Last week, Samsung officially introduced two new offerings with very large screens, the Galaxy Note 5 and the Galaxy S6 Edge+. Both devices are very similar in terms of their technical specifications and the hardware design is also inspired by the flagships they introduced this year. They feature the metallic frame and glass on front and back giving them a premium look that has been praised on the Galaxy S6 lineup. The Galaxy S6 Edge+ didn’t change much from its regular version besides the larger display and a few internals, but the Galaxy Note 5 changed drastically in terms of hardware compared to last generation’s model and a few features were compromised, the new model no longer supports expandable memory and it doesn’t feature a removable battery. Another notable feature that is missing from both devices is the IR port that was used to control most electronics at home.
The IR blaster was included even in the Galaxy S6 and the Galaxy S6 Edge that were introduced earlier this year, so it seems rather odd that the company didn’t include it in the newer devices. SamMobile made a poll to check if their readers would actually miss that feature and the conclusion is that the vast majority of them will. Interestingly, Peel, which has a universal remote app noticed this and communicated through their Twitter account “Poll by @SamMobiles reveals 89% use IR infrared blaster on #Samsung phones. Samsung skips IR on new Note 5, S6 Edge+”, thus communicating to potential buyers of either of the new phones what they would be missing and probably that they’d like Samsung to notice that a large number of people really care about this feature.
Samsung had partnered with Peel and even had that app preinstalled in the Galaxy S6 and the Galaxy S6 Edge, which let users control TVs, game consoles, streaming devices, Blu-ray players, AV receivers and even air conditioners, all of those using the IR blaster. It is said to work in over 200 countries and 110 of them offer Program Guides. The Note lineup, in particular, was known for having phones with no compromises in terms of features and they were meant for power users, so perhaps Samsung would reconsider adding them in future generations. The sales of their devices should be an indicator that supports any of these theories.