The Gen XY Lifestyle

A Note with a New Edge

By  |  0 Comments

Samsung will release its flagship Galaxy Note 5 this Saturday 15 August 2015, with the Galaxy S6 Edge+ arriving the following Saturday on 22 August 2015.

These will be Samsung’s biggest phones in their flagship lines. Both feature a 5.7-inch, Quad HD Super AMOLED display, 4G+ LTE Cat 9, 64-bit octacore processor and 4GB RAM, differing only in the areas of purpose, form factor, and ergonomics.

Often criticised in the past for producing phones that are filled with features that aren’t practical, Samsung’s latest efforts are again feature filled, but most of them are rather practical these days. One of the most impressive has to be its Fast Wireless Charging feature – it can fully charge its empty 3,000mAh battery in a mere 2 hours, wirelessly.

The camera is known these days as one of Samsung mobile’s biggest strengths, and this time is no different. The Blur-less photo feature is designed for low-light situations, and uses a super fast shutter speed to create a composite of three pictures for best results. With the PRO mode,  you can save RAW files and adjust shutter speed for more control over your output.

Samsung’s new flagships are capable of shooting 4K videos, and not only that, they also have an advanced anti-shake system: VDIS is a software algorithm that works in conjunction with a physical OIS to reduce the effects of shaky hands when taking videos. It works rather well, and better still, it also works with the front camera.

Additional video features include Video Collage, which allows you to create a collage of multiple video clips, while Live Broadcast is an easy way to stream Full HD videos straight from your phone camera.

On the audio front, an Audio Upscaling feature enhances your audio tracks to 24-bit 192kHz resolution for more cleaner and more detailed audio.

Samsung has also enhanced the use of the edges on the S6 edge+. It now has App Edge for easy access to your favourite apps, and enhanced People Edge for easy access to your contacts.

The Note 5 sees much more distinct additions, especially for its inimitable S Pen. Screen Off Memo lets you pull out the stylus and make quick notes even when the screen is off. You can also scroll capture up to 22 webpages and annotate them with the improved Screen Write feature, while Smart Select makes image clipping easier by saving the URL with the photo cropped form the site into the Scrapbook app.


Among the accompanying accessories for the phone, the keyboard cover (S$108, arriving September) will be of most interest. Place the keyboard on the front, and it will function like a physical keyboard, complete with tactile feedback; when you don’t wish it to use it, you can attach it to the back of the case.

Our first impressions of these two phones have been rather good, although interestingly the phones are only available in 32GB and 64GB capacities – no 128GB version as yet. The Note 5 will be available 15 August, 2015 in Black Sapphire and Gold Platinum, at S$1,088 (32GB) and S$1,188 (64GB). If you purchase a Note 5 on 15 August at local telcos, authorised retailers and Samsung Experience stores, you will receive a complimentary Fast Wireless Charging Pad (white only) worth S$98 and Clear Cover (silver only) worth S$48 while stocks last.

The S6 edge+ will be available from 22 August 2015 in Black Sapphire and Gold Platinum at S$1,188 (32G) and S$1,288 (64GB).

Comments

comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *