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Samsung has started to turn the Galaxy Note 5 into the Note 7

Published Nov 28th, 2016 5:02PM EST
Galaxy Note 5 vs. Galaxy Note 7
Image: Zach Epstein, BGR

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The year-old Galaxy Note 5 might be the best Samsung phablet money can buy right now, thanks to the Galaxy Note 7 and its exploding battery. Samsung had to stop Galaxy Note 7 production permanently after it failed to fix the battery issues that turned the 2016 handset into a fire hazard. To compensate for this huge failure, Samsung has been aggressively pushing Galaxy S7 sales. But the company might also be interested in making the Galaxy Note 5 exciting again.

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Samsung is currently rolling out Galaxy Note 7 software to the Galaxy Note 5 in Korea, SamMobile reveals. As interesting as the Galaxy S7 might be, it lacks a built-in stylus, which is one feature some fans of the Note series appreciate.

Limited to South Korea for the time being, the Grace UX update will bring to the Galaxy Note 5 some of the features found on the Galaxy Note 7. Sadly, this is still a Marshmallow-based update for the old phablet, but that shouldn’t make it any less exciting.

Features like Wide Selfie, Ultra Power Saving Mode, Smart Manager, Blue Light Filter, and Game Tools are included in this new Grace UX update.

It’s not clear at this time when the update will be available to Galaxy Note 5 owners outside of South Korea, but given that it’s already being pushed out in Korea you should expect it soon.You’ll still have to wait for a proper Android 7.0 Nougat update for the phablet, though.

Images showing the new Grace UX for the Galaxy Note 5 are available in SamMobile’s report.

Chris Smith Senior Writer

Chris Smith has been covering consumer electronics ever since the iPhone revolutionized the industry in 2008. When he’s not writing about the most recent tech news for BGR, he brings his entertainment expertise to Marvel’s Cinematic Universe and other blockbuster franchises.

Outside of work, you’ll catch him streaming almost every new movie and TV show release as soon as it's available.