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Switching to Note 5

1BadManVan

1BadManVan

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Dec 20, 2009
3,290
3,450
Bc Canada
I currently have an iPhone 6s Plus. For the most part I am happy with the phone, few quirks here and there. Then my wife switched from her iPhone 5 to a Samsung Note 5, and it really got me interested. The screen is amazing, camera is awesome and very customizable.

Anyone ever made the switch?
 
Of course. I bought a 6S and 6S+ in December this month, bought a Note 5. The Note 5 is the best phone I have ever owned. I am waiting to see what the S7 has to offer and then I may just use that in place of my 6S. I bought the 6S to use at my job due to the smaller size.
 
It depends on how important Apple services are to you and the apps you use. A lot of apps are better on the iphone, some only slightly and others quite bit, plus the iphone gets a lot of apps first. And then of course you have icloud, itunes, imessage, and facetime. If those things aren't a priority, then by all means switch, the Note 5 is probably my favorite phone, has great hardware and a lot of great features, love being able to watch youtube and surf the Internet at the same time.

Oh, and also updates. Samsung really needs to get a handle on updates.
 
I don't use iMessage,FaceTime or iCloud

Few select games, Facebook, check the weather etc.

Might end up just trading phones with the wife lol. She wants a simpler phone, I build pc's in my spare time, I like to play around with things.
 
UnLiMiTeD558 said:
I don't use iMessage,FaceTime or iCloud

Few select games, Facebook, check the weather etc.

Might end up just trading phones with the wife lol. She wants a simpler phone, I build pc's in my spare time, I like to play around with things.
Click to expand...
I have both the 6s+ and N5 and love both phones. I switch between them all the time.
If you like to tinker....the TMO model N5 bootloader can be unlocked and you can flash all kinds of custom roms.
They do some really cool stuff over at XDA developers http://forum.xda-developers.com/tmobile-galaxy-note5

As others have pointer out Android as a whole is a lot slower to release updates. But most of the next gen core apps you can find on the android Playstore. Apple is better at updates most of the time. But lately their updates have caused issues.

But you can't go wrong with either phone! They both have good and bad points. Just find what works best for you and go for it!
 
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The Galaxy s7 sure looks nice but already done my upgrade so out of question for the time being lol.

Yea I heard they are a bit slower with the updates and it's held me back because of software issues

Even now we have to return hers because it keeps saying the stylus is disconnected even when holding it over the phone. And kicks the wifi multiple times.

But still love the phone, takes great pics and seems to run smoothly
 
Everyone here has already said it but I will add just for effect....sloooow updates! I have both....I have given the Note 5 to my wife.

Pros:
The Note 5 takes better pictures, handles better...lighter as well.
Flexibility of Android.
Awesome sound quality through the headphones - Wolfson DAC

Cons:
But Samsung does a piss poor job of updating it quickly. I bought Note 5 thinking this will not bother me....well it did :)
Bloatware: even on the unlocked version. For e.g., I had Facebook processes running in the background even though I had disabled it and never logged into it once. It can be argued that the 6S Plus might have such processes running in the background but I would lean towards no...simply because I can get a much better life with the 6S Plus.
 
I recently switched from the 6S Plus to the Note 5. Very happy with the decision so far. iMessage is the only thing I really miss but then again, it's not my problem if someone else sees green instead of blue on the other end of my messages, mine look the same regardless of who I am texting. It's nice to be back with the flexibility of Android. Touchwiz (something I once hated) is actually very good now, and the camera and display are next level. Battery life is the only thing I do not care for but other than that, very happy with the switch.
 
Awesome, thank you! Appreciate the input

It might work out that me and the wife just swap phones, she's not a big fan of the more complex OS on the note 5. She loves my 6s plus and always stealing it to play games lol

So most likely just swap around phones this week and call it a day.

If not, and she decides she loves the note 5 too much then maybe I'll just sell my 6s plus for the new s7 edge.

I've loved iPhones for years, which I wa surprised by since I build custom gaming pc's as a hobby. But I think they finally got enough things right to pull me away. It's not an easy one, still absolutely love my 6s plus, but if it stays in the family i won't feel so bad lol
 
UnLiMiTeD558 said:
Awesome, thank you! Appreciate the input

It might work out that me and the wife just swap phones, she's not a big fan of the more complex OS on the note 5. She loves my 6s plus and always stealing it to play games lol

So most likely just swap around phones this week and call it a day.

If not, and she decides she loves the note 5 too much then maybe I'll just sell my 6s plus for the new s7 edge.

I've loved iPhones for years, which I wa surprised by since I build custom gaming pc's as a hobby. But I think they finally got enough things right to pull me away. It's not an easy one, still absolutely love my 6s plus, but if it stays in the family i won't feel so bad lol
Click to expand...
Yeah, seriously Samsung has improved significantly in the past year and a half, starting with the note 4 they have been doing the right things to become the premier android OEM and are finally deserving of their #1 status.
 
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UnLiMiTeD558 said:
Awesome, thank you! Appreciate the input

It might work out that me and the wife just swap phones, she's not a big fan of the more complex OS on the note 5. She loves my 6s plus and always stealing it to play games lol

So most likely just swap around phones this week and call it a day.

If not, and she decides she loves the note 5 too much then maybe I'll just sell my 6s plus for the new s7 edge.

I've loved iPhones for years, which I wa surprised by since I build custom gaming pc's as a hobby. But I think they finally got enough things right to pull me away. It's not an easy one, still absolutely love my 6s plus, but if it stays in the family i won't feel so bad lol
Click to expand...
I've been an iPhone user since day one and have had every iPhone except for the iPhone 5. That year, I decided to buy my first Android phone and that was the Nexus 4. Since then, I've been interested in everything Android but at the same time, I still love the iPhone.

I've bought the Note 4, Note Edge and now the Note 5. I also bought the 6+, 6S+ and the 6S. Two things keeping me buying the iPhone are the music app and the size of the 6S. I use the 6S for my job because I can easily use it with one hand.

I never liked the music app on Android even though I have all my iTunes music uploaded to the cloud there and it's free. I ended up renewing my iTunes Match sub si that I can have my entire 13,000+ song music library on my 6S+ even though I have 11,000 of those songs on my 6S+.

I love my music and I love listening to it on my iPhone. I think nothing tops that experience.

I'll be buying the Note 6 and I am seriously thinking of buying the S7. Not sure what I'll do with all these phones because I don't like selling them. I keep four lines on T-Mobile activated just for the fun of it all. Being able to use any of my 7 phones here is fun.
 
You have too much money lol

I have 3 children, so I can't be quite a frivolous in my spending on these phones but I still like a nice phone. I mean I drive a minivan, the least I should get is a nice phone to bury my face into in shame lol
 
I used to regularly swap between a 6s+ and a note 5, but ended up with the note 5 as my main phone. You will miss things about either of them, it's very hard to commit to just one. The 6s+ was a nicer piece of hardware, just amazing to hold and fondle, but it's larger than it should be with the huge top bezel. iOS is very limiting, to even get close to what I wanted I had to jailbreak and then the phone went from being flawlessly stable to semi bugged. The Note 5 is also a very nice piece of hardware, a bit thicker but also shorter, but just not as nice feeling in the hand. Android is miles ahead of iOS in functionality but you trade off some instability, that maybe Touchwiz though and not Androids fault. My wife likes the simplicity of iOS, but whenever I pick up her phone and am faced with that random wall of icons I hand it right back to her and realize why I don't use it.

Ecosystems don't so much for me so I don't really care much. I stream all my music so it's random and fresh/new. Pictures and files go through OneDrive which is the best IMO on mobile platforms. I do miss facetime as my wife has an iPhone, but one of these days I'll have to setup another video service as there are tons of them.

Wait until you get used to the S pen, you will wonder how you lived without it. I particularly LOVE the feature on the Note 5 where as soon as you pull the pen out you can write a note. Oh and the stuff you can do with Gear VR is pretty intense.

I'm definitely first in line for a Note 6, but then again I'll probably do the same exact shuffle I always do and buy the iPhone 7, get tired of it and switch to the Note 6. I've done this the last 3 cycles and you would think I would learn.
 
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Choosing your own default apps. I'll just leave that right there. Because that has been one of my favorite features of Android. Not specific to the Note 5. But I own a Note 5 and love it too.
 
spinedoc77 said:
I'm definitely first in line for a Note 6, but then again I'll probably do the same exact shuffle I always do and buy the iPhone 7, get tired of it and switch to the Note 6. I've done this the last 3 cycles and you would think I would learn.
Click to expand...
It is possible you and I are long lost brothers :) I have the exact same problem. I am on an endless loop. I just wish Samsung get their update act in place to kill this loop of mine. Seriously, the only issue I have with Samsung is with their software. Android is cool!
 
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UnLiMiTeD558 said:
I currently have an iPhone 6s Plus. For the most part I am happy with the phone, few quirks here and there. Then my wife switched from her iPhone 5 to a Samsung Note 5, and it really got me interested. The screen is amazing, camera is awesome and very customizable.

Anyone ever made the switch?
Click to expand...
I did as of 3 weeks ago. iPhone 6s plus to a Note 5. Love it. Only thing I don't like is the battery life. But I deal with it. Everything is better on the Note.
 
UnLiMiTeD558 said:
What's the best way to transfer my songs and contacts to the note 5 from my 6s?
Click to expand...
I use an app called iSyncr to transfer and sync all of my music from itunes to my android phones.
I have used Google for my contacts on all of my Macs (iPhone 6s+, iMac, rMBP, iPads) so it is easy to have them sync across all my devices whether they are Macs or not. You should be able to import your current contacts to Google to get this done. Then make on change and they all sync together.
 
Unless you need the SPEN, I would get the S7 Edge. I am switching from a Note 5 to an S7 Edge for memory SD card and battery life. The Note 5 is a great phone, but battery life is not great. I had a 6s plus before it.
 
KillaMac said:
Unless you need the SPEN, I would get the S7 Edge. I am switching from a Note 5 to an S7 Edge for memory SD card and battery life. The Note 5 is a great phone, but battery life is not great. I had a 6s plus before it.
Click to expand...

If the S7 Edge had a much bigger screen, I'd switch to that. Nice phone, but the screen is too small for me.
 
UnLiMiTeD558 said:
I currently have an iPhone 6s Plus. For the most part I am happy with the phone, few quirks here and there. Then my wife switched from her iPhone 5 to a Samsung Note 5, and it really got me interested. The screen is amazing, camera is awesome and very customizable.

Anyone ever made the switch?
Click to expand...

Great device...that's why I have two :D

FYI: If you're looking to save some dough.. I'm selling my factory unlocked TMobile 64GB black Note 5. It's in pristine condition (looks and functions like brand new), all paid up, never rooted, clean & clear IMEI, original box with unused accessories, and a brand new sealed genuine samsung wireless charger.. Used for about 2 weeks, and has a dbrand skin covering the back for protection! Still under warranty..thru October or Nov 2016 IIRC It's just been sitting in the box since I've been using the white one.
 
The Note 5 running Marshmallow is a really sweet device, especially if you like the S-Pen for work stuff or whatever. But the MM update made this phone even better.

As cool as the S7 Edge seems, I will hold out for the Note 6 in August, can't wait to see what we'll have coming, but for sure at least will get a beast sized battery + waterproof, better camera and a slightly larger 5.8" screen.
 
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