The Galaxy S6 is a great phone, but the Note 4 hits my fancy just a little bit more than the revamped Galaxy S device. Both devices are great phones in their own respects and there are tons of reasons to consider either one of the phones. Fortunately, I have had the chance to work with both devices and therefore gave me considerable opinions about both phones of which one to keep and which one to give up. Here are some reasons why I went back to the Note 4.
As I mentioned the Galaxy S6 is a great phone and there are some things about it that I miss already, but for now let’s talk about why I ditched it, and went with the Note 4.
Size Matters
If you follow my content you would know by now that I prefer phabelts or at least the screen size of 5.5″ or more. The Note 4 with a 5.7″ screen is my favorite size. I just like big phones. Something to consider about my size preference is my body size. I am a tall guy with big hands. Naturally a larger phone is more operable than a smaller phone. Typing, navigating, and handling a large phone compared to a small size is so much better on phablets for me. Granted the Galaxy S6 is not a small phone, but it is small enough to where I just seem to always want it to be bigger.
Speaking of the screen – watching videos, reading content, and video chats on a large screen enhances the experience of those tasks. For me a large screen hits the spot for me and how I enjoy my devices. The Note 4 is the best large phone on the market at the moment.
User Experience
If you have ever been a Note device owner you know what I mean by when I say that it just seems like you can be more productive and do more with a Note. I don’t use the S-Pen all the time, but when I want it, it comes in handy. I love being able to highlight areas on a text or image, save it, share it, show it to others. For example, if a Bane Tech Team member needs to make an adjustment I can highlight the area and they know exactly what to fix. There are opportunities to create scrapbooks, image editing, note taking, and so much more with that little stylus. Whenever I am not using a Note for my primary device, there are so many times that I wished I had the stylus to use.
One of the things I have been able to crown Samsung with are there ear speakers. They have always had great sound. It has always been easy to hear the caller. The Galaxy S6 seemed to tone down the volume this time around and while I know there is a volume booster, it just didn’t seem to give it the extra volume I needed. The Note 4 I do not have to increase the volume by the booster, but if I do need to, the volume in fact gets loud.
Battery life now is a big deal to me. People are always asking about battery life, screen on time, etc. My answer has pretty much been, “you have to consider how you use the phone and that if you want something to compare to, consider that I am a heavy power user.” All that is out the door with the Galaxy S6. The battery life was the second to worst from my experience with phones. The HTC Thunderbolt being the worst.
When I was working with the lawn care landscaping company I had to use my phone for many tasks and caused my battery life to drain more than the average user. Normally the GS6 would be unplugged around 5:30am and would need to be plugged back into a power source approximately at 2-3pm. There was no chance of the phone lasting me all day, let alone just getting off work. When I began working an office job I could make the phone last till the drive home and the battery percentage would be around 15%. Samsung really dropped the ball in the battery department this time around. Fortunately, the S6 has fast charging support and I always had a fast charger around to use.
With the Note 4 I am able to last all day even up to the point of using it some at home after I get off work depending on how I used the phone throughout the day. Not too mention I can swap out batteries with the Note 4 and keep going without the need to be tethered to a charger multiple times a day.
SD card support isn’t a huge deal to me these days, but it sure is nice to have it if you can. The S6 dropped SD card slots and turned to only internal memory. 32gbs works just fine for me, but I really like having the option to place my media on an external card. Might be just me, but I think a device runs smoother when there is the option not to load down internal memory with media or even apps.
Monetary Value
Simply put the Note 4 holds monetary value longer than the S6. This is a factor I always keep an eye on. Personally, I cannot keep every device and I am forced to only use one device as my daily driver. The only secondary phone I have right now is one that ended up being free to me, which is the Moto E 2015. One of the ways I try to keep the cost down of getting new phones is with local buy/sell/trade methods with Craigslist and Facebook groups. Most of the time I can find an even trade for something I want. For example, I knew I could go back to a Note 4 easily by offering the Galaxy S6 with some extra cases, etc. Back when I had the Note 4 the first time I traded it for an iPhone 6 Plus 64gb and is the phone my wife uses. If a local deal doesn’t work out Swappa.com is my next go-to. At any rate, I watch the value of phones and what I could sell my phone for versus if I would come out better off by trading my phone.
The Galaxy S6 has lost a lot of value this past month and I knew it was time to move forward with getting back to a phone that I wanted to use. The Galaxy S6 was not what I wanted to keep at this point. Enter the Note 4. However, that doesn’t mean that I don’t miss the GS6.
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