Even some Cell phone store managers are saying "stay with the Note 4"!

[jack58]

The new Note 5 has been out for what? Two weeks now... yet out of four Cell phone stores I've been in such as AT&T, Best Buy stores, I had two of the managers tell me to keep the Note 4 awhile as there is really not much difference at all in them. I've put mine side by side face up and the difference is very minor, the sides a bit different along with the back view. Screen size and 4K 2560 x 1440-pixel panel is exactly the same. Both managers said it is targeted more for new Samsung customers or former customers who have like say the Note 3.

So folks, hang onto your Note 4. I won't upgrade on the fact that you can't remove the battery or SD card on the Note 5. That may cause me to look at another brand when I'm ready for a new phone sometime next year... there are some nice phones coming out soon...

 

[quest7]

Thanks, my next phone...

 

[jack58]

The new Note 5 has been out for what? Two weeks now... yet out of four Cell phone stores I've been in such as AT&T, Best Buy stores, I had two of the managers tell me to keep the Note 4 awhile as there is really not much difference at all in them. I've put mine side by side face up and the difference is very minor, the sides a bit different along with the back view. Screen size and 4K 2560 x 1440-pixel panel is exactly the same. Both managers said it is targeted more for new Samsung customers or former customers who have like say the Note 3.

So folks, hang onto your Note 4. I won't upgrade on the fact that you can't remove the battery or SD card on the Note 5. That may cause me to look at another brand when I'm ready for a new phone sometime next year... there are some nice phones coming out soon...

Add a third... a manager running the Target camera/phone area recommends keeping the Note 4 even though the store is pushing the Note 5. His personal phone? The Note 4.

On the battery issue, Note 4 vs Note 5 here are my thoughts. The battery issue for removable or not gives me an idea. The whole goal of any phone manufactures is to get you to buy phones every year or so... think about this... if your battery gets weaker or dead for those of you who like to keep a phone for more than a year, if you have a removable battery, simply replace it and keep the phone. However, if you have a non-removable battery, your forced to get a new phone sooner than you like. So, to me this is why they are eliminating removable batteries.... so you have to buy a new phone sooner! They claim a non-removable battery is lighter and makes the phone slimmer. Not by much as compared mine to the new N5. To the phone manufactures it is all about taking your $$$

Next up will be the storage debate, to have SD support or NOT...

 

[touringhaggis]

Let me start by saying that having a replaceable battery has saved me in the past (my Note 1 battery decided to start physically expanding and loose voltage at about 60%) and I have used an SD card in all of my phones, so a Note 5 will not be in my future.

However, as an engineer I know that having a non replaceable battery will certainly simplify the device. Yes, this will result in lowering the costs for Samsung and improving their bottom line, but it is not a total loss for the end user. Think about it this way, you will never have a problem with poor battery contacts causing spontaneous reboot. Of course this is not a common problem, but then neither was my expanding battery issue.

Given that most people change their phones every two years (since their contract allows them to do so), the use case of extending the life of the phone by swapping out the battery is far from common. I do, however, appreciate that some people cannot afford to do so, in which case this would be a k.o. criteria for them. It certainly offends my Scottish nature to throw out a perfectly good device just because of a faulty battery. That said I will probably get a Note 6 next year even if the inevitable built in battery is installed, because I really do use the S-Pen and would miss it too much, but I do hope they put an SD card slot in the side of the next phone (especially since Android M allegedly supports them fully again).

But, at the end of the day it will be the lowest common denominator that will win out. If 80% of users don't need a replaceable battery and SD card, then they will disappear. I used to have a Sony VCR (I am that old) and it had a terrific remote control with every cool feature that you could ever want and more besides. The next years model more or less had play, stop and rewind buttons. Why? Simply because 80% of end users only use the simplest of features or were confused by the mega remote. So Jack, we are the 20% and we will have to be sad

Regards,
Eric.

 

[jack58]

It makes sense what you said Eric.
If I had to choose between having a removable battery or SD card, I'd go with the SD card every time.
Some phones such as the Motorola Moto X Pure Edition brought back the SD card after discontinuing them the previous year. So hopefully Samsung will do the same. If they don't, I'll be looking elsewhere.

 

[javamann]

To me it's looking like the Android manufacturers are forcing us all to migrate to Apple...I'd hate to do so but their phone ARE less trouble.

JM

 

[philayl]

It's not just being able to replace the battery that is important, if you look through many of the Samsung forums, the S5 in particular, you will find many cases where a simple battery pull has been needed to rectify a fault, what do people do in the future if the removable battery ceases to exist? I for one will keep changing phones to a removable battery one for as long as they exist, whatever make. Phil

 

[Bearsyzf]

I'm sticking with the removable batteries .

 

[ronbien]

It's not just being able to replace the battery that is important, if you look through many of the Samsung forums, the S5 in particular, you will find many cases where a simple battery pull has been needed to rectify a fault, what do people do in the future if the removable battery ceases to exist? ... Phil

I believe that there is a key combination to simulate a battery pull. It breaks and forces a reboot using software.
Good Luck!
Ron

 

[bcrichster]

I'm sticking with the removable batteries .

Agreed! [emoji41]

 

[bcrichster]

I believe that there is a key combination to simulate a battery pull. It breaks and forces a reboot using software.
Good Luck!
Ron

I think you hold the PWR button down for like 15sec...

 

[KOLIO]

I believe that there is a key combination to simulate a battery pull. It breaks and forces a reboot using software.
Good Luck!
Ron

I think you hold the PWR button down for like 15sec...

Quoted direct from Samsung's FAQ's for the NOTE 5:
http://www.samsung.com/us/support/answer/ANS00043276/997417854/SM-N920TZKETMB

How do I force my Samsung Galaxy Note5 to reboot or restart when the screen is frozen or the device is locked up?
In the unlikely event that your device becomes unresponsive, you can attempt a force restart. This will turn your device off and back on without affecting any data stored on the device.

• 
  Do not attempt to remove the battery from your device. Doing so may damage the device and battery and could cause burning and injury.

Force Restart
Ensure your device is charged to a minimum of 5%. If your battery is below 5%, the device may not turn on after the restart. A device that is completely drained should be charged for a minimum of 15 minutes using the wall charger supplied with your device.

To force restart your device, press and hold the Volume down key and Power/Lock key on the device for 10–20 seconds. This performs a simulated battery disconnect.

 

[jack58]

Quoted direct from Samsung's FAQ's for the NOTE 5:
http://www.samsung.com/us/support/answer/ANS00043276/997417854/SM-N920TZKETMB

How do I force my Samsung Galaxy Note5 to reboot or restart when the screen is frozen or the device is locked up?
In the unlikely event that your device becomes unresponsive, you can attempt a force restart. This will turn your device off and back on without affecting any data stored on the device.

• 
  Do not attempt to remove the battery from your device. Doing so may damage the device and battery and could cause burning and injury.

Force Restart
Ensure your device is charged to a minimum of 5%. If your battery is below 5%, the device may not turn on after the restart. A device that is completely drained should be charged for a minimum of 15 minutes using the wall charger supplied with your device.

To force restart your device, press and hold the Volume down key and Power/Lock key on the device for 10–20 seconds. This performs a simulated battery disconnect.

BEST SOLUTION is Don't buy a Note 5!

 

[Hadron]

BEST SOLUTION is Don't buy a Note 5!

Especially if you want them to bring back removable storage or battery (though of the 2 I think we are more likely to get the sd slot back). If the Note 5 sells well then they will have no reason to change (and if simplified engineering and larger margins on higher capacity models increase profits they'll have a reason not to).

 

[jack58]

If they bring back the SD support, I'll get a Samsung... otherwise I'm looking elsewhere...

 

[jack58]

What are you gonna do if your phone crashes and doesn't work anymore?
Yep, you lost everything, your pictures, documents etc.
If you had SD storage... BINGO!

 

[Hadron]

But if the SD fails, or the phone is lost or stolen, same problem.

I definitely prefer having an SD card, but I'll make backups regardless.

 

[mikedt]

Quoted direct from Samsung's FAQ's for the NOTE 5:
http://www.samsung.com/us/support/answer/ANS00043276/997417854/SM-N920TZKETMB

To force restart your device, press and hold the Volume down key and Power/Lock key on the device for 10–20 seconds. This performs a simulated battery disconnect.

That's pretty much the same as holding down the power button on a PC or Mac. It just forces it to turn off, in hardware. Has anyone ever had to remove the battery on a laptop because it crashed? NO, I've never had to.

 

[jack58]

That's pretty much the same as holding down the power button on a PC or Mac. It just forces it to turn off, in hardware. Has anyone ever had to remove the battery on a laptop because it crashed? NO, I've never had to.

PC or Notebook is quite different than a Cell Phone where the cell phone is setup for that.

 

[jack58]

I don't understand why this topic got moved to:
"Device/Carrier Comparisons"
From the Note 4 forum when it is primarily about staying with the Note 4 instead for Note 5. It's not about different brands but two of the same flagship brands. This topic was geared/aimed at the Note 4 people.
I have this same topic on another forum where it stayed in the Note 4 forum
and now has

• Replies:102
• Views: 17,056

 

[Slug]

I don't understand why this topic got moved [...]

It was moved because (a) it began by comparing the 5 to the 4, and (b) later developed into a more general discussion of the pros/cons of non-removeable batteries/storage.

I have this same topic on another forum where it stayed in the Note 4 forum

What can I say? Different house, different rules.