Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Review – it’s NoteWorthy

The new Note is in town, it’s called the Galaxy Note 4. It is a premium device, with premium features and with a premium price tag of Rs. 58,300. The Note 4 comes with an enhanced S-Pen,  a quad HD screen and with fast battery charging technology.

Box pack content
Almost all of the Galaxy series are using the same box style. It is compact and made with recycled paper and soy based inks – the box is 100% recyclable. Inside you will find the Note 4, user guide, warranty card, data cable, 9 volt travel charger, very good quality earphone, battery of 3220 mAh capacity and S-Pen Pin plucker with extra S-Pen Pins.

Design and Display
Like the Samsung Galaxy Alpha, the Note 4 is also using a metal frame. It not only looks good but also gives a premium and sturdy feel. The frame is slight curved at the bottom and on the top surrounding the 3.5mm audio jack. There are shinny silver borders on the frame, that looks great.

Build quality, finishing is excellent and the back panel has got leathery texture that feels soft to touch. Handset is big but very comfortable to hold.

Note 4 weight with battery is 176 grams and dimensions are 79.26mm x 153.31mm x 8.33mm. The power button is on the right, volume rockers on the left, 3.5mm audio jack on the top along with IR blaster and micro USB port and S-Pen compartment at the bottom.

The Galaxy Note 4 comes with 3 microphones, two at the bottom (on either side of micro USB port) and one at the top near the 3.5mm audio jack. There is fingerprint scanner i.e. the physically dedicated button that doubles up as the scanner. This phone also includes a heart rate and UV sensor on the rear.

Note 4 supports single SIM (micro SIM slot) and 64GB micro SD card. There is accelerometer, light, proximity, magnetic, gyro, barometer, step counter and UV sensors. There is LED notification.

The screen is 5.7 inches supporting Quad HD resolution (2560 x 1440). And the best part is that it’s a Super AMOLED screen – the first of its kind with QHD resolution. Viewing angles, colour reproduction and touch response are just great.

Memory, Storage and OS
There is 3GB onboard RAM, 32GB storage and 64GB external card support. Of the 32GB, about 24GB is available and of the 3GB RAM about 1.8GB is available on the first boot. Apps got installed on internal storage. OTG is supported. Android 4.4.4 runs the show with TouchWiz UI.

Performance
Note 4 Model No (SM-N910G) is powered by qualcomm snapdragon 805 quad core processor clocked at 2.7GHz and coupled with Adreno 420 GPU. Even with a Quad HD screen resolution the performance is pretty smooth and lag free.

Benchmark

Gaming
Asphalt 8 and Modern Combat 5 games got installed on the internal storage. Both the games played really well, smooth and lag free (check the video review).

Camera and Entertainment
The rear camera is 16MP and it can shoot UHD (3840 x 2160 pixels) videos. Still photo and video quality is very good. This camera comes loaded with all the features as seen on other galaxy series, including selective focus mode. Front camera is 3.7MP resolution and can shoot videos in 2560 x 1440 pixels resolution.

For taking selfies you can use normal camera button, voice control, gestures or simply place your finger on the heart rate monitor sensor. You can check the sample images at the end of this review.

Slow motion and Smooth motion videos are supported. Do note that when you select UHD video mode and choose the smooth motion option it will record in 1080p at 60fps.

S-Pen
Note 4 comes with enhanced S-Pen, it is better than as seen on the Samsung Galaxy Note 3. All of the features that were on the Note 3 are available along with some new features. There is smart select option wherein you can select anything on the screen and share it using other applications. There is also the photo note option – take a snap and write on it in your own handwriting.

Multi Window just got better you can resize the app window, something similar to what we use on windows operating system on a desktop / laptop. You can choose from fountain pen, calligraphy, pen, pencil etc. Calligraphy option is awesome (check video review).

The S-Pen tip is sensitive and can detect 2,048 pressure levels. The S-Pen weighs about 15 grams.

Others
The handset supports 4G, 3G, Wi-Fi, GPS, NFC and Bluetooth. No issues found with any of these features. GPS lock was almost instant. Sound is very loud and clear.

This Note 4 smartphone can monitor your physical activities without a need of a wearable device. Just use the advanced S-Health app and you are ready to go. This app will count the steps, calories burned, you can check your heart rate, stress levels, use SP02 to check oxygen level in blood and also check the UV levels.

To check UV levels you need to use the UV option, hit start button and point the UV sensor that is placed next to the heart rate sensor towards the sun.

Battery
Samsung Galaxy Note 4 comes with a removable battery of 3220 mAh capacity. There is ultra power saving mode that will extend the battery life even when the battery % is very low. The key attraction however is the fast charging capabilities.

You can expect battery backup of 4 to 6 hours with moderate to heavy continuous usage.

Verdict
[Rating : 4.7 out of 5]
The Note 4 comes loaded with lot of unique features that are hard to find on competing devices specially the S-Pen and the Quad HD resolution on a Super AMOLED screen. In addition there is finger print, heart rate and a newly added UV scanner.

Overall it is a fully loaded, premium device with a premium price tag. If it fits your budget then definitely go for it.

Note 4 is available for Rs. 58,300 and Rs. 61,500 from infibeam.

Image Gallery

front camera sample