Samsung Galaxy Note 7 vs Galaxy Note 5: Here’s A List of 10 Major Differences

Waterproof build

Unlike the previous generations of the Galaxy Note lineup, the Note 7 comes with the IP68 water and dust resistant certification and it can be submerged underwater for up to 1.5 meters for 30 minutes. The Galaxy Note 5 lacks this waterproof feature.

Curved dual-edged display

Both the smartphones arrive with a 5.7-inch Super AMOLED QHD 1440p display. The difference is that the one on the Galaxy Note 7 is a dual-edged curved screen similar to the Galaxy S7 edge and it is protected with the Gorilla Glass 5 coating and it is the first smartphone to feature the toughened glass panel. Also, the Note 7's display is an Always On panel as the one on the Galaxy S7 and S7 edge.

Hardware Options

The Note 7 makes use of a either the Exynos 8890 SoC or the Snapdragon 820 SoC and 4 GB of RAM. We expect to see the octa-core homebrew Exynos chipset in the Indian variant of the Note 7. On the other hand, the Note 5 employs the Exynos 7420 SoC and it also uses 4 GB RAM.

No Storage Choice

While the Galaxy Note 5 has two storage options - 32 GB and 64 GB, the Note 7 puts an end to the multiple storage options. It comes bundled with ample 64 GB of storage. Talking of expandable storage support, the Note 5 lacks a micro SD card slot whereas there is up to 256 GB of expandable memory support in the Note 7 with a dedicated micro SD card.

Camera is similar to Galaxy S lineup

The 16 MP main camera on the Galaxy Note 5 is similar to the one on the Galaxy S6 with an aperture of f/1.9. Also, it has a 5 MP front-facer with a similar aperture. On the other hand, the Galaxy Note 7 has a 12 MP Dual Pixel camera as on the S7 on its back with f/1.7 aperture and a 5 MP selfie camera with the same aperture. The Galaxy Note 7 camera comes with slow motion and 4K video recording abilities and it will be a great one in terms of competition as the S7.

USB Type-C port is a new addition

Most smartphone makers are coming up with USB Type-C port and the same is followed by Samsung with the Note 7. It is the first Samsung device to come with such a port on it. Otherwise, there are standard connectivity features such as 4G LTE, Wi-Fi, NFC, Bluetooth and GPS on both the devices.

Battery

The battery life has always been a concern due to the high resolution display with Always On feature and other high end features on the Galaxy Note devices. Samsung has included a better 3,500 mAh battery on the Galaxy Note 7 with wireless and fast charging capabilities. This is much better than the 3,000 mAh battery on the Galaxy Note 5.

Iris Scanner makes Note 7 secure

The Galaxy Note 5 and Note 7 arrive with the fingerprint scanner for security purposes. In addition to this, the Note 7 comes with an iris scanner for a more secure authentication. It is the first Galaxy phone to arrive with this feature. There is a Secure Folder on the device that can be accessed only after the authentication in order to keep your data safe and also to make purchases using Samsung Pay.

Improved S Pen

The S Pen is the USP of the Galaxy Note lineup, and this time, Samsung has improved the functionality of the Note 7 stylus. It has added features such as magnifying text, translation, ability to create GIFs from videos, and ability to write on the screen even under water.

Verdict

The Galaxy Note 5 is priced around Rs 40,000 in India right now and it will be reduced further as the Galaxy Note 7 is released in the country sometime this month. We are sure that the Galaxy Note 7 is likely to be priced around Rs 60,000 as high end Samsung devices are always priced around this range. If you want a high end phablet with better features, you need to definitely upgrade to the Note 7. But, if you want a low priced Note device, you can go for the Note 5.