Despite this success, Samsung is pushing the Note5 in a different direction. It retains the 5.7-inch QHD (2560x1440) Super AMOLED screen from the previous Note and squeezes it into a smaller, redesigned body. Adopting the same styling and aluminum frame and glass back construction as the smaller Galaxy S6, the Note5 sheds its removable battery and microSD card slot. It is also the first Note phone without significantly more powerful internal hardware than its smaller predecessor. By adopting the sleek design of the Galaxy S6, Samsung clearly believes it's time for the Note to move out of its niche towards a broader, more mainstream audience. The issue with this strategy is that what makes the Note series popular is different than what draws people to the smaller Galaxy S phones.

As for the Galaxy S6 edge+, it's interesting that Samsung's follow-up to the limited production Note Edge is not another Note product, but a giant Galaxy S6 edge. This means that there is no S Pen, of course. Like the Note5, the bigger edge is not much different internally than its smaller sibling, sharing the same design but using a larger 5.7-inch screen.

Samsung's Galaxy Note 5 and S6 Edge+ offer a few new applications to make connecting to other devices and sharing content easier. The phones include a new feature called HD Live Broadcast, which lets owners stream live video from their Note 5 or S6 Edge+ directly to others or the public YouTube Live. The live YouTube broadcasts can be viewed from any phone, tablet, or PC. Samsung also debuted a connectivity tool called SideSync 4.0. This lets the Note 5 and S6 Edge+ connect wirelessly to PCs for sharing files, responding to text messages, or answering calls. SideSync 4.0 is compatible with Windows 10 and Apple OS X.