Fans of Samsung have been talking about the new Galaxy Note 5 for quite some time now, and there’s no denying that the tablet is very hyped at the moment. People have been eager to find out more about it and what it will bring to the table, and while it was initially rumored that the tablet would be very innovative and come with some serious improvements over previous models, reviving Samsung’s Galaxy Note line, recent rumors claim that it might be lacking a thing or two.
It’s now claimed that Samsung’s engineers have been cutting out some features from the tablet for unknown reasons – possibly to meet their deadlines, due to resource issues, or possibly even to satisfy a certain design language – and in particular, the device could be missing a microSD slot. The battery could be non-removable as well, another disappointing possibility for fans of the tablet line.
The tablet is expected to come this August, but there have been conflicting reports about its possible release date. Some rumors claim that it’s more realistic to expect it in September instead, and if we look at the company’s past trends, they seem to prefer to make their major Note announcements at the IFA event. This year, the event is starting on September 4 in Berlin.
That could lend some credibility to the rumors that put the device’s unveiling in September, but it would be a nice surprise from Samsung if they showed it to the world even earlier than that. According to some leaked renders that we’ve seen previously, it could borrow a lot from the design of the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge, with an aluminum frame, glass back, a better fingerprint sensor, and speakers on the bottom.
Its design could also be a bit more angular than that of the S6, giving it a little more distinction, but the fact that the device might come with a glass back design is exactly what has been worrying to its fans. A glass back is pretty much a guarantee that there will be no microSD slot or a removable battery, and fans have been preparing for an announcement along those lines.
Still, we shouldn’t paint the wrong picture here – the Galaxy Note 5 isn’t going to be an overall downgrade from previous entries in the line, that wouldn’t make much sense after all. It’s actually going to come with some serious feature upgrades compared to its predecessor, with much better hardware and more attention to its visual design.
It’s also been rumored that Samsung are planning to increase the internal memory options in order to compensate for the lack of a microSD slot, but we’re not so sure that this would do much to appease fans who have grown used to the idea of having expandable memory.
It’s not just about the ability to get more memory either – having a microSD slot is useful for multiple reasons, such as easily swapping between different data sets and allowing the user to shoot more pictures during a photosession. It can also make it easier to install new versions of the operating system and perform various tweaks to it, something which Android is typically known for.
In the end though, Samsung know what they are doing and they have a pretty strong understanding of their Galaxy line after so many entries in it. We wouldn’t be surprised if the company has a very solid plan for what they want to do with the Note 5, and it might even involve some disappointment for their fans. But if it ends up in a positive development in the long term once Samsung’s plans become clearer, it will of course be worth it.
… and at the end of the day, the Note 5 was an overall downgrade from the Note 4. Picking up an extra gig of RAM and wireless charging (gimiky) isn’t worth giving up the SD Card, the IR blaster, or the changable battery. Even the most important camera (rear) isn’t upgraded.
The Note line died today.