Samsung has announced its next device in the Galaxy Note line, the Samsung Galaxy Note 4. Reviews of the new device have been coming in fast, but can the Note 4 live up to the Galaxy Note name?
The Galaxy Note 4 has a number of upgrades compared with the Note 3. Not only that, but two versions of the device were released, one being called the Note Edge, which has a display that curves around one side of the device.
As far as specs go, the Galaxy Note 4 is substantially better than the Note 3. The display of the device is 5.7 inches, definitely giving it the status of phablet. The resolution of this display is 2,560 x 1,440 with a pixel density of 515 pixels-per-inch.
Some reviews suggest that this screen is much brighter with better looking colors. This is, of course made possible by the processing power of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 805, which delivers 2.5 GHz using the Samsung Exynos 5543 processor.
The Note 4 offers 16 GB, 32 GB or 64 GB of internal storage and this is upgradeable through the included microSD card slot. The RAM in the device is a rather large 4 GB.
One of the biggest improvements in the Note 4 is in the cameras. The Galaxy Note 3 already had pretty good camera offerings with a 13-megapixel rear-facing camera and a 2-megapixel front-facing camera, but the Note 4 takes it a step further. The device now features a 16-megapixel rear-facing camera, and a great, new 3.7-megapixel front-facing camera.
While the hardware improvements of the device were somewhat expected, the software improvements are also quite substantial. Samsung says that the S Pen is now "even more innovative," changing pressure sensitivity so that it almost feels like writing. It also allows the user to capture a number of pieces of content at the same time, enabling the user to gather them and send them via email.
Samsung is also stressing the fact that the Note 4 is not just a smartphone; it is now a phone, wallet, television, computer and even your health coach.
As mentioned before, two versions of the Galaxy Note 4 were announced at the Samsung event. The Galaxy Note Edge is certainly a unique idea, but some reviewers are saying that it really is not that useful. For now, it seems as though the new part of the design essentially acts as a bigger notifications area. Reviewers have also mentioned, however, that the significance of the new design may be shown later on through third-party developers' use of it.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 4 is certainly an improvement over the Note 3 in many ways. Most find that the new device is a great addition to the Note lineup, and the addition of the Note Edge is interesting and gives more options. Hopefully the usefulness of the new design in the Note Edge will be shown as developers take advantage of it.
