Hands On: Samsung Galaxy Note 4

The Samsung Galaxy Note 4 ramps up the screen resolution and gives Samsung's phablet a metal edge. We take a look.

Samsung had to do this. The new Galaxy Note 4 is a mostly obvious upgrade to Samsung's successful line of phablets, but it's still pleasing. That said, the Note 4 may be outflanked and eclipsed by a bunch of competing products - one, even, from Samsung itself.
Phablets are a big deal for Samsung. The company sold five million Galaxy Note 3 models in its first month of sale, and phablet users spend much more time on their smartphones than either smaller phone or tablet users, according to Samsung senior vice president Shoneel Kolhatkar: 390 minutes per day for phablet users versus 229 minutes for smaller phone users.

The Galaxy Note 4 is the same size as the Galaxy Note 3; Samsung didn't decide to pick up Apple and Huawei's gauntlet and go to 6.1 inches here. Instead, the company bumped up both tech specs and build quality. Most notably, you have a quad HD, 518 ppi 2,560-by-1,440 Super AMOLED display - the same quality as the Galaxy S5's spectacular screen, but much, much denser. It's driven by a 2.7GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 processor, and the whole thing runs Android 4.4.4 with all of Samsung's usual extensions.

The Note 4 is also surrounded by a metal frame, much like the new Samsung Galaxy Alpha. Don't get too excited, though. The back is still textured plastic, so it can remain removable and so you can replace the SIM card, MicroSD memory card, and 3220 mAh battery.
That battery is just about the same size as last year's model, but Samsung says it will charge to 50 percent in 30 minutes thanks to Qualcomm's QuickCharge technology. That said, I'm concerned the denser screen will lead the Galaxy Note 4 to have shorter overall battery life than the long-lasting Galaxy Note 3.
The stubby S Pen slots into the bottom right-hand corner of the device, and Samsung says it's become more responsive and more versatile. In my time with the phone, I saw one of those two things: scribbling notes with the S Pen was totally lag-free, and the pen point was extremely accurate. But a new feature that should have let me copy and paste text from any app using the S Pen as a highlighter simply didn't work.
2014 IFA Bug ArtOn the bottom, Samsung's USB 3 port has been replaced by a more standard MicroUSB 2 port, which will make the Note 4 more compatible with standard accessories.
Both of the Galaxy Note 3's cameras have been upgraded, too. The Note 4 has a new wide-angle, f1.9, 3.7-megapixel front-facing camera. Samsung says it upgraded the camera from 77 degrees of view to 90; I tried it, and it made self-shots a little wider, but doesn't hold a candle to the HTC One (M8)'s super-wide-angle camera.
The rear camera has been kicked up to 16 megapixels, with optical image stabilization and 8x digital zoom. And yes, there's a silly heart rate monitor on the back, but at least Samsung now has something useful to do with it: you can use it as a rear-mounted camera key when you're taking selfies.
I'm not a phablet guy, but I recognize a quality product. That said, I handled the Note 4 after playing with the Galaxy Note Edge, and the Note 4 felt downright generic after the Edge's admittedly gimmicky originality.
The Note 4's challenge will be to not get lost in the middle of a crowded phablet world. The Samsung Galaxy Note Edge has a unique gimmick that the Note can't match. Low-cost phablets like the Huawei Ascend Mate 2 are coming at the Note from below. If Apple comes out with a 5.5-inch iPhone (hey, it could happen), that's another assault.
One trick the Note 4 has that no other phablet does is the Gear VR headset. The Note 4 will snap into Samsung's Oculus-powered headset accessory, creating a virtual reality gaming setup that doesn't require an attached PC. The Gear VR will be going on sale this fall, and if Samsung is smart, it'll be discounted and sold along with the Note 4.
Samsung invented the consumer phablet, and it's done well by it. The Galaxy Note 4 defends, rather than extends this position. The Galaxy Note 4 will be available on all four major U.S. carriers, plus U.S. Cellular, this fall.
Check out our rundown of Samsung's announcements in the video below.

Sourse by /pcmag.com