Top 12 new features in Galaxy Note 5 Android Nougat udpate

Galaxy Note 5 Android Nougat udpate is the last major update for Galaxy Note 5 in most regions. You may check the the Official Samsung Galaxy Note 5 user manuals with Android Nougat update here.

Just like other major Android updates, there are many new features and improvements in  Galaxy Note 5 Android Nougat update.  Some of these new features and improvements are from Android Nougat 7.0; and others are customized by Samsung for their Galaxy devices.

This post will summarize the top 12 new features and improvements in Galaxy Note 5 Android Nougat udpate to help you get the most from the new firmware in your Galaxy Note 5.

New UI in Galaxy Note 5 Android Nougat udpate

Samsung finally ditched the old blue/green UI and moved to new Grace UI , which was first spotted in the defunct Galaxy Note 7.

Actually, the new Grace UI is now standard in all Samsung devices with Android Nougat.

With the new UI, Galaxy Note 5 looks like a modern device. The old UI is really old-fashioned (arguable).

Of course, some Galaxy Note 5 may not like the white color based theme in the Galaxy Note 5 Android Nougat udpate. They can easily find many dark themes for Galaxy Note 5.

New device maintenance entry in Galaxy Note 5 settings

In Galaxy Note 5 Android Nougat udpate, you can find a new entry named device maintenance.

Device maintenance offers one-button optimization including:

• Checking background apps;
• Freeing up storage;
• Detecting abnormal battery usage;
• Detecting app crashes;
• Detecting malware apps.

In addition, in device maintenance,  you can also:

• check battery usage and enable battery saving modes;
• choose and customize 4 different performance modes;
• manage storage;
• check memory usage and clean memory;
• enable /disable Intel Security Anti-malware (actually it is re-branded McAfee VirusScan). It is NOT recommended if you get apps from reliable sources.

So, device maintenance in Galaxy Note 5 Android Nougat udpate is just a combination of various device management and optimization tools.

New Calendar app replaces S Planner

Do not confuse the new Calendar app in Galaxy Note 5 Android Nougat udpate with Google Calendar.

The name may be similar and confusing. But this new Calendar app is actually just new S Planner.

In last two years, Samsung already shaved many useful and unique features from S Planner. Now, they rename it as Calendar.

Yes, it is just a mediocre Calendar app without any exciting  or unique features.

Improved multi-window

Multi-Window is a signature feature of Galaxy Note devices.

In Android Nougat 7.0, Google finally implemented multi-window feature officially in Android Nougat. It is usually named as split-screen mode.

But you should not confuse multi window feature in Galaxy Note 5 Android Nougat update with that in stock Android.

They are substantially different. Samsung’s multi window is superior to that in stock Android Nougat.

You may check this guide on how to use the improved multi window feature in Galaxy Note 5 Android Nougat update.

Adjustable screen resolution

To be honest, for most owners, 1080p (1920×1080) resolution of a 5.7″ screen (as in Galaxy Note 5) is sufficient. The native resolution of 1440p (2560×1440) is an overkill for most apps.

High screen resolution means more battery consumption.

The Galaxy Note 5 Android Nougat update brought the option to scale down the screen resolution to 1080p or even 720p to save battery life. It may potentially extend the lifespan of the screen as well.

In most regions, after you apply the Android Nougat update, the screen resolution was actually set as 1080p. Most owners never noticed it.

If you want, you can change the screen resolution in Settings— Display — Screen resolution.

You may check this guide for details on screen resolution settings.

Screen zoom to adjust text size and icon size in all apps and all locations

In Android Nougat 7.0, display size (aka display scaling) was introduced to scale up or down ALL display elements.

Samsung renamed this feature as screen zoom in Android Nougat update for Galaxy Note 5.

In previous generations of Android, some display elements are fixed.  For example, the text size in notifications, lock screen keypad and app icons are all locked down by the system to avoid possible misuse.

Now, you can adjust the zoom levels for all of these. You can get bigger or smaller text in notifications. You can adjust the size of app icons in Galaxy Note 5 Home screen and Apps screen.

Moreover, screen zoom in Galaxy Note 5 Android Nougat udpate also works for all apps. It simply work on top of all apps.

You can adjust screen zoom in Settings — Display —Screen zoom.

For more details of screen zoom in Galaxy Note 5, you may check this guide.

New camera app interface

Android Nougat update for Galaxy Note 5 also gave you a brand new camera app.

The new camera app interface is significantly different from the old one.

You now need to use gestures to switch to Galaxy Note 5 camera modes (swipe to right), and Galaxy Note 5 camera effects (swipe to left).  You can also switch between front and rear camera by swiping upwards or downwards.

You may check this detailed camera app guide for Galaxy devices with Android Nougat update.

Performance modes

There are many different types of Galaxy Note 5 owners. They use Galaxy Note 5 in different ways.

Galaxy Note 5 Android Nougat update now have 4 difference performance modes under  Settings— device maintenance — Performance mode:

• the default optimized mode. This is good for daily use for most users.
• Game mode for playing games.
• Entertainment mode for watching videos and listening music.
• High performance mode.

Of course, you can customize all these performance modes.

You can also find the performance mode in the updated Galaxy Note 5 quick settings panel as well.

The detailed guide of the performance modes in Galaxy Note 5 Android Nougat update can be found here.

Blue light filter

Samsung debuted blue light filter in Galaxy Note 7.  Basically, it reduces blue light and makes it more comfortable to use the screen in low-light or dark conditions.

Now, blue light filter is available in Galaxy Note 5 with Android Nougat update.

You can turn on/off blue light filter in Galaxy Note 5 quick settings. You can also schedule it in Settings —Display —Blue light filter.

Here is a detailed guide on using blue light filter in Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S7.

New quick settings panel

Galaxy Note 5 Android Nougat update also brought an updated quick settings panel.

First,  the old-fashioned blue/green background was replaced with light (white color).  It simply looks better (arguable).

Second, you can set the button layout to customize number of buttons in one row in this update.

Android Nougat 7.0 also introduced a quick setting bar in the top of notifications. Samsung phones have this feature for long time.

But in Galaxy Note 5 Android Nougat update, the number of buttons is limited to 6, instead of 10 previously.

The brightness control bar can now be customized on top of notification or the bottom.

To use the new quick settings panel, you may follow this guide.

Bundled notifications and quick reply

Bundled notification and direct reply (quick reply) are both new features in Android Nougat 7.0, although Samsung implemented a similar feature in Galaxy Note 7 in Marshmallow.

When you receive multiple notifications from the same app, Galaxy Note 5 can group them in notification panel. This makes the Galaxy Note 5 notification panel cleaner and well-organized.

For some notifications, for example, email or SMS, you can directly  reply without opening the app.

Please refer to this guide on using the new notification features in Galaxy Note 5 Android Nougat update.

New data saver mode

Android Nougat 7.0 introduced this data saver mode to help you save mobile data usage.

Data saver mode supersedes the old feature of restricting background data.

By default, the Nougat update for Galaxy Note 5 turned on data saver already in most regions. You may notice a new status icon with a plus in a circle as shown in the left.

You can turn on and off data saver mode in Galaxy Note 5 with Android Nougat update in Settings –Connections –Data usage –Data saver.

For detailed technical information on data saver mode in Android Nougat and whether you should leave it on in Galaxy Note 5, you may check this guide.

Do you have any questions on new features in Galaxy Note 5 Android Nougat udpate? What’s your thought on the Android Nougat udpate for Galaxy Note 5?

If you have any questions on new features in Galaxy Note 5 Android Nougat udpate, or if you want to share your thoughts on Android Nougat update for Galaxy Note 5,  please let us know in the comment box below.

The community will help you.

You may check Galaxy Note 7 guides in this page.

For other Galaxy Note 5 features and detailed Galaxy Note 5 how-to guides, please check Galaxy Note 5 how-to guides page.

You may also download and read the updated official Samsung Galaxy Note 5 user manual with Android Nougat update here.