Samsung's newest smartphones are 6-inch phablets, but the Galaxy S6 remains the company's flagship.
The Galaxy S6 Edge+ and Note 5 take the size philosophy of the Galaxy Note series and the curved glass of the Galaxy S6 Edge. Out of Samsung's four most prominent phones, only the original Galaxy S6 has a flat back, but that's a design choice some users might prefer. Let's compare the Galaxy Note 5 with the first Galaxy phone of this current generation, and look at the S6 Edge and S6 Edge+ for reference, too.
| Name | Samsung Galaxy Note 5 | Samsung Galaxy S6 (T-Mobile) | Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge+ | Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge (T-Mobile) |
|
|
|
|
|
| Lowest Price | %displayPrice% %seller% | %displayPrice% %seller% | %displayPrice% %seller% | |
| Editor Rating | ||||
| CPU | Samsung Exynos 7420 Octa-Core | Samsung Exynos 7420 Octa-Core | Samsung Exynos 7420 Octa-Core | Samsung Exynos 7420 Octa-Core |
| Processor Speed | 2.1 GHz | 1.5 GHz | 2.1 GHz | 1.5 GHz |
| Dimensions | 6.03 by 3 by 0.3 inches | 5.65 by 2.78 by 0.27 inches | 6.07 by 2.98 by 0.27 inches | 5.6 by 2.76 by 0.27 inches |
| Weight | 6.03 oz | 4.87 oz | 5.4 oz | 4.65 oz |
| Screen Size | 5.7 inches | 5.1 inches | 5.7 inches | 5.1 inches |
| Screen Type | Super AMOLED HD | Super AMOLED HD | Super AMOLED HD | Super AMOLED HD |
| Screen Resolution | 2,560 by 1,440 pixels | 2,560 by 1,440 pixels | 2,560 by 1,440 pixels | 2,560 by 1,440 pixels |
| Screen Pixels Per Inch | 518 ppi | 577 ppi | 518 ppi | 576 ppi |
| Camera Resolution | 16 MP Rear, 5 MP Front-Facing | 16 MP Rear; 5 MP Front-Facing | 16 MP Rear, 5 MP Front-Facing | 16 MP Rear; 5 MP Front-Facing |
| 802.11x/Band(s) | 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac | 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac | 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac | 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac |
| Bluetooth Version | 4.2 | 4.1 LE | 4.2 | 4.1 LE |
| Operating System as Tested | Android 5.1 | Android 5.0 | Android 5.1 | Android 5.0 |
| Read the Review | Read the Review | Read the Review | Read the Review |
Size and weight are obviously the most jarring differences between the phones. The Note 5 and S6 Edge+ are in the 6-inch "phablet" form factor Samsung popularized with the original Galaxy Note, while the S6 and S6 Edge are more modestly sized. The Note 5 is the biggest of the phones, and the only one that tops 6 ounces. The S6 Edge+ is just a hair longer, but all four Galaxy phones are 0.3 inches thick or slightly thinner. Samsung also claims the curved backs on the Note 5 and S6 Edge+ (and the already small S6 Edge) make the phablets feel slimmer and more comfortable to hold in one hand.
The two phablets obviously have larger screens, with the Note 5 and S6 Edge+ sporting 5.7-inch Super AMOLED displays. However, the S6 and S6 Edge's screens are sharper purely because they're smaller. All four phones have screens with 2,560-by-1,440 resolution, but the smaller phones pack those pixels into a smaller space for impressive pixel densities of over 570ppi. The Note 5 and S6 Edge+ "only" have 518ppi screens. All four handily beat the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus and their 1080p screens' pixel densities by a wide margin.
On the inside, all four phones are nearly identical. They all use the same Samsung Exynos 7420 octa-core CPU with core speeds of 2.1GHz and 1.5GHz, and they all now run or will run Android 5.1.1 Lollipop (the S6 and S6 Edge launched with Android 5.0, but Samsung is pushing an update to both phones). However, the Note 5 and S6 Edge+ might beat them in performance, because Samsung put 4GB of RAM in those models compared with the S6 and S6 Edge's 3GB. We won't know how much of a difference that makes in actual use until we put the Note 5 and S6 Edge+ through their paces in the lab.
The Note 5 and S6 Edge+ also have Bluetooth v4.2, while the S6 and S6 Edge have Bluetooth v4.1. This is mostly a future-proofing issue, however; Bluetooth 4.0 is the current useful standard for most Bluetooth devices you can buy today.
The Note 5 has a unique, Note-only feature that the other three phones lack: a stylus. The Note 5's S Pen stylus fits inside the phone itself when not in use, and offers a variety of interactivity options on the device. The Note 5 even has a new feature over previous Notes: when the phone is off, you can still write on the screen with the stylus to make notes on the Super AMOLED display.
Phone size and shape is a matter of taste, and there's still room for the flat Galaxy S6 for many users. However, with two new phablet options, curved backs now outnumber the flat ones among Samsung's flagship smartphones. Ultimately, it's a question of what you want your phone to do and how you want it to feel, since they're all very similar on the inside.