Samsung Galaxy Note 7 vs Note 5: Android and apps
Thanks to upgradeable software, the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 and Galaxy Note 5 both run the latest stable version of Google's operating system: Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow.
Of course, Samsung overlays its TouchWiz menus onto the handsets, which have gotten a bad rap in years past (Galaxy S5 and before). It's much improved on both Note phones.
New apps like Samsung Pay made their debut on the Note 5, so you'll have the NFC payment system in either case. But both are missing Android 7.0 Nougat by mere weeks, if not days.
Samsung Galaxy Note 7 vs Note 5: camera
If you care about taking photos, you'll want a recent phone made by Samsung. Its cameras have consistently beaten the competition, the Note 7 and Note 5 included.
Just know this: the megapixel numbers aren't very telling here. The Note 7 has a 12MP sensor with an f/1.7 aperture on back. The older Note 5 has a 16MP sensor with a f/1.9 aperture.
Both have optical image stabilization (OIS), but the Samsung's newest camera has dual-pixel sensor technology that allows for faster autofocus. This enables cleaner low-light photos. Warning, everyone will say. "Hey, let's use your camera."
The same can be said about either front-facing camera when snapping selfies and group selfies. Both have 5MP front cameras; the Note 7 leads with a f/1.7 aperture, while Note 5 is almost as good with a f/1.9 aperture.
If you're moving from an iPhone, you'll really enjoy the much wider camera angles of both the front and back cameras. They're super wide compared to Apple's very cropped cameras frames.
Samsung Galaxy Note 7 vs Note 5: storage
There are big differences when it comes to storage, both internal, and in the case of the Note 7, external storage. The Note 7 starts at 64GB and supports expandable storage up to 256GB.
The Note 5 starts with 32GB of internal storage, and skipped out on including a microSD card slot (just like the S6 and S6 Edge that year). Your memory cards are no good here.
That means you're stuck with 32GB or 64GB of built-in storage, whatever configuration you go with. With the Note 7, there's just one size: big.
