News & Reviews:   Samsung Galaxy Note 5

After months of rumours, Samsung have officially announced their Samsung Galaxy Note 5 phablet for public consumption. Gone is the artificial leather backside to be replaced with a very Galaxy S6-like glass and metal back and thinner profile. Featuring a new 5.7-inch Super AMOLED display with 2K or QHD resolution, the new Note 5 packs in the same S Pen but it can now be auto ejected. As rumoured, it also packs in tech specs that include the latest Samsung Exynos 7420 processor, 4GB RAM, 16GB / 32GB storage options, a 16MP rear camera with wide f/1.9 aperture, optical image stabilization and auto real-time HDR along with a 5MP front camera with f/1.9 aperture and a fingerprint sensor. There are obvious sacrifices to this new look as the battery is now a smaller 3000 mAh and there is no option for any microSD slot. On the other hand, it is one of the first smartphones to have quick wireless charging with a 2 hour charge time. No Malaysia release date or pricing details yet but it is expected to arrive in the US on 21 August 2015. We expect the Malaysia release to be within the same month of August 2015.

While we live in a world where people use their thumbs to type on touchscreens, the pen remains one of the most used tools in human history to date. As we gear up for the imminent arrival of the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 in the next few days, Samsung have come out with an article describing the role of various pens in human history with perhaps the inclusion of Samsung's own S Pen stylus. Currently available on Samsung devices like the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and other Galaxy Note devices, the S Pen can be used to replace your mouse and keyboard while giving your thumbs a rest as well. Check out Samsung's take on the role of pens (and the S Pen) in this article or see our review of the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 as well.

As if chasing down the upcoming Samsung Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 edge+, reports indicate that the next Apple iPhone, rumoured to be called the Apple iPhone 6S could be coming on 9 September 2015. So far, there are surprisingly not that many leaks as previously but according to rumours the new iPhone 6S could have features that include a Force Touch Display, a Series 7000 aluminum (said to be 60% tougher than previous) yet maintain more or less the same look and feel as the previous Apple iPhone 6. Other devices said to feature alongside the new iPhone include the Apple iPad Pro and a possible plastic backed Apple iPhone 6C following in the footsteps of the iPhone 5C. Hopefully, Apple have learnt where they went wrong and will offer improvements but with all rumours, do take this with a good pinch of salt. No Malaysia release dates or pricing details, but we expect everything to come to Malaysia in October or November 2015. 

Press renders of the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+ and Galaxy Note 5 smartphones have appeared, apparently leaked by @evleaks. Both are expected to be announced during the upcoming Samsung Unpacked event on 13 August 2015. While the tech specs for the Galaxy S6 edge+ looks to be the same as the Galaxy S6 edge, the edge+ is rumoured to come with a larger 5.7-inch display. Tech specs for the Note 5 on the other hand are rumoured to include a Samsung Exynos 7422 processor and as usual will come with an S Pen stylus. The leaked pics certainly look official and @evleaks does have a good record for such things so you only need to take a small pinch of salt with this rumour. No Malaysia release dates or pricing details yet, but we expect either one or both devices to arrive in Malaysia sometime in August 2015 due to previous releases.

Samsung have officially sent out the invites for a Samsung Galaxy Unpacked event dated for 13 August 2015. Like most other invites this one hints at a device with a curved display which could be the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Plus. The Samsung Galaxy Note 5 could also make an appearance as well. While the Galaxy S6 Edge Plus is expected to feature the same Samsung Exynos 7420 processor as the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge but with higher clock speeds and 4GB of RAM. Tech specs for the Note 5 include Samsung Exynos 7422 processor, a 5.7-inch 2K display and a fingerprint sensor. No pricing details or specific Malaysia release dates but we expect it to be near the end of August 2015 as release times in Malaysia have generally been from 2 weeks to a month from the international release date.

The new Samsung Galaxy Note 5 is coming soon, that much is inevitable, but while it usually arrives in September a day or two before the IFA rumours say that it come as early as August and that it will come with 4GB of RAM. Other tech specs aren't really included but we assume that since the Galaxy S6 is the latest flagship, the Galaxy Note 5 will probably borrow certain features like the better 16MP rear camera and 5MP front camera. It will likely feature a 5.7-inch 2K display with Samsung S-Pen stylus support. No Malaysia release dates or pricing details yet, but we expect it to come soon if it actually does come in August next month.

Like a sign of the inevitable, Sharp has announced the world's first 5.5-inch IGZO display with 4K or 2160 x 3840 pixel resolution. This results in another world's first 806ppi pixel density. Considering that the technology for 8K or 4360 x 7680 resolution displays have already been worked on and announced it just seems like a matter of time before we should expect 5.5-inch 8K displays as well. No news yet how much power the new 4K display screen requires or if there are any new devices which will carry this new Sharp display but it is only a matter of time before the first 4K display smartphone arrives, perhaps even with the Samsung Galaxy Note 5? No Malaysia release dates or pricing details but we expect the first 4K display smartphone to be priced very premiumly.