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Two and a half years ago, no one believed that it was possible for people to fall in love with obnoxiously sized smartphones. As companies continued to push forward, ever so stretching out the size of our modern smartphone, we soon became familiar with a new coined term that fittingly describes these Herculean-sized phones – the phablet. Ah yes, the phablet, the hybrid name that makes us wonder if these devices are indeed supersized phones, or pocket-friendly tablets.
Amongst them all, Samsung entered the fray with its offering in the Samsung Galaxy Note, which not only introduced us to the budding segment so intimately, but it even brought back something we thought of being obsolete. You guessed it folks, it was the stylus, you know, the pointy thing that resistive touchscreen phones back in the day offered to better provide interaction with them. Perfecting its craft over the years, Samsung is introducing us to yet again the latest incarnation in its popular series – the Samsung Galaxy Note 4.
Design
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Generally speaking, the design language of the Galaxy Note 4 doesn’t stray too far from the established principles its predecessors have abided by. Essentially, it still looks like a Note-like device, but upon closer inspection, we do appreciate the subtle improvements seen to this new model. In particular, they’ve enhanced the design by sprinkling a higher level of class to the device by giving it metal sidings – similar to what they’ve done already with the Galaxy Alpha. Honestly, though, it’s a small tease, since the phone is still primarily constructed out of plastic. Regardless of that, there’s no arguing that it now boasts a more profound premium quality than ever before.
With each succeeding Galaxy Note smartphone, Samsung has been able to minimize the amount of bulk tacked onto them. Rightfully so, they’re able to do yet another bang up job here, as the phone packs skinnier bezels around its display – further reducing its size, without compromising on the screen’s size. For a phablet, it’s still incredibly tough to finagle with a single hand, but we’re nonetheless pleased by the improvements here.
As usual, the phone features some handy tools that we’ve come to expect with a high-caliber smartphone – like an IR blaster to make it double as a universal remote, various Air View functions with the aid of the S Pen, and a microSD card slot to supplement the phone’s internal storage capacity. New additions, however, are also appreciated, as this marks the first time we’re seeing a fingerprint and heart rate sensors incorporated into the phone. Unfortunately, the finger print sensor functions just like the one in the Galaxy S5 – so it’s a hit or miss kind of thing. Moreover, the heart rate sensor only adds to its geek cred.
Out of everything, we were so hoping to see this one receive the same water-resistant construction of the Galaxy S5, but due to the S-Pen’s slot, that’s not something feasible here. Overall, the incremental improvements are all here, but we’re glad to see the Note-series getting a slightly more premium quality with its metal trim. Beyond that, however, we can’t say that it’s the most polarizing design our eyes have feasted on, since HTC and Sony remains to be tops in that category.
Display
In truly being a smartphone for the times, one that’s meant to be a contender in the space for some time, Samsung has blessed the Note 4 with a higher-resolution display – Quad HD (1440 x 2569 pixels). Needless to say, it’s something we all were expecting, seeing that QHD resolution is what today’s top-of-the-line phones seem to be favoring. Considering that its size has been maintained at 5.7-inches, the Note 4 betters its predecessor with its killer pixel density count of 515 ppi. Obviously, it produces sharp looking details where each individual pixel is indistinguishable to the naked eye – even super close.
Still going with its tried and true Super AMOLED display, it’s not something we’re ecstatic about over other things – like its higher resolution. At this point, we’re content with the display, which delivers all of the qualities that astound us about the technology. For starters, it still has that wow factor thanks to the over-saturated colors it’s able to produce. As we’ve seen, however, AMOLED technology has been improved dramatically to the point that its brightness output and color accuracy matches that of its LCD counterparts. And yes people, we can attest that the same applies here with the Note 4’s display.
Always known to be the stylus-friendly smartphone, the Note 4’s included S-Pen once again provides us with a few more features than the average smartphone. Not only is it handy for jotting things down or navigating across the platform, but its usefulness extends into other aspects that we don’t get from other phones. For example, it’s a tool that really complements the note-taking experience. From being able to crop certain elements of a web page, which we can then attach to an email, to other things like giving our photos that professional touch, since the S Pen is pressure sensitive, it’s a tool that greatly enhances the experience with the smartphone.
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