New Delhi: Samsung has unveiled its phablet, the Galaxy Note 4, at the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin. The company has also announced a new version of the Note, the Note Edge. The Note 4 is a technology beast in terms of software features it offers to its users.
The new Galaxy Note 4 is the first Quad HD smartphone from Samsung, meaning it delivers a resolution of 2,560 x 1,440 — the highest you can get in smartphones today. The screen is of 5.7-inch size – same as the Galaxy Note 3. From a p[ixel density of 386 ppi in Note 3, Samsung has boosted the pixels on this one to an amazing 515 ppi. The display on the Note 4 is covered by 2.5D Gorilla Glass 3.
On the first look, the screen of Note 4 looks amazing – combining a QHD resolution with Super AMOLED technology, this screen is simply breathtaking. Colors are rich, text and images are superbly sharp and unbelievably detailed. The device delivers excellent viewing angles and deep blacks. Moreover, you'll also find immersive and fluid video playback.
The Note 4 comes with a stylus, the S Pen, which is now even more sensitive and precise.
Design-wise, the Note 4 offers the refinement to this high-end device through its sleek and brushed metal edging. You may also find certain echoes of the iPhone 5S in the Note 4. The phone is really slim with just 8.5mm thickness and the device feels really solid and comfortable in the hand. The mock leather rear of Note 3 is once again carried in the new device which, of course, is better than the stock plastic. Samsung will offer four Note 4 colours at launch. Joining the traditional monochrome options will be ‘Bronze Gold' and ‘Blossom Pink' options.
The Note 4 comes with some of the Galaxy S5's more popular hardware features. This includes fingerprint sensor incorporating home button and the S5's rear-mounted heart rate sensor.
The new phablet comes in two processor versions, one with a 2.7 GHz quad-core one and another with an 1.9 GHz Octa-core processor. The quad-core one has a Snapdragon 805 chipset, which brings LTE Cat 6 support and the Octa-core processor has Samsung's Exynos 5433 chipset and LTE Cat 4 connectivity. This means that you can multitasking with absolutely no extra effort as commands, app launches and functions are handled with simple, graceful aplomb.
It offers 3GB RAM, which is in contrast to earlier rumours of 4GB RAM. The only storage option is 32GB, with support for 64GB microSD cards for more storage.
On the imaging front, the new device from Samsung features the same 16-megapixel camera as that found on the Galaxy S5. However, for the first time, the snapper has been bolstered by optical-image-stabilisation functionality. For selfies, there is a secondary, 3.7-megapixel camera. This snapper has been handed an f/1.9 aperture for improved results.
The Note 4 battery comes with a 3220mAh Lithium-Ion battery. The smartphone comes with a quick charge feature which means it can hit a 50 per cent charge in just 30 minutes.
On the software front, the device runs Google's latest Android 4.4 KitKat OS skinned with Samsung's TouchWiz UI. It is easy to navigate and offers an impressive suite of multitasking options.
The Note 4 also has multiple microphones and an improved speaker phone for better noise cancellation and a built-in Voice Recorder which offers eight directional voice tagging.
Overall, the Note 4 seems to be a honest attempt by the South Korean handset maker which has included some incremental improvements so as to differentiate its product, especially when the large-screen iPhones are on the way.
