Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Images and Price
There’s big, and then there’s the Samsung Galaxy Note 4. It’s almost as tall as an iPhone 6 Plus, but still manages to feel compact and lightweight.
The 5.7-inch screen boasts stunning colors and a brilliant, sharp resolution. It’s powered by an efficient, fast processor and has plenty of RAM for resource-hungry apps.
Screen
Samsung has kept the screen size on the Note 4 unchanged from last year’s model, but this time around its resolution got a big bump to QHD – 2560 x 1440. That pushes the pixel density to an impressive 515 ppi, easily bettering Apple’s iPhone 6 Plus (at 401 ppi) and a lot of its other direct rivals.
Samsung’s 5.7-inch AMOLED panel is bright enough for indoor viewing, registering more than 300 nits at an APL of 100% (a standard measurement for display brightness). It’s also just as bright in our full-brightness testing, tying the Galaxy S6 and trailing only a bit behind the Nexus 6.
Color accuracy is excellent when set to Basic mode, with Delta E values below 3 for most tested colors. However, things get worse when set to Photo or Cinema modes. Our measurements show that these modes don’t properly limit the saturation of colors, leading to overly vivid and unrealistic looking green grass in some photos.
Camera
Samsung’s renowned design motifs make their mark on the Note 4, with a physical home button with integrated fingerprint scanner at the front and capacitive back and recent apps keys flanking it. It’s also a more solid device, thanks to the addition of aluminum to the flat portions of its sides and a shimmery chamfered metal finish above and below the colored stripe that marks it as a Galaxy phone.
The big news in the camera department is the return of optical image stabilization, a first for any Galaxy phone. Images shot on the Note 4 are sharp and colorful, with a more realistic color palette and better low-light results than its predecessors.
In day-to-day use the Note 4 is fast and responsive, tearing through resource-hungry games without any noticeable lag. And its 5.7-inch Quad HD screen offers a fantastic viewing experience. The only annoyance is that its battery drains pretty quickly, even with moderate use.
Battery
The 5.7in Note 4 is one of the best phablets Samsung has ever made. Its powerful quad or octa-core processor and 3GB of RAM are ideal for demanding apps. The screen’s pixel density is excellent too, with colors looking rich and crisp.
On the back of the phone there’s an optical image stabilisation camera for reducing hand shake, and the front camera has been improved to include a wide selfie mode. The stylus has also been enhanced, making it easier to select text and manage multiple windows.
With moderate to light use the Note 4 can last two days on a single charge, which is great for this class of device. A power saving mode is available too which stops apps using mobile data and removes battery-sucking features like live wallpapers. This is one of the most useful battery saving features we’ve seen on a modern smartphone. It also has a fast charging mode that gets you from zero to 50% in about 30 minutes.
Performance
Samsung’s Note series has made smartphones with large screens common, and the 5.7-inch display on the new one is as beautiful as ever. As a stylus-enabled smartphone, it is the best-developed device of its kind and, in my experience, offers better productivity features than any other phablet.
Its color accuracy in daylight is top-notch, and it can even get as bright as 750 nits. However, the high brightness discolors the screen a bit and makes images and graphics look slightly off-color.
The Note 4 has a solid feel, and the aluminum frame is a nice touch. The flat sides are chamfered to curve inward slightly, and the metal is subtle enough to not be distracting when it’s on your desk. The back is plastic, which allows for a removable battery and microSD card slots. It is not as sturdy as an all-metal phone, but it’s a good compromise for those who don’t want to have to carry around a protective case.
