What is the Samsung Galaxy Note 4?
The Galaxy Note 4 is Samsung's follow-up to the Note 3 phablet and sits above the more mainstream Samsung Galaxy S5. As an oversized flagship, the Note isn't cheap. You can buy it directly from Samsung for £629 SIM-free, but there are savings to be made if you shop around. For that rather hefty price, though, you get a '2K' QHD screen, a top-of-the-range Snapdragon 805 processor, fast charging and a new, improved S-Pen stylus. It also features a new premium metal design. Not too shabby, eh?
Further good news is that Samsung has obviously been listening to the moans of disapproval at the amount of bloatware it packs on its handsets, and has cut down on its own, sometimes overwhelming, bundled apps.
The Note 4 is a phone that grows on you and, while there are sexier phones, there's a whole lot to like about this phablet. With an update to Android 5.0 Lollipop looming, things should only get better for the Note 4, but it's facing ever stiffer big-phone competition from the iPhone 6 Plus and forthcoming Google Nexus 6.
Samsung Galaxy Note 4: Design
The obvious thing to address here is the size. It's a big phone and big phones pose some handling issues. The Note 4, much like the Note 3, actually doesn't feel too ridiculous to use in one hand or to hold up to the ear to take a call. It doesn't mask its stature as well as the LG G3, but even for our smallish hands it didn't take long to make the adjustment.
Compared to the Note 3, it’s taller, thicker and heavier, but the key difference is that it’s not as wide. It’s not by a great deal but this does slightly reduce the area you need to stretch fingers across to reach the other end of the virtual keyboard. You will want to type holding it in two hands, but it’s not a pain to use it in one hand either. Samsung does include a one-handed operation mode to shrink the screen size, which should help those who are really struggling.
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 both designs have their good and bad points.
When you peer into the Note 4 box for the first time, you could easily mistake the Note 4 for the Note 3. It has the same sized screen and the bezel around the display is virtually identical, although the decision's been made to use a slightly lighter shade of grey. Take it out of the box and it doesn’t take long to notice the new design elements – and some of the old ones that we're still not the greatest fans of.
The first change is the new aluminium metal trim that has a darker, cooler shade than the one on the Galaxy Alpha. The metal-look plastic trim was one of the naffest features on the Note 3 and thankfully it's gone. The lighter silver finish on the Alpha is nicer, in our opinion, but on the whole this is a step in the right direction for Samsung. The corners on the trim are slightly raised, which is barely noticeable and doesn’t really have an impact when holding the Note 4.
Around the back is that thin, leather-effect plastic, now thankfully without the horrible fake stitching and a little softer to the touch. It’s nice to grip and fits in with the more sophisticated, business-like design approach of the Note 4, but it's still a bit tacky. Compared to the all-metal One M8 or the iPhone 6 Plus, it simply doesn’t ooze class in the same way. It’s a big step up from previous Note handsets, but it also serves as a reminder of the design inconsistencies across the Samsung handset range. We’d have preferred to see the softer-touch back finish on the Alpha, which is more comfortable to hold.
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Samsung Galaxy Note 4: Screen
The Note 4 sticks to the same 5.7-inch screen, but it’s the resolution where things have changed. Following the lead of the LG G3 and the Oppo Find 7, Samsung has moved from a Full HD 1080p resolution display to a much sharper 1400 x 2560-pixel QHD (Quad HD) display. That means it has four times the pixels as a 720p HD display like you’d find on a Moto G for instance.
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 G3, but it’s still more than the 432ppi on the Galaxy S5.
One key benefit is that you gain the ability to view multiple apps on the same screen, which will come in handy for the Note 4’s Multi Window feature. There are some disadvantages, too, such as the impact on battery life with the extra processing power needed to deal with the higher resolution.
Most will probably not appreciate what the higher pixel density adds, but there’s no doubting that this screen is super sharp. It’s more noticeable when running video, but web pages are exceptionally crisp as well.
There are, of course, other qualities that make a good screen and the Note 4 does well on those fronts as well. It’s much brighter than the Note 3 and on par with the iPhone 6 Plus, making it useful for night-time use and offering great visibility in the bright outdoors.
It’s colourful, too – perhaps too colourful out of the box, so you might want to dip into the Display options in the Settings menu to make adjustments. Samsung includes Adaptive, AMOLED Cinema, AMOLED Photo and Basic display modes. The Adaptive and Basic modes help to mute the erratic colours and high contrast for a more balanced experience.
Video watching is where it really impresses, though. Whites are exceptionally white, blacks are gorgeously deep, and bigger is generally better when it comes to viewing pleasure.
Lying on top of that curved Super AMOLED Quad HD display is Corning Gorilla Glass 3 to add some extra durability and protection, which is almost a necessity for a big screen like the one on the Note 4. It also uses a Wacom digitized layer to sense the difference in pressure when using the S-Pen to help create an experience closer to writing on a piece of paper.
Samsung Galaxy Note 4: Software
The Note runs on Android 4.4.4 KitKat with the TouchWiz UI overlay we’ve already seen on the Galaxy S5. Samsung has made some small tweaks and removed some clutter, such as the gestures that rarely get used and a few of the Samsung apps, but it has largely the same look and feel.There’s still the same keyboard and multiple homescreens, now with a Flipboard-powered widget replacing the Magazine UX when you swipe all the way to the left. The Recent Apps feature has been redesigned, with apps now piled on top of each other so you can browse through like you're flicking through files in a filing cabinet.
When you jump into the Settings menu, Samsung has swapped the dark background for a lighter one, and now arranges settings in a list instead of spreading them all across the screen, which did feel more overwhelming.
We definitely prefer the pared-down approach, especially when TouchWiz – alongside Sony’s Android treatment – can feel like the busiest flavour of Android to get around. We don’t really need loads of gestures and gimmicks that we're not going to use on a day-to-day basis.
Multi-Window
One feature we do still like, and which works on a screen this size, is Multi-Window. This basically lets you run two apps at the same time, letting
you switch between the two without leaving the screen. Not all apps support Multi-Window, but the most useful, regularly used ones do, such as YouTube and the web browser.
You still need to turn it on in the settings and hit the capacitive Recent Apps button to select the apps you want to use. A nice new feature is the pop-up multi-window, which you can activate by swiping diagonally from the corner of an application. Then you'll be able to move it around like a widget on the screen, while you carry on clearing up your homescreens or finish off some work. To close, you can simply press on the top of the window and you’ll get an X button appear.
It’s a shame you can’t resize the pop-up windows, but it strengthens what's already a great multitasking feature.
Samsung Galaxy Note 4: Apps
As we’ve already mentioned, Samsung's scaled back on its own bloatware apps, so out of the box there's not so much sitting alongside Google’s own Chrome, Gmail, Maps, Google Play Music and the rest. There’s WatchOn to use the Note 4 as a remote via the built-in IR transmitter, plus Siri-rival S-Voice. S Translator and Knox app are notable omissions from the app drawer, although the latter is still supported.One of the most interesting S apps is S Health. This is Samsung’s health and fitness hub, where you can store all of your data using the phone’s accelerometer to track steps and GPS support to map runs or cycling routes. It was pretty primitive and basic in its first iteration, but Samsung's added a new coach mode that takes advantage of the new sensors packed into the Note 4 to record more data and create a more comprehensive picture of your day-to-day activity.
You can measure heart rate via the sensor on the back of the phone, which can also give you an indication of stress levels as well. The same sensor also has the ability to measure oxygen saturation levels in a similar way to the Withings Pulse O2 fitness tracker. This measures how much oxygen is in your blood, and can be an indication of how fit you are. A SpO2 reading between 95% and 100% is good and anything lower suggests you might not be in great shape. If you're worried about going out and getting sunburnt, Samsung's even included a UV monitor that works by pointing the rear-mounted sensor towards the sun.
Samsung Galaxy Note 4: Performance
The Note 4 features a 2.7GHz Snapdragon 805 processor with 3GB of RAM and an Adreno 420 GPU. That’s some pretty impressive specs and it’s no surprise to find that the Note 4 is well equipped for all that you can throw at it.
But let’s start with that Snapdragon 805 processor, which sees the move from a Snapdragon 800 processor, which was by no means slow and sluggish, to Qualcomm’s most advanced chip technology.
Aside from generally keeping things running quick and smooth, the 805 is also better equipped for things like handling higher-resolution displays, improved camera shooting and offering better battery life during video playback.
It also sees the introduction of the new Adreno 420 GPU, which Qualcomm has previously said is 40 per cent faster than the Adreno 330 GPU and ramps up the Note 4’s gaming prowess considerably. Running our test game, Real Racing 3, things not only ran smooth but the extra shadow and added visual sheen were more evident.
In the benchmark tests, the multi-core scores back up how much of a powerhouse device the Note 4 is. Its closest competition is another Samsung phone, and it even wipes the floor with the iPhone 6 Plus.
Geekbench 3 multi-core scores
Samsung Galaxy Note 4 - 3,162
Samsung Galaxy Alpha - 3,124
Samsung Galaxy S5 - 2,908
Apple iPhone 6 Plus - 2,871
HTC One M8 - 2,840
Xperia Z3 - 2,772
LG G3 - 2,425
Samsung Galaxy Note 4: S Pen
The S Pen is what separates the Note 4 from the rest. It’s not for everyone and most will likely ignore it, but for those who want to have an alternative method of input, this is arguably the best stylus experience you can currently get on a phone or tablet.
The S Pen itself might not look like it’s changed a great deal, but there’s some new things to make the Note-writing experience more accurate and useful. It’s roughly the same length and size as the one in the Note 3, and now Samsung has flipped the design so the bottom half has the grippier ribbed design and the smooth finish is on the top half.
You can still choose between plastic and rubber removable nibs, depending on whether you plan to do more drawing or writing. There’s a set of them supplied in the box, plus a little clip to help pull them out and swap them. You’ll still find the button at the end nearest the nib, which you press to fire up the S Pen launcher on the Note 4's screen.
Pressure sensitivity, which is key to creating an accurate stylus experience, is now up to 2048dps, which basically means you're getting the same kind of control and sensitivity as from a dedicated Wacom stylus – one of the best in the business. Spending some time with the Note 3 and Note 4 S Pens will give you an idea of the added finesse with writing. It’s more fluid, with better recognition of angles and swoops.
Just like you can on the Note 3, you can use the S Pen to navigate homescreens, write texts and emails, hover over icons to discover their functions, select and cut out images, and of course do some doodling. One of the nicest new features is the ability to use the S Pen to select copy within web pages where previously you had to cut them out.
Samsung has a bunch of specific modes it thinks will help you make more use of it.
Action memo
As the name suggests, Action memo opens up a small notepad page where you can quickly jot down notes. By clicking the ‘link to action’ button you can share the note to a contact via text, email or even open the web browser to search for it.
Smart Select
One of the new S Pen features, Smart Select enables you to quickly crop out homescreens, web pages and pretty much anything else, collecting it in the Scrapbook album where you can build up a collage of items. This is definitely one for designers.
Image Clip
Similar to Smart Select, Image Clip uses the kind of magic wand tool you find in Adobe Photoshop, allowing you to quickly draw around an item to grab it and save it or add different crops.
Screen Write
With Screen Write the phone will automatically take a screen shot of whatever's currently on the screen and then you're free to make notes, draw diagrams and pretty much anything else you want to doodle on it, then save and share.
Samsung Galaxy Note 4: S Pen apps
Samsung offers a handful of S Pen-optimised apps and they vary in terms of usefulness. You can find other apps on the Google Play Store that play nice with the Note 4’s S Pen, such as SketchBook X, but we're disappointed Samsung hasn’t made a greater effort in its own Galaxy App Store to at least provide a section dedicated to S Pen-compatible applications.
S Note is largely the same, although it now has an added Photo mode so you can add images to your notes. Scrapbook, as we mentioned previously, is a place for collating images, while S Planner will now let you handwrite entries – although we found that if you don’t write very neatly, it has issues accurately converting the handwritten text. Last up is PEN.UP, an Instagram-style social network for Note users to share images they've drawn. We didn’t really want to share our feeble efforts, though.
Samsung Galaxy Note 4: Camera
The Note 4 has a 16-megapixel camera, matching the Galaxy S5's megapixel count, but where they differ is the fact that the bigger Samsung now includes optical image stabilisation. Only the camera-centric Galaxy Zoom phones have included it previously. Using optical image stabilisation over digital image stabilisation ensures the phone does a better job of reducing the blur and movement when shooting in low light, helping you to get better night-time shots.
It doesn’t get all of the S5’s features, such as the speedy phase-detection focus, and a quick look around the app shows that Samsung has stripped out some options and shooting modes to simplify the process. Thankfully it doesn't impact on what's an excellent all-round phone camera. It still focuses quickly and whether in good light or more challenging conditions you can still capture some great photos.
Samsung Galaxy Note 4: Battery Life
The Note 4 packs a 3220mAh battery, which is just slightly bigger than the 3000mAh one in the Note 3 that didn't overwhelm us with its staying power.
Thankfully, despite a potentially power-sapping screen, the Note 4 really can go the distance. Prior to Samsung's pre-release firmware update issued to improve performance, the Note 4 in general use – browsing, gaming, streaming music and checking in on Twitter and Facebook – dropped to 30% by 11pm, and that's before tapping into power-saving modes. Post-update it was a whole lot better.
Using it in the same way and monitoring usage with the Battery HD Android app, during the same 8am-11pm time period, it was at 60% at 11pm and down to 20% the following day at the same time.
In more intense testing it fares much better than its predecessor as well. Running an SD video on loop with Wi-Fi turned off and 50% brightness you can get a more manageable 13 hours, which is an hour better than the iPhone 6 Plus manages and two hours more than the Note 3.
Things get better with charging as well. Thanks to the Snapdragon 805 processor and support for quick-charge technology, Samsung has supplied a charger that juices up the Note 4 40 minutes faster than the Note 3. A quick blast and within 10 minutes it added 10%. After 30 minutes it was near 40%. It’s impressive stuff, especially if you have a habit of forgetting to charge overnight. Just keep hold of that charger in the box, though.
The Note 4 has the capability to keep going for two days with the ultra power-saving mode, which isn't as restrictive as you probably think.
