Galaxy note 2, the new and improved!

Samsung launched the new and improved version of its tounchwiz skinned android update to the Samsung Galaxy note 2 about a month ago. Using this updated software for all this time now has allowed me to separate its good from bad. Although it was a very delayed and much awaited update, most of the people just updated their phones without any further thought! 

Features for Android 4.3 update.

The update had a bundle of stuff which could be seen immediately after the boot from update. Some were pretty good such as homescreen customizationg including the transparent status bar, the home icon in the sroll bar above the docked apps, the new weather and clock widget etc. Other things included many of the new Samsung's own apps such as Samsung wallet, Knox, Samsung link and the improved versions of Group Play, S-Voice, Samsung store and S-Suggest among many. Although there were many welcoming features such the gallery interface, My Magazine and music player, some bites were harder to swallow such as poor S-Voice, annoying Knox prompts etc. With this update Samsung had a major plan to puch its smart wearable, the Galaxy Gear.

With so much new things going on side by side, there a major lack in the feature bundle. As Note 2 was the prequel of Note 3, it was sane to expect if not all but many of the new software features from Note 3 such as (most importantly) the S-Pen window. Lack of that feature was a real kick in my gut as this thing alone is forcing me to upgrade my device to a newer hardware that is Note 3 itself. I know i was pretty much against the design problems in Note 3 but who knows? People change!

The Good!

Well there is alot to like about the new update, somethings come from the updated android version and some from the touchwiz hokus pokus. The android goodies were amazing such as the multiple lockscreens, addition on Play Music (for people who don't like the samsung music player), Play Games, new and improved Google Now (the software of the future) that stood out in the crowd. From Samsung's side of software improvements there were many major changes such as Gear compatibility, the improved multiwindow experience (with all the screen switching and the same app open twice), the knox security features upto some extent and many minor features include the transparent status bar, the new weather and clock widget, light effect in lockscreen, the sound and shot mode in camera and trimming feature in the gallery.

The Bad!

Nothing in this world only consists everything good. The same is the case with this new update. They were many areas where more polishing was needed. Especially knox, instead of taking over my phone and telling me what to do, it should help and me and let me control it (anyone using knox will understand what i mean). Also there is some lag in areas of critical importance such as openning the pictures from within the camera, switching between the app and widget drawer, and also when using 2 applications and watching a video simultaneosly (although its not the ideal situation). These unpolished marks can be not bothering or very annoying depending on your mood. Also one thing which cannot be sidelined is the poor battery performance. Adding so much eyecandy to the software took a toll on the battery life. I barely managed through one whole day of use with my screen brightness at its lowest, and only light to moderate use with only 5% to 10% left at the end of the day. I also managed to drain the whole battery, while gamming, in 5-6hrs believe it or not. 

But  i guess this all is not much considering the fact that Note 2 finaly got its much needed update. What do you guys think? How was your experience? Hit me in the comments bellow.