Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Review: The Best Big-Screen Phone?
When it comes to supersized smartphones, Samsung’s Galaxy Note reigns supreme.
Since it launched its first Note in 2011, Samsung’s massive handsets have been the best big-screen phones on the market.
Which brings us to the Galaxy Note 4, which is an improvement over its predecessors in every conceivable way.
Its camera is sharper, its battery lasts longer, and its S Pen stylus offers a better writing experience. It also includes a new multitasking feature that lets you open multiple apps in individual windows at once.
But the Note isn’t the only game in town anymore.
Apple’s iPhone 6 Plus is here. It’s also huge and gorgeous, and people are buying a lot of them. There are also impressive Gigantor phones from Nokia and LG. So is the Note still the king of the king-size phones?
Form and function
The Galaxy Note 4 is massive and owes its large dimensions to its enormous 5.7-inch display.
But in the big-screen phone category, that’s not all that big. In fact, Apple’s 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus stands a bit taller than the Note 4, at 6.2 inches.
Samsung has long been criticised for the relatively low-rent look of its smartphones. Compared with Apple’s iPhone and the HTC’s One M7 and M8, which offer aluminum chassis, Samsung’s plastic phones looked downright cheap.
The Note 4 fixes this. Unlike its predecessors, the Note 4 uses an aluminum frame that wraps around the handset. It’s a high-class look, and it makes the device sturdier.
Still, big is big, and as such, the Note 4 is nearly impossible to use comfortably with one hand. Samsung included a special one-handed onscreen tool that gives you a movable Back, Home, and Recent Apps bar.
But that doesn’t help with the overall size of the phone, which is just difficult to hold with one hand.
Oh, and if you’re a skinny-jeans-wearing hipster, don’t even think of putting the Note 4 in your pocket.
The best display around
The Note 4’s 5.7-inch screen isn’t just one of the biggest on the market; it’s also one of the most gorgeous.
That’s largely thanks to the fact that Samsung uses a screen technology known as Super AMOLED, or active matrix organic light-emitting diodes, which produces incredibly vibrant colors and endlessly deep blacks.
One of the big things Samsung is pushing with the Note 4’s screen is its 2560 × 1440 QHD resolution.
The iPhone 6 Plus’ Retina HD display offers a resolution of 1920 × 1080. That means the Galaxy Note 4’s display should be sharper than the iPhone 6 Plus’.
But in reality, the pixel densities of both screens are so high that your eyes can’t perceive any difference between the two.
Here’s the other thing about QHD screens: There are no apps, videos, or websites that take advantage of them. They all top out at 1080p.
Multitasking like a boss
Samsung’s smartphones have offered multitasking capabilities for a while, with the company’s Multi Window mode, which lets you open two apps onscreen at once.
But with the Note 4, Samsung is going for broke. Not only do you get Multi Window mode, but you also get something called Pop-up View.
S Pen stylus
Perhaps the best thing about S Pen is how well the Note 4 is able to read what you write.
For example, I was able to write an appointment into the Calendar app, and the phone not only recognised what I had written but also managed to put it into context: The time I wrote down was set as the start time for the meeting, the location was saved as the location, and the topic was saved as the description.
When I tapped the location, the Note 4 opened it in Google Maps.
Interface and apps
The Galaxy Note 4 runs on the latest version of Google’s Android KitKat operating system and features Samsung’s TouchWiz interface. To be honest, I’d prefer it if Samsung just left Android alone, rather than putting its software on top of it.
S Health
Samsung’s S Health app suite makes its return with the Note 4, and it’s brought some new features with it.
In addition to being able to check your heart rate, thanks to the heart-rate monitor on the Note 4’s back, and count your steps, S Health can now measure your blood-oxygen levels, stress levels, and UV light levels.
Camera
The Galaxy Note 4’s 16-megapixel camera is easily one of the best you’ll find on a smartphone today.
Images captured with the Note 4 were consistently sharp. What’s more, the camera’s auto HDR, high dynamic range, ensures that your photos look their best in nearly any lighting situation.
But the camera’s standout feature is its optical image stabilisation (OIS). The feature, which physically adjusts the camera’s lens to compensate for hand shake, allows you to not only take clearer photos in low-light situations, but it also makes digital worthwhile for once.
Still, like Samsung’s Galaxy S5, the Note 4’s camera tends to exaggerate blues, causing colors to look less realistic than those taken with the iPhone 6 Plus.
The iPhone also captures low-light images better than the Note 4, something that’s always been a problem for Samsung’s phones.
Battery life
Samsung’s Note series is known for its long-lasting batteries, and the Note 4 is no different.
The Note’s 3,220-mAh battery lasted longer than a day even with moderate use, so you can leave your charger at home without having to worry about your Note 4 calling it quits on you halfway through the workday.
Is the Note for you?
The Note 4 is an incredible smartphone and easily one of the best Android phones in the world.
Its gorgeous display, handsome design, and impressive multitasking features put it head and shoulders above its predecessor.
In fact, with its long-lasting battery and excellent OIS, the Note 4 is an excellent competitor to Apple’s iPhone 6 Plus.
If you’re looking for a big-screen smartphone that will last you all day and packs wonderful multitasking tools, the Note 4 is well worth your cash.
