Beautiful, big and bold. The new Galaxy Note5 and Galaxy S6 edge+ flagship smartphones that we saw and touched in New York recently, are now officially in Malaysia. Samsung continues to bet on the big format screen, a segment it pioneered and dominated since 2011 with the original Galaxy Note.
While the dynamic duo shares most of their underpinnings including processor, display, camera, battery and communication technologies, each targets a specific market. The Galaxy Note5 is stunning, powerful and built to be productive with its unique S Pen. The Galaxy S6 edge+ on the other hand, is a bigger, better S6 edge, made for the ultimate multimedia experience.
Still the #1 phablet
The Note5 may be the fifth generation Note but it looks almost nothing like the previous iterations. In fact, it has more similarities with the S6 edge, minus the curve edge screen. Encased in glass and metal, the Note5 has a curved back and narrower bezel so it fits perfectly in the hand. While it has a mighty 5.7-inch QHD Super AMOLED display, it is actually smaller, thinner and lighter than the Note4.
The Note5’s crown jewel is of course the S Pen. And the new S Pen is even better than before. Samsung redesigned the famed stylus, incorporating a unique clicking mechanism that lets you eject it from its silo by clicking on it. You no longer need to pry it with your nails.
The new phablet also introduces a couple of neat new tricks. Firstly, you can not jot notes on the screen even when it’s off. The ‘Air Command’ unique to the Note series is more intuitive and practical, and more customisable. You can now also annotate PDFs directly, and capture long documents or webpages all at once with a feature called ‘Scroll Capture.’
Dual curve edge multimedia powerhouse
If you love the S6 edge and wished it had a bigger screen, well, now your prayers are answered. The S6 edge+ features a 5.7-inch QHD Super AMOLED display with the unique dual curve edge design. There’s no denying that the S6 edge+ is stunning. The all-metal and glass design with a ultra-narrow bezel is beautiful to look at and hold.
Samsung has enhanced the ‘People edge’ for easy access to your favourite contacts. The S6 edge+ introduces a new ‘Apps edge’ where you can access your favourite apps by swiping the edge display.
Core Galaxy features you’ll love
The flagship Galaxy series rides on several pillars. First, it’s all about the display. Both share the cutting-edge 5.7-inch QHD Super AMOLED display.
Next is battery and charging technology. The duo features Samsung’s fast wired and wireless charging technology, and the embedded wireless charging technology supports almost any wireless pad available in the market. With a conventional wired charging method, both devices fully charge up in just 90 minutes. With the latest wireless charger, they can be fully juiced in 120 minutes.
Camera optics is an area where Samsung is currently leading in. The 16MP OIS camera that we love on the S6 and S6 edge is standard feature here. And it does not disappoint.
Both devices come powered by the 14nm 64-bit Exynos 7420 processor coupled with 4GB of LPDDR4 RAM and 32GB of storage. There is no microSD support.
In terms of communication, the devices support Cat.9 4G LTE. Both run TouchWIZ on top of Android 5.1 Lollipop. For the first time ever, the Note5 will support dual-SIM.
Pricing and availability
The Galaxy Note5 retails at RM2,699 (inclusive of 6% GST) and is available in two colour options – Gold Platinum and White Pearl. The Galaxy S6 edge+ is priced at RM3,099 (inclusive of 6% GST) and is available in Gold Platinum and Black Sapphire. Both devices will be available for sale from 4 September 2015.
Samsung is also running a limited-time promotion to celebrate the coming of the two big phones. The first 200 people in line to purchase the devices at Samsung’s roadshows will be given a Golden Ticket to enable them to buy a second unit of the device for half the price.
There will also be an exclusive trade-up program that will kick off on 4 September. You can trade in your old smartphones for the new Note5. The value of your trade-in will depend on the type and condition of your device, up to RM1,150.
Additionally, Samsung is throwing in a FREE 11,300mAh battery pack and wireless charger (worth RM538) for every purchase of the Galaxy Note5 or Galaxy S6 edge+ during roadshows.
Roadshow venues are as below:
- Kuala Lumpur
Orange Concourse, Sunway Pyramid
4-9 September 2015 - Penang
Main Concourse, Gurney Plaza
4-6 September 2015 - Johor Bahru
Level 3 Concourse, Sutera Mall
4-6 September 2015
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