.72,"end_s":454.28,"text":"What do we get in return exactly, Samsung? Well, for me personally, I","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":452.0,"end_s":459.68,"text":"guess I got a device that is ergonomically usable as opposed to one","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":456.72,"end_s":462.96,"text":"that feels completely derpastic. It's astounding how much of a difference a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":461.28,"end_s":466.88,"text":"couple fractions of a millimeter make. Although, I think Apple is taking it one","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":464.56,"end_s":470.4,"text":"step too far with their modified 3 and a half millimeter jack patents. But, I","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":468.8,"end_s":475.44,"text":"just don't know if that's going to appease the power users who have been","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":472.4,"end_s":478.0,"text":"using Fablets since before it was cool.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":475.44,"end_s":482.639,"text":"In typical Samsung fashion, they built an entire product category off of these","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":480.319,"end_s":486.4,"text":"folks. And now that it's gone mainstream, they've just left them","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":484.8,"end_s":491.12,"text":"hanging. I mean, they're still going to sell a metric whack ton of these anyway","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":488.56,"end_s":496.639,"text":"since, and I understand this, for most people, a device that requires a plastic","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":493.52,"end_s":499.759,"text":"duad like a fly grip just to hold it has","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":496.639,"end_s":501.759,"text":"zero appeal. But this is still in my","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":499.759,"end_s":506.56,"text":"mind the kind of short-term thinking that is exactly what keeps Samsung","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":504.639,"end_s":510.24,"text":"focused on selling widgets to their customers rather than building","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":508.319,"end_s":514.0,"text":"relationships with their customers through long-term support and","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":512.08,"end_s":518.719,"text":"understanding and meeting their needs the way that someone like Apple does. A","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":516.56,"end_s":524.72,"text":"point that was driven home by Apple's recent announcement that the iPad 2, a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":521.44,"end_s":527.76,"text":"device from 2011, can now be updated to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":524.72,"end_s":530.399,"text":"iOS 9. The same cannot be said about my","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":527.76,"end_s":535.839,"text":"Galaxy Tab 10.1 that I purchased a full year later and has received barely any","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":533.04,"end_s":541.76,"text":"updates at all. Okay, so putting all of that aside, when viewed in a vacuum, is","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":538.399,"end_s":544.72,"text":"the Note 5 a success? Yeah, it is. It's","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":541.76,"end_s":549.36,"text":"a beautiful masterpiece of a device. But I just had to get that last bit out of","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":546.959,"end_s":554.08,"text":"my system for previous Note users and anyone else who has an old Samsung","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":551.839,"end_s":557.92,"text":"device still running some antiquated version of Android and doesn't feel like","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":556.16,"end_s":562.48,"text":"Samsung puts enough effort into the long-term support of these gadgets that","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":560.16,"end_s":567.2,"text":"we drop what in the case of this one is an awful lot of money on. Speaking of","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":565.68,"end_s":572.16,"text":"spending an awful lot of money on your gadgets, why not drop an extra couple","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":569.44,"end_s":576.72,"text":"bucks over at dbrand.com/lininusnote5 and get a vinyl","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":574.16,"end_s":581.6,"text":"skin that'll protect it from incidental scratches while it's in your pocket or","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":579.519,"end_s":585.839,"text":"sliding across the table cuz you're Canadian and you're doing, you know,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":583.2,"end_s":591.2,"text":"fabt curling or whatever the case may be. They've got a wide variety of","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":588.32,"end_s":595.68,"text":"different styles, all precision cut to look and feel gorgeous on your device. I","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":594.32,"end_s":599.76,"text":"mean, we're talking they got leather finishes, wood finishes, carbon fiber","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":598.16,"end_s":603.92,"text":"finishes, pretty much any color under the sun. And it's not limited to just","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":602.0,"end_s":608.72,"text":"phones. They've actually got skins for anything from phones to game controllers","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":605.76,"end_s":612.8,"text":"to game consoles to even selected notebooks. So, check it out. That's","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":610.92,"end_s":616.24,"text":"dbrand.com/Linus note5, which is also linked in the video description. And a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":614.399,"end_s":620.64,"text":"huge shout out thanks to dbrand for hooking us up with the Note 5 and","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":617.76,"end_s":624.32,"text":"sponsoring this episode. So, thanks for watching, guys. If this video sucked,","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":622.8,"end_s":628.56,"text":"you know where that button is. But if it was awesome, get subscribed, hit the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":626.56,"end_s":632.88,"text":"like button, or even consider supporting us directly by using our affiliate code","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":630.32,"end_s":636.24,"text":"to shop at Amazon, buying a cool t-shirt like this one, or with a direct monthly","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":634.72,"end_s":638.8,"text":"contribution through our community forum. And now that you're done doing","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":637.839,"end_s":642.16,"text":"all that stuff, you're probably wondering what to watch next. So, click","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":640.88,"end_s":645.92,"text":"that little button in the top right corner to check out this awesome video.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":644.48,"end_s":649.68,"text":"I personally think it's awesome. I'm a little biased. Where I build a wicked","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":647.76,"end_s":652.8,"text":"gaming rig with my three-year-old son. We had a lot of fun.","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0}],"full_text":"The last time we got a Galaxy Note device for review, I declared it to be too big for humans and handed it off like a pair of dirty gym socks to the nearest Linus Media Group employee. In this case, it ended up being Luke to do the video for me. And yet, here we are a mere 2 years later, and not only have I been using the Note 5 as my daily driver for a couple of weeks, I might have even enjoyed it. The Master Case 5 by Cooler Master gives you the freedom to truly make your midtower PC case your own with a variety of modular parts and accessories. Check out the link in the video description to learn more. So, let's start with a physical tour of the Galaxy Note 5. At the back is a camera, the flash, and a sexy leather finish vinyl skin, courtesy of Dbrand, who provided our phone. On the sides are the almost perfect lock button on the right and volume rockers on the left. They've got great tactile feedback and are easy to feel for when you're not looking, but I wish the lock button was just a touch lower so that I wouldn't accidentally mash the volume down while pressing it. On the bottom is the headphone jack, the hopefully not long for this world microb charging port, the retractable SPEN housing, and a speaker that makes up for its poor positioning by being surprisingly loud without distortion. A definite calling card of the Note series. And then finally at the front is the stunner of a 5.7 inch 1440p AMOLED display with shockingly thin bezels, a 5 megapixel selfie camera, a satisfyingly tactile physical home button, and a couple of difficult to avoid in landscape capacitive buttons for back navigation and multitasking. something that I found myself wishing I could turn off in favor of onscreen buttons like with the OnePlus 2 during the frequent times that I was watching videos on this device thanks to how gorgeous the screen is. And yet the physical tour somehow doesn't tell the whole story of the Note 5 somehow. And I don't know how they did it but I'm not the only one who noticed. The Note 5 is big, but it doesn't feel as ungainainely and difficult to hold as other Fab class devices that I've played with in the past, like the One Max, iPhone 6 Plus, and previous Notes. And there's more that's different about it as well. While Samsung used to use the bulky size of the Note series to cram every feature under the sun and their fastest hardware into what we argued at the time wasn't even really a phone anymore. They've backpedalled on that a fair bit this time. I mean, sure, almost everything the S6 can do, the Note 5 can do better. It lacks a 128 gig model, but it's got the same Exynos 7420 octaore CPU and GPU. a hefty bump up from 3 gigs to 4 gigs of low power DDR4 RAM surely to assist with those uh TouchWiz multi-wind and split screen features that only really make sense on a large screen device like this. The Corning Gorilla Glass 4 topped display, I know I already said this, but it merits another mention. Is absolutely fantastic with pitch blacks, vibrant whites, and thanks to its barely existent bezels, a kind of like window into another place look to it. And it's got all the usual tech specs. NFC looking at you OnePlus AC wireless quick charging both on a wire and wirelessly on the Note and a fingerprint sensor on the home button whose speed and accuracy I didn't properly appreciate until I spent a couple of weeks with the ZTE Axon along with of course an absolutely kick-ass 16 megapixel still 4K video rear camera whose lightning fast launch times, great lowlight performance, and generally amazing usability have contributed to a lot of captured moments of my kids that wouldn't have happened before I upgraded my wife to the S6 Active, which features the same camera. But is that good enough? Well, I guess there's also the S Pen. You click it and it turtles out kind of like Luke's lightsaber in that scene on Jabba's sailbarge. Then you unchath it so you can unleash your ideas, goals, and dreams or some [ __ ] like that. Actually, it's nothing to do with Dreams. It's just a stylus. A pretty good and thankfully batteryfree passive stylus, but still just a stylus. It's low latency, but not latency free, it's not particularly ergonomic. While the palm rejection really is very excellent and the software does offer some handy features. Uh being able to press the button on the stylus to load up useful cloud syncing apps like OneNote or quickly scribble on a screen capture stood out to me. I just didn't find myself using it much to jot down quick notes about like eggs I need to buy or whatever. I mean, maybe if I didn't type as quickly as I do on a touchcreen, or if I needed to add little doodles in any of the seemingly infinite number of ink colors, thicknesses, and pen tips, each with their own distinctive simulated writing sound, it might make more sense for me. But personally, the benefit of quickly launching a note-taking app is quickly outweighed by the relative slowness of writing with a pen compared to typing. But if you're like me and you don't care about the stylus, never fear. Just put it into the phone backwards and you'll never be able to get it out again. Or you could just ignore it, whatever is better for you. Now, we're almost at the conclusion, but I do have a couple of more notes. Uh, TouchWiz adds a triple tap on the home button to get a smaller version that's easier to reach with one hand. That's a winner for me. The uh smart lock with trusted Bluetooth devices still sucks so much ass that it'll turn your teeth brown. I was using fingerprint authentication and when I'm in range of a trusted device sometimes and I can't quite find the pattern, I actually have to press unlock, slide the screen, and finally I still have to use my fingerprint to unlock the freaking thing. This is something that works just fine on other phones. There's more good news though. The battery life is surprisingly good considering the anemic 3000 milliamp battery. And um yeah, I don't know. I I guess okay, we can get on with the conclusion. It's like it's kind of an S series but bigger and ever so slightly better with a pen. And maybe that's my issue here. Since when is the Note series supposed to be the S series with a couple of minute improvements and a bigger screen? In the past, it really had its own identity as a as a power user phone or a productivity phone. And while the stylus or S Pen remains, gone is the removable battery that allowed creative users to stuff multi-day battery packs under modified rear housings. Gone is the expandable storage that allowed this user to equip his Note 2 with 288 gigs of storage back in 2013. What do we get in return exactly, Samsung? Well, for me personally, I guess I got a device that is ergonomically usable as opposed to one that feels completely derpastic. It's astounding how much of a difference a couple fractions of a millimeter make. Although, I think Apple is taking it one step too far with their modified 3 and a half millimeter jack patents. But, I just don't know if that's going to appease the power users who have been using Fablets since before it was cool. In typical Samsung fashion, they built an entire product category off of these folks. And now that it's gone mainstream, they've just left them hanging. I mean, they're still going to sell a metric whack ton of these anyway since, and I understand this, for most people, a device that requires a plastic duad like a fly grip just to hold it has zero appeal. But this is still in my mind the kind of short-term thinking that is exactly what keeps Samsung focused on selling widgets to their customers rather than building relationships with their customers through long-term support and understanding and meeting their needs the way that someone like Apple does. A point that was driven home by Apple's recent announcement that the iPad 2, a device from 2011, can now be updated to iOS 9. The same cannot be said about my Galaxy Tab 10.1 that I purchased a full year later and has received barely any updates at all. Okay, so putting all of that aside, when viewed in a vacuum, is the Note 5 a success? Yeah, it is. It's a beautiful masterpiece of a device. But I just had to get that last bit out of my system for previous Note users and anyone else who has an old Samsung device still running some antiquated version of Android and doesn't feel like Samsung puts enough effort into the long-term support of these gadgets that we drop what in the case of this one is an awful lot of money on. Speaking of spending an awful lot of money on your gadgets, why not drop an extra couple bucks over at dbrand.com/lininusnote5 and get a vinyl skin that'll protect it from incidental scratches while it's in your pocket or sliding across the table cuz you're Canadian and you're doing, you know, fabt curling or whatever the case may be. They've got a wide variety of different styles, all precision cut to look and feel gorgeous on your device. I mean, we're talking they got leather finishes, wood finishes, carbon fiber finishes, pretty much any color under the sun. And it's not limited to just phones. They've actually got skins for anything from phones to game controllers to game consoles to even selected notebooks. So, check it out. That's dbrand.com/Linus note5, which is also linked in the video description. And a huge shout out thanks to dbrand for hooking us up with the Note 5 and sponsoring this episode. So, thanks for watching, guys. If this video sucked, you know where that button is. But if it was awesome, get subscribed, hit the like button, or even consider supporting us directly by using our affiliate code to shop at Amazon, buying a cool t-shirt like this one, or with a direct monthly contribution through our community forum. And now that you're done doing all that stuff, you're probably wondering what to watch next. So, click that little button in the top right corner to check out this awesome video. I personally think it's awesome. I'm a little biased. Where I build a wicked gaming rig with my three-year-old son. We had a lot of fun."}