Some said that this type of device would never take off, yet here we are in the fourth generation of one of the hottest properties in the mobile word – the Galaxy Note range. The Samsung Galaxy Note 4 is the newest in the hit range, which is now in a segment that is becoming ever more crowded.
They are seeing profits slipping drastically, a major factor being the fact that the Galaxy S5 wasn’t as big a success as its predecessors. The Note 4 tries its best with updated design and top-notch specs, but can it deliver?
Before we find out, check out some of the key specs and features of the Galaxy Note 4:
- 5.7-inch Quad HD Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen with curved Gorilla Glass 3
- Android OS v4.4 KitKat with TouchWiz UI
- Quad-core 2.7GHz Krait 450 CPU, Adreno 420 GPU; Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 chipset
- 3GB of RAM
- 16MP OIS camera with 2160p video recording
- 3.7MP front-facing camera, 1440p video recording
- 32GB of built-in storage; microSD card slot
- Enhanced Multi-window multitasking support
- Fingerprint scanner with PayPal support and private mode access
- Heart-rate monitor, active noise cancellation with a dedicated mic
- 3,220mAh battery
If you are in the market for a top-end smartphone that won’t break the bank, then you’re probably in the wrong place. The Galaxy Note 4 costs close to R11 000, which certainly isn’t cheap. Then again, this device is anything but cheap.
Design and Build
For a long time the design department has let Samsung down, with polycarbonate plastic handsets that were sometimes attractive to look at, but felt rather cheap and disappointing. Samsung started changing their design language with the Galaxy A series, which launched with the Galaxy Alpha. They have now brought the same metal chassis to the Galaxy Note 4, and we can’t be happier with the decision.
Silver accents around the rim and buttons look sharp on both the white and black versions, but we think this white version is probably the best looking Samsung we’ve seen in the modern smartphone era (along with the Alpha). Not only are the edges metal, but they are also beautifully chamfered. Samsung have even rethought the side buttons, with beautiful detail and much better tactile feedback than we’ve ever seen on a Samsung Galaxy device.
Inevitably comparisons are going to be made with the iPhone 6 Plus and having had the big iPhone to compare, the Apple smartphone is taller and wider but slimmer than the Note 4. The curved sides on the Apple make it slightly nicer to grip, but in our opinion the iPhone isn’t as beautiful as it was before.
The back of the Galaxy Note 4 is very similar to last year’s Note 3, but gone are the incredibly fake, chintzy faux stitching. It is more textured than before and finally conveys what Samsung wants it to – class. Granted, it’s still plastic, but it’s the best plastic Samsung have used on the back of their devices. The reason to have a plastic back is obvious to Samsung, to make it removable. You can replace the battery and add a microSD card should you wish to have more than the 32GB of on-board storage.
Samsung have kept the bezels thin as well, meaning that this device is relatively easy to handle. Don’t get us wrong, this is still a massive phone that fits comfortably into the phablet category, but the sharper edges means it’s easier to use with one than any Note that came before it. Surprisingly, we did find that these cut metal edges make talking one the phone for a relatively long time quite uncomfortable – it starts to grate on the ear. We are nit-picking here, but since one of its primary functions is making phone calls, we did find it noteworthy.
Overall, this is a massive step forward for Samsung in terms of design. Sure, it doesn’t ooze class like the HTC One M8 or Sony Xperia Z3, but it is a welcome improvement. It is definitely the most premium Samsung Galaxy we’ve ever used.
Screen
This being a flagship Samsung device, you can expect them to run the spec race fast and hard. The first piece of headline spec you will feast your eyes on is the screen, a 5.7-inch Quad HD Super AMOLED display (1400 x 2560 pixels).
Samsung still uses a PenTile Super AMOLED panel to deliver the punchy colours and excellent black levels, making it a great canvas for video and reading. The pixel count is 515ppi, which is less than the 534ppi on the LG G3, which also has a Quad HD display in a smaller 5.5-inch form factor.
These are big, impressive numbers on a big, impressive display that is undoubtedly clear and sharp. The AMOLED display delivers vibrant, vivid colours that really pop and make for an impressive viewing experience, as we’ve come to expect. Although we loved the display on the LG G3, this one is even better. In fact, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better screen on any smartphone.
Samsung’s much criticised PenTile matrix display is actually the reason it performs so well. IPS LCD displays, as you’ll find on the LG G3, uses a more traditional RGB setup. The biggest reason we prefer the Note 4 screen to that of the G3, is because it is brighter than the G3’s screen when you crank up the brightness setting. This is due to the PenTile matrix being able to let more light through between the actual pixels, being illuminated by the back-light, which is harder to do on an LCD display.
This brings us to another point. Is the Quad HD display markedly better than a Full HD 1080p display? We really want to drive this fact home – it is definitely NOT. While these devices are tech showcases for the companies, surely it would be better for the consumer to use a 1080p display which is marginally less sharp, but improve the battery life massively. So, how does this display affect the battery life?
Battery Life
The Galaxy Note 4 packs a removable 3220mAh battery, unlike some of its rivals where the battery can’t be swapped. That is a massive battery, yet again, it has to power a big, bright display.
The effect of the Note 4’s Quad HD display is definitely felt here. You will be able to get through a full day of relatively heavy use, but don’t believe Samsung’s claims that this device will go for two days. It is definitely no slouch, but the battery has a lot of work to do to power this spec sheet.
The battery performance on the Note 4 isn’t quite as good as the Galaxy Note 3, but with day-to-day usage you’re unlikely to notice much of a difference. If you do find yourself in the red zone and near a plug, however, Samsung’s fast charge cable is able to recharge approximately 50% of the battery in just 30 minutes.
It also comes with the same Power Saving and Ultra Power Saving modes we saw on the Galaxy S5, if you are in a pinch. It isn’t something you will use often, but when you really need it you will be glad it is there.
User Interface and Performance
This is always the part of a Samsung review I dread writing most, especially in the last two years or so. In our opinion, Samsung’s TouchWiz software became so overwrought and gimmicky, that it didn’t deliver any extra value at the expense of battery life and performance. The skin designed by software also became less intuitive to use (at least, to the average user) than its competitors’, with a maze of settings menus to find your way through to get a specific task done. As I was opening up the box of the review unit, my first muttering was “I hope the software delivers a better user experience” and in short – yes, it is better.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 4 comes running Android 4.4.4 KitKat, and will undoubtedly be receiving the Android 5.0 Lollipop update pretty soon. The 2014 version of Samsung’s TouchWiz interface is definitely more refined than previous iterations. There are fewer pre-installed bloatware apps and redesigned icons making everything look a lot smarter, and the gimmicks in the software aren’t growing at the alarming rate it was not too long ago. In fact, they have started to whittle these ‘features’ down.
The lockscreen of the Galaxy Note 4 gives you the option to launch directly into the camera or the dial pad for an emergency call, plus it can also display information such as the time, date, weather and even how many steps you’ve taken during the day. There are still the usual quick links at the top of the notification tray, with all other toggle settings available through the quick connect bridge at the top right corner.
Samsung know that they have built a large device, and want to make using it as easy as possible. To increase usability with one hand you can shrink select pre-installed app windows down, and move them around as well (if you feel the need to do so). You do this by dragging the app down diagonally from the top left corner. Unfortunately not all third party apps support this functionality, but we did find that WhatsApp did, which is quite a boon. You can also minimise the apps in the form of floating bubbles, like you are able to do with Facebook’s chat heads.
This functionality did work well, but I found myself doing it accidentally on more than a couple of occasion when I wanted to open the notification bar. It’s not a massive issue, I know, but it can be quite irritating if it happens often.
As was made famous by the Note range of products, the multi-window functionality is as prominent as ever, with even more apps now able to take advantage of that functionality. Samsung have also tweaked the multi-tasking, with a card0like interface being implemented instead of the usual tile setup. Scrolling through apps is fluid and responsive, a definite improvement in the software.
The S-Pen functionality is mostly unchanged, except for one extra feature. This year’s Note adds the ability to select text (in a website, for example) and multiple Gallery images by clicking the S-Pen button and dragging. Further, you can pull these items from select apps to others when in multi-window or popup mode. I was able to drag images from the gallery to the Messaging app, for instance, but not into Facebook or Gmail, two places where the shortcut would make a huge difference.
In terms of software performance, the Galaxy Note 4 doesn’t disappoint. As you can expect with the impressive spec sheet, the Galaxy Note 4 doesn’t struggle with day to day tasks. As this is a Samsung device, however, you will notice a slight niggle or hiccup here and there. When quickly jumping between apps, or when you simply have a lot open at once, it might take a second or so to open certain apps. The UI is definitely more fluid than on any previous Samsung we have used, but the experience is definitely not flawless.
What is noteworthy is the improved performance of the heart rate sensor as well as the fingerprint scanner. There is a marked improvement in the fingerprint scanner from what we saw on theGalaxy S5. You won’t find yourself swiping three or four times as often as you did before.
Camera
The Note 4′s 16-megapixel takes some great photos. You probably won’t actively notice its best new feature, optical image stabilization, a welcome improvement from the Galaxy S5. Instead, you’ll notice that moving objects look well-defined despite the motion, and your low-light shots may look a lot less blurry than it would have otherwise, and brighter as well.
For anyone fearing that Samsung has removed the more technical tools on the camera then there’s good news. Tucked away in settings is exposure, ISO, white balance and metering, giving the more proficient photographers among you a wider scope of available adjustments.
The bevy of shooting modes that we have come to expect from Samsung are all present. The camera-app is itself quite well designed. It’s not quite as simplistic as you find on the iPhone 6 but it is also easier to use than on previous Samsung devices.
Overall this is an accomplished shooter. In fact, I’d even go as far as to say that the camera of the Galaxy Note 4 is the best of any Samsung camera I’ve had the pleasure of using. It is definitely also one of the best in the mobile market today.
Conclusion
So is this phone worth spending your hard-earned cash on? If you intend to use the Note 4′s stylus daily, the phone will serve you well in every capacity and is worth the hefty price. Even if you don’t care for the stylus, the Note 4 is Samsung’s best big phone yet.
Samsung has packed in more power, an even better display and a great camera making the Note 4 an excellent smartphone. This is the best phablet around, hands down.
With monster specs, the Galaxy Note 4 is at the top of the food chain. While the hardware is a step up from the Note 3, changes aren’t dramatic enough to warrant an immediate upgrade. You will still notice some intermittent stutters in the software, but it is a minor issue this time around.
The heir to the phablet throne is here and it looks like there’s no stopping it from taking its rightful place.
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