Years after Samsung gambled on the original Note, the concept is still the phone to beat when it comes to
large devices. While some competitors are offering larger screens, none of them can match the Note 4’s productivity-boosting stylus. The S Pen can truly enhance the way you interact with your phone, with a strong focus on doing actual work, from basic research, to composing a quick message, to multi-tasking. But it’s not just work: basically anything that requires precision and speed can be done better with a stylus.
While Samsung’s TouchWiz Android implementation has a bad reputation, nobody can deny that the Note 4’s feature set is compelling. You can make the most of that 5.5-inch screen with the new and improved multi-tasking tools, and that’s something you simply don’t get on other high-end Android phones. And, with the latest iteration of the series, the Note looks as good as it works, thanks to a finely chamfered aluminum frame. If you’re looking for the ultimate device for getting things done, the Note 4 is probably your best choice.
When the Galaxy Note first burst onto the scene, smartphones with large displays were practically unheard of. Sure, there were a few fringe devices pushing the envelope before it, but those never came close to mainstream. Fast forward a few years, and – thanks to the success of the Note series – the big screen is now the current standard across all flagships. But while this has validated Samsung’s bet, it also means that the Note’s position is now threatened by numerous competitors.
Over the past couple of years, Samsung‘s release cycle has turned into a tale of two flagships, the Galaxy S line and the Galaxy Note line. The Galaxy S5 wasn’t the big upgrade that everyone was looking forward to, especially in terms of design, and that led to Samsung putting some real thought into the Note 4. With a changing climate in the Android world, we just might be looking at the definitive answer as to what is Samsung’s true flagship.
With this mind, let’s see how the new Note 4 compares to rivals from the Android world and beyond, as well as to Samsung’s own Galaxy S5. Here is our comprehensive review of the Samsung Galaxy Note 4!
Design
The first thing you’ll probably notice about the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 is the subtle glimmer that shines around its frame. Turn the device around, and you’ll find the familiar textured plastic Samsung first used in 2013. The Galaxy Note 3 was considered by many to be a step in the right direction in terms of design aesthetics. On the new Note, the aluminium frame provides a sleek addition to the returning faux leather backing, without the faux stitching all around the edges.
The Note 4 is basically flat all around, with just a bit of a rise around the top and bottom corners, making handling quite easy. These flat sides are chamfered, so they curve inward towards the panels, and the bare metal gives the device a discreet shine that contrasts with the matte finish of the sides.
Samsung’s well-known design motifs make a return, with the signature physical home button up front, now with an integrated finger scanner, flanked by the capacitive back and recent apps keys. As always, the S Pen is found nuzzled into the bottom right corner, the microUSB port (USB 2, not 3 like on the Note 3) is also found at the bottom, while the headphone jack is placed up top.
The faux leather cover provides the kind of texture that grips to the palm, making this a device that is very comfortable to hold. Below the camera, you will find the heart rate monitor, first introduced earlier this year with the Galaxy S5.
The Galaxy Note 4 is the prettiest smartphone Samsung has ever made, and that’s not just considering the Galaxy Note line specifically. Even if the overall design hasn’t changed much, the subtle reflection of the slightly curved 2.5D glass and the metal frame give the Note 4 that premium look and feel we’ve been all been craving when it comes to Samsung flagships. Holding the phone really brings this point home, and it’s something that all Galaxy Note 4 owners will appreciate.
Display
We’ve already mentioned the 2.5D cover glass above, but that’s only one of the enhancements to the display of the Galaxy Note 4. This cover glass reminds us a bit of the glass you’d find on high-end watches. It’s slightly thicker and raised up, but slopes downwards at the edges, adding some extra visual flair to the device.
The big upgrade is actually beneath the surface, with the Note 4 boasting a Quad HD resolution panel. Despite its large 5.7-inch size, the screen’s pixel density remains above 500 ppi, thanks to the high resolution, which means text and fine graphic details are completely fuzz-free. The high contrast and saturation of the Super AMOLED display bring the special experience that Samsung users have come to expect. Viewing angles are great, and colors are vibrant, making images almost pop out of the screen. If AMOLED is your thing, you will certainly enjoy anything and everything you do on this vivid display.
The need for the high resolution is still debatable, as there aren’t that many applications or media files that take advantage of it. That said, there isn’t a noticeably adverse affect on battery life, and while the higher pixel density isn’t obvious when compared to other high-end displays, most users will absolutely love this display.
Performance
Samsung flagships typically feature only the very best components, and that is certainly true in this case. The Galaxy Note 4 packs a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 processor, clocked at 2.7 GHz, and backed by the Adreno 420 GPU and 3GB of RAM. The other version of the Galaxy Note 4 boasts an equally powerful octa-core Exynos processor, so you really can’t go wrong with either option.
No matter how you look at it, this device oozes raw power, which is probably necessary, given Samsung’s penchant for over the top software experiences. That said, the TouchWiz interface on the Galaxy Note 4 is its most fluid iteration yet. There are moments of stutter or lag, but they are now rare and far between. Even with a lot of apps running simultaneously through multiple multitasking scenarios, or while playing processor-intensive games, there were very few issues worth mentioning.
This is definitely the best performing device Samsung has managed to put out, and while you may find smoother experiences out there, the difference will only be marginal.
Hardware
In hardware, Samsung continues to push the envelope with the feature set it offers on their flagships. The signature S Pen has received some enhancements, but other additions have found their way to the Galaxy Note 4 as well.
The rear-mounted heart rate monitor first introduced on the Galaxy S5 is present on the Note 4 as well. Besides its obvious health monitoring purpose, the sensor can now be used as a shutter release for the front facing camera. Simply hold your finger over the sensor to take a selfie.
Also moving up from the Galaxy S5 is the fingerprint scanner that is integrated into the home button up front. The swipe-style scanner puts the device behind an extra layer of security, but thanks to integration with various apps, it can bring convenience to other areas of the user experience. For instance, using it with the LastPass password manager lets you authenticate to various websites with a swipe of your thumb.
Call quality was expectedly good, but not much can be said about the speaker setup at the bottom corner on the back of the device. Sound quality is just average, even if it does get decently loud.
Connectivity isn’t an issue, as even the European version we used for this review connected to T-Mobile’s LTE network without a problem. Storage shouldn’t cause any complaints either, thanks to the 32 GB of in-built storage, and the option to expand it by up to 128 GB via microSD card.
The removable back cover gives you access to the replaceable 3,220 mAh battery. That’s not a big jump from the battery capacity of its predecessor, but even with the higher resolution display and upgraded processing package, I found battery life to be on par with previous Note generations. One day of heavy testing brought the battery capacity down to single digits in 14 hours, and moderate usage should allow for the battery to last a long time.
Of course, the Galaxy Note 4 also comes with some power saving features, such as Ultra Power Saving Mode, that should let you easily push the battery life to a day and a half, if not longer.
And while battery performance is more than satisfactory, the presence of fast charging will let even power users rest easy. Samsung claims that, using a 9V charger (instead of the standard 5V), you’d be able to charge the battery to 75% of it capacity in just 30 minutes. This isn’t entirely accurate, at least from my experience. But Samsung’s other claim — that you can fully charge the device in 100 minutes — turned out to be true.
While it means having a special charger on hand at all times, the ability to go from zero to work-ready in a short amount of time will undoubtedly be an indispensable tool for plenty of users.
The Note 4 features several microphones to help with voice recording, allowing you to cancel off sound coming from certain directions. It’s a nice feature, but ultimately not useful for anything but reference audio. Interviewers could take advantage of it the most, or students, in case they are allowed to record lectures to begin with.
And we finally make it to the marquee feature of the Galaxy Note series, the S Pen. It doesn’t carry with it many changes from the previous model, at least physically, but Samsung more than compensated with great enhancements to the user experience.
