Galaxy Note 5: A Few Important Points

Today Samsung revealed the Galaxy Note 5, and with it a new era of "Note" products – an era not exclusively devoted to work. Alongside the Note, Samsung showed off the larger version of their "Edge" line with the Galaxy S6 edge+, a device that has the features of the S6 Edge, but the size of the Note 5. What we're going to do here is run down a few important points for people considering owning a Galaxy Note 5 in the near future. What you're going to need to know isn't just what the basic specifications of this device are, but what the device's release means.

Samsung suggested today that their approach with the Edge and the Note is that one is for entertainment, the other for work. While this is an understandable approach to take, we'd like to offer a slightly different take.

The Galaxy Note 5 is for work AND play, while the Galaxy S6 edge+ is for people that want their device to be unique for uniqueness' sake. The edge on the Galaxy S6 edge+ does not make entertainment better than the Note – in fact as the displays are the same size, and the Edge is curved, you're going to get more of a flat, eye-friendly space in which to watch movies with the standard Note.

The Galaxy S6 edge+ has some fun features that the Note does not, but suggesting that it's "better" for entertainment than the Note is not the best way to explain the difference.

With Verizon, the full retail price for the 32GB Note 5 is $696 while the 32GB edge+ is $768. With AT&T, the 32GB Note 5 costs $739.99 while the 32GB edge+ costs $814.99. Those are "off-contract" prices.

The edge+ is going to cost you more than the Note 5 no matter where you go. You're going to want to head to a store where they've got the devices on-hand for you to test out (not just dummy models) so you know the difference. Don't just buy based on looks.

See more release details in the article Galaxy Note 5 release dates and pricing hit US carriers.

Both the Samsung Galaxy S6 and the Note 5 work with processors so similar, they have the same name. While we must assume some changes have been made to fit each of the two models, they're both essentially capable of the same processing power.

Both the Galaxy S6 and the Note 5 have the same amount of pixels on their display. The Note 5 has 4GB of RAM, while the Galaxy S6 has 3GB of RAM.

The average user will not know the difference between these devices in the speed in which they open and run apps. They're too similar.

If you had to choose from amongst the four flagship smartphones Samsung has revealed this year, which would it be?

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