Review: Samsung Galaxy Note 4
Telus has hooked me up with Samsung’s newest “phablet” the Galaxy Note 4. Now I’ve always been dubious of the whole “phablet” craze, but Samsung sells a whole lot of them. So it proves that I shouldn’t be in their marketing department. One of the things that sets the Note 4 from the rest is the addition of a stylus. It makes using the Galaxy Note 4 way more useful than most. But I am getting ahead of myself. Let me start with the physical aspects of the phone. The backing is slightly more textured. One thing I really liked is the fact that the Galaxy Note 4 is free of the cheesy faux stitching that was found on previous Samsung phones. The straight sides are comfortable to grasp and easy to hold onto. You can easily find physical buttons with your fingertips. In terms of size, it’s pretty much the same physical size of the iPhone 6 Plus. Fingerprints are minimal on the screen and non-existant on the case. The screen is a 5.7-inch display that is 2,650 x 1,440p quad HD AMOLED display. It’s clear and sharp and I would consider the screen to be right up there with the LG G3 and the iPhone 6 Plus.
In terms of specs, here’s what Samsung has brought to the table:
- 2.7 Ghz Quad Core Processor
- 3GB RAM
- 32GB internal memory expandable to 64GB via MicroSD
- LTE Connectivity
- Android KitKat 4.4 with Samsung TouchWiz
- dual-band 802.11a/b/g/n/ac
- Bluetooth 4.1 LE
The Note 4 is one of the most powerful devices on the market. It felt quicker than pretty much anything that I’ve tested recently and I think that the Note 4 will likely keep that title of “fastest Android phone” for months to come. You get Android KitKat 4.4 and you get Samsung’s TouchWiz UI which makes the Galaxy Note 4 easy to use. There’s a new S-pen which is roughly twice as sensitive to pressure as the last one, capable of registering over 2,000 levels of sensitivity instead of 1,000. You still get features like Air Command and a ton of other features that make it useful in everyday use. It comes with the same software setup as the Galaxy S5. In terms of LTE speed on the Telus network, the Galaxy Note 4, put up some impressive numbers. I got 41.58 downstream and 15.18 upstream on average when I tested the phone using the Speediest.net app.
When it comes to the camera, you get a 16MP shooter in the rear with optical image stabilization, which is a first in any Samsung Galaxy smartphone. The front camera is a 3.7MP shooter for those selfies that you want to take. The rear camera also does 4K video and can be highly adjusted to suit your needs. That required a trip to Pearson Airport in Toronto to take some pictures. First here’s a still that you can click on to see at full resolution:
The quality is quite good. But check out the video which was shot in 4K video:
The video is also quite good, but if you want to shoot at 4K resolution, you’ll need a MicroSD card. One thing I should note is the microphone. It was sensitive enough to pick up my breathing.
Battery life is a strength of this phone. I got almost two days of usage out of this phone. That’s impressive. Telus is offering the Galaxy Note 4 for $300 on a 2 year term or for $800 outright. That makes it a great value when compared to the iPhone 6 Plus. Taking into account the speed, battery life, camera, and the fact it comes with a pen, you have to take a serious look at the Samsung Galaxy Note 4. Take a good hard look at it if you are looking for a “phablet.”
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