Note 4 release date, screen, power and camera
The all-new Samsung Galaxy Note 4 has now been officially unveiled, but what does the successor to the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 actually bring?
Well there's no change to the size of the screen, which still comes in at the whopping 5.7 inches that we have come to know and love, but Samsung has made some significant changes to that killer feature.
That 5.7-incher is now a Quad HD Super AMOLED (2,560 x 1,440 resolution) technology that stretches to 500 pixels per inch.
You can check out our hands on with the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 review for our first impressions of just what has changed in this latest generation.
What is it? Samsung's fourth gen phablet
When's it out? Now in the UK, October 14 in the US, September / October elsewhere
What will it cost? A lot, even more than the pricey Galaxy S5
Samsung Galaxy Note 4 release date and price
The Galaxy Note 4 was announced at IFA 2014 on September 3. Samsung had sent invites for an event advising people to 'Note the date', which was a bit of a give away, and so it proved.
Samsung has confirmed that the Galaxy Note 4 is now available from its Experience stores in the UK. From September 26 select retailers, such as Three and Carphone Warehouse will also begin stocking it and the phone will go on general sale from October 10.
In the US you can pre-order the Note 4 from AT&T with deliveries starting on October 14. The phone is listed at $299.99 upfront plus $41.30 per month (or $34.42 per month on a Next plan), or you can get it for $825.99 off contract.
You can also pre-order from Verizon for $299.99 or from T-Mobile for zero money upfront and $31.24 per month, that will then wing its way over to you on October 17. Sprint isn't yet taking pre-orders but you can pre-register.
We're still waiting to hear an exact release date for the phone in other territories around the world, but a recent Samsung advert claims it will be available sometime in October. If you're in the UK then you can check out our release date guide for more detailed information on availability and pricing as we get it.
Speaking of price, we've already covered US pricing, there's been very little said about what it will be in the rest of the world yet, but a listing on Indonesian site erafone puts it at IDR 9,499,000 (or roughly £490 / AU$870) which seems believable, especially since those conversions don't include local taxes. We've also seen Clove in the UK list it at £575 (AU$1063). Better start saving.
With the Galaxy Note 4 hitting stores any day now we should have some more official prices soon.
An amazing screen - again
First up, screen size. The original Note came with a 5.3-incher, the Note 2 showed up with a 5.5-inch display and the Note 3 pushed things to 5.7 inches.
Going by this logic the Galaxy Note 4 should have come with a 5.9-inch display, which would see it match the HTC One Max and LG G Pro 2, while still falling short of the 6.4-inch Sony Xperia Z Ultra.
But actually Samsung showed admirable restraint, keeping the Note 4 to the 5.7 inches of its predecessor, but throwing a boat-load more quality into its killer feature.
The screen now boasts Quad HD Super AMOLED (2,560 x 1,440 resolution) technology that stretches to 500 pixels per inch.
Plus, Samsung is throwing in what it is calling an adaptive display - one that changes depending on the light of the place you are viewing the screen - and on paper you have the optimum viewing no matter what situation you are in. All this work has paid off, because it was recently hailed as having the best screen of any smartphone.
Samsung even decided to get fancy and launch a variant of the phone called the Samsung Galaxy Note Edge, which has a curved display that folds around the spine of the phone. Sadly this didn't make it to the main device, but it's a good test to see if there's desire for such innovation.
Samsung Galaxy Note 4 power and storage
The Galaxy Note 4 brings with it a pretty impressive 2.7GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 processor, which certainly won't be struggling to keep things moving despite the screen.
Also worthy of, ahem, note, is the 3GB of RAM that the phone is running - there are still plenty of people with PCs that don't have that kind of memory.
The internal memory of the Galaxy Note 4 is a not insignificant 64GB, which should mean you don't have to choose between your collection of Jean Claude van Damme movies and your lovingly put-together eclectic music.
Of course, there's a microSD slot too, with the ability to add 128GB more if you're thinking of downloading the internet for a day.
Samsung Galaxy Note 4 camera
The Galaxy Note 4 came in for quite the camera upgrade, but not the 20MP sensor that a report from ET News suggested was due for release in the second half of the year.
Instead, it's gone from 13MP to 16MP but camera-philes will be more impressed with the Smart Optical Image Stabilisation, which helps keep every picture blur free and clear when you're snapping around.
If you hate the word selfie, look away now. The front-facing camera has followed the inexplicable trend and will allow you to take better self portraits, with a 3.7MP sensor with a f/1.9 aperture, allowing in a lot more light and mitigating the lack of flash.
The sensor can now make pictures look a lot more natural thanks to a 90-degree field of view – and the Note 4 has even stolen the panorama mode from the rear-facing camera to allow you to fit more people into your personal snap.
Oh, and you can tap the heart rate sensor on the back of the phone (more on that later) to take your pic to avoid shaking the camera. That's handy.
You can also use the rear camera in unison with the S Pen. A new feature called Snap Note allows you to take a picture of a piece of paper (or whiteboard) and change what's in the picture, which will apparently be excellent for when taking notes in a lecture. We're not sure how, either.
Operating system, design, battery and the S-Pen
Samsung Galaxy Note 4 operating system
The Samsung Galaxy Note 4 runs the latest version of Android, Android KitKat.
It is of course overlaid with Samsung's TouchWiz interface, just like the new version which adorns the Galaxy S5.
The new UI for the Note does have some unique features though, offering up the ability to resize apps over the screen (in a similar way to Windows) so you can pack more information on the display.
Given some people are still struggling with the idea / point of having two windows open at once on a smartphone, this could be something of an overkill – but the Note is all about offering the user as much functionality as possible, and this certainly falls into that category.
Samsung Galaxy Note 4 design and features
Samsung has decided to give the Note 4 more of a premium finish, with a metal rim surrounding the handset, shielding the rest of the chassis.
Our first impressions suggested that the Note 4 felt great in the hand, although that faux leather back is going to be as divisive as it was in the Galaxy Note 3. The actual weight and dimensions are very similar to last year's model despite the more premium finish, with the Note 4 coming in at 153.5 x 78.6 x 8.5mm and 176g.
Aside from a metal frame there have been some other design tweaks, such as the inclusion of a heartrate monitor on the back of the phone and a fingerprint scanner under the home button, in the same way as the Galaxy S5.
The S Pen has received a huge upgrade again – the aforementioned Snap Note, for example, but also in the tactile feel on the screen.
We've often criticised the Note / S Pen combo for feeling too fake, plastic on glass sliding around and not replicating the feel of the pen on paper. That's been solved with the Note 4, with our hands on review finding that the new stylus offered a more sensitive and smart way of interacting with the phone, actually replicating handwriting faithfully.
Those that like to take voice recordings of others will love the new feature that uses multi-directional microphones to zero in on one speaker and record only that person, which will be really useful in noisy environments.
There's also a UV sensor added in too, presumably to give accurate information on how much you need to cover up / apply the lotion on hotter days. It's another step toward the smartphone becoming a big reason we all stay a lot healthier – and anything that can help avoid cancer has to be a good thing.
Samsung Galaxy Note 4 battery
A smartphone is nothing more than an oversized paperweight once the battery dies, so it's a good thing that the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 has quite a lot of juice. There's a 3200 mAh battery tucked away inside it which not only promises a lot of life but can also be charged to 50% in just 30 minutes..
- Learn more about the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 in our hands on review with the phone
