Samsung didn’t release the Galaxy Note 5 in the UK. Instead, it fobbed us off with a slightly larger and WAY more expensive iteration of its Galaxy S6. This move didn’t go down very well with punters in the UK, as demand was high for a new Note device last year. And then, this year, the Note 7 went MIA.
That’s two solid years of bad luck for Samsung’s Galaxy Note brand and two nasty blows for punters in the UK. But all is not lost, as Samsung is now in the process of porting the Galaxy Note 7’s software over to the Galaxy Note 5 and that handset, unlike its successor, is still readily available to purchase online.
“Samsung has started distributing a much-anticipated update for the Korea Telecom variant of the Galaxy Note 5 in South Korea,” reports Sam Mobile. “While the upgrade doesn’t bring Nougat to the handset, it does bundle a build of Marshmallow that’s skinned with the firm’s much-anticipated Grace user interface, which debuted on the Galaxy Note 7, together with a multitude of additional bug fixes, stability improvements.”
This isn’t an update to Android 7 Nougat, though. That could come in time, but with Samsung you just never really know – it’s not great with Android updates, especially on older hardware. Having said that, the Note 5 – in some respects – is the natural heir to the Note 7’s throne for many, so perhaps we could see Nougat pushed out to the Note 5 in a bid to keep Note users happy until next year’s release arrives?
Alas, it is unclear whether Samsung plans to make the update a global one. At present it is only available in Korea. Chances are the release – or, at the very least, elements of it – will be available inside custom ROMs in the not too distant future. And even if it isn’t… there’s TONS of excellent ROMs out there for Samsung’s phones.
We even did a piece on the merits of buying old Galaxy S flagships and outfitting them with custom ROMs. Not only will you save a fortune on the actual handset but you will also take yourself out of the horrible issue of never getting software updates for your handset once it reaches a certain age.
Pound for pound, the Galaxy Note 5 – with or without this update – is still an extremely viable option in 2016. The price of the device is now a lot lower too, as it’s year-old hardware, so if you’re looking for a bargain that comes with a stylus attached, perhaps it’s time you checked out the Galaxy Note 5 while you wait to see what Samsung has in store for us in 2017.
by rgoodwin via Featured Articles
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