Dubai: Samsung’s fourth-generation phablet — Galaxy Note 4 — is a powerful device with much improvements compared to Note 3.
It has added a metal frame surrounding the device to give a premium finish but the back is still polycarbonate.
Note 4 measures almost same as Note 3 but weighs just eight grams more than the predecessor at 176 grams.
The 5.7-inch Quad HD (2560x1440 pixels) super active-matrix organic light-emitting diode (Super Amoled) display runs on 2.7Ghz octa-core processor with 3GB or RAM and 32GB of internal storage capacity. The capacity can be expanded via micro-SD card up to 128GB. It is the first 2K phone from the Korean company.
The screen has a density of 515 pixels per inch (ppi) compared to 386ppi in Note 3 (1080 x 1920 pixels), so you can imagine the quality of the screen. Apple’s iPhone 6 Plus has 401ppi.
Colours pop out of the screen while the text and images are crystal clear and it can be viewed clearly under bright sunlight.
Samsung’s physical home and back keys still reside at the bottom of the screen. The home key is also stuffed with fingerprint scanner. On the left of the home key is the multitasking key but all these keys are not illuminated like in the previous models and the front looks really neat.
The fingerprint scanner (PayPal certified) can log 10 finger prints and works very well. Users need to swipe the fingers from the centre of the screen instead of placing the finger on the sensor found in iPhones. Samsung included the IR blaster on top of the device.
The big question is about the S Pen stylus and that is what it separates from the other devices. If you are not a stylus scribbler then Note 4 is of no use.
If you are, then it is the best stylus currently available in the market.
S Pen looks the same as in Note 3 but the note writing experience is more accurate as the pressure sensitivity has been raised to 2,000 levels versus 1,000 levels on last year’s model.
Press the button on the S Pen and the Air Command menu will appear on the screen allowing users to open Action Memo, Smart Select, Image Clip and Screen Write. The density of the digital ink changes as you press harder on the screen.
But the issue is that too many apps optimised for S Pen cannot be found on the Google or Samsung app stores.
The S Health app to monitor the number of steps taken, calories burnt, and pulse tracking in the rear mounted heart rate monitor has improved significantly. It has also added features to measure the concentration of oxygen in the blood but how scientific this reading actually is not known; stress level; UV intensity and coach facility sourced by health care provider Cigna.
Placing the finger on the sensor, next to the LED flash at the back, will give you the reading and it also saves the reading for monitoring the history.
The TouchWiz user interface is more refined and simple with fewer bloatware.
Samsung has partnered with Flipboard to offer My Magazine — news aggregation service — by swiping from left to right on the home screen.
Pressing the multitasking button will bring a series of stacked cards which shows the currently running apps. It is a nice feature.
The Samsung’s fast charge feature charges 40 per cent of the battery in just 30 minutes. The ultra-power saving features found in Galaxy S5 find its place on Note 4 also.
The 16MP autofocus camera with LED flash also has optical image stabilisation for taking better snaps in lowlight conditions and to record steady videos.
Samsung has limited the number of features and the app looks neat. The modes available are auto, rear-cam selfie, selective focus, panorama, beauty face, dual camera. There is an option to download more features from the Samsung app store like surround shot, animated photo, sports shot, food shot, sound & shot and sequence shot.
The images captures are sharp and rich in details. Samsung has tightened up the camera’s ability to take more detailed landscape shots. Note 4 do a decent job of taking pictures in pitch dark conditions.
Video capturing is excellent with many options like 4K recording, 1080p, 720p and VGA. It can record 2160p at 30 frames per second, 1080p at 60 frames per second with optical stabilisation and dual-video.
The 3.7MP front-facing camera with a fast f/1.9 aperture has a 90 degree lens to allow more area for selfies. Tapping the screen or by placing the finger on the heart rate sensor or by saying smile, cheese, capture and shoot to take selfies. The same modes on the back camera can also be downloaded from the Samsung app store if needed. The front camera can record in Fullf HD.
The removable 3,200mAh battery gives more than one day for heavy users and more than 13 hours of HD video test with WiFi on and without power saving featured turned on. With power saving features it can give two days of use.
Regarding connectivity, it has Wi-Fi, 3G/4G, NFC, USB 2.0 and Bluetooth 4.1. It is priced at Dh2,799.
