Samsung's latest phablet gets nips and tucks rather than a big makeover
The Galaxy Note phablet is one of Samsung’s most popular products and it’s easy to see why. In theory, it combines the best of a smartphone and a tablet in one 6in device. The Note 4 isn’t dramatically different from its predecessor the Note 3, offering a number of modest improvements rather than an overhaul.
Previous Notes have felt cheaply made, but that’s not the case with the Note 4. It’s bounded by a metal band that runs around its edge, providing welcome rigidity. The Note 4 retains the plastic rear that’s meant to resemble leather, but the absence of fake stitching makes it far less tacky than the Note 3.
Unlike the Galaxy S5, the Note isn’t waterproof, but it has several other features that first arrived with the S5. You can use the fingerprint reader instead of a passcode to unlock the phablet. It recognised finger swipes more accurately than the S5, although it’s still not as reliable as the fingerprint reader built into recent iPhones and iPads.
There’s a sensor that counts the number of steps you’ve walked or run, as well as a sensor for measuring your heart rate. This data is recorded in the S Health app, so you can keep track of your vital signs - although it doesn’t explain what the heart-rate readings mean, while the step counter isn’t as accurate as a dedicated fitness tracker.
Like all phablets, the Note 4 isn’t comfortable to use with one hand. Samsung has modified Android 4.4 KitKat to include a one-handed mode that shrinks the contents of the screen into a resizable window, although this feature is pretty much unchanged since the Note 3. The gesture you use to activate it is still fiddly, and it seems ironic that the only way to make a phablet usable in small hands is to make it imitate a smaller screen and therefore lose many of a phablet’s advantages.
The screen’s resolution is 2560x1440 pixels, compared with the 1920x1080 of the Note 3. These extra pixels are put to good use, making onscreen text slightly sharper rather than displaying more information. This means that in the mode that lets you use two apps side by side, everything still feels a bit cramped.
This use of pixels also means it’s not easy to take notes and draw sketches (using the included stylus). Samsung’s note-taking and drawing software hasn’t changed much over the years, which means the handwriting recognition is sufficient for short notes and lists, but is less accurate over longer paragraphs. Moreover, there’s still only a handful of apps that take advantage of the stylus’ pressure sensitivity. Still, if you can’t abide touchscreen keyboards then the stylus is a good alternative.
The screen itself is very bright with accurate, vivid colours and plenty of contrast. The Note 4 blazed through our benchmark tests, thanks to its 3GB of memory and расу quad-core Snapdragon processor, while the touchscreen was almost perfect in its responsiveness. The camera is top notch, taking sharp and detailed photos in both daylight and dimly lit conditions.
The Note 4’s battery life of 22 hours on O2’s 3G network when used for calls, photography, web browsing and GPS was somewhat disappointing. This was made especially so by the phablet’s impressive performance when playing videos on a loop, lasting a lengthy 17 hours 30 minutes. Call quality was also imperfect. While it blocked out the pandemonium of a nearby building site, voices sounded a little distant and fuzzy.
The various improvements in the Galaxy Note 4 may be modest, but they’re still very welcome and help make it one of the best phablets available, '[here's little reason to upgrade if you own a Note 3, but if you want a phablet and can afford it, then this is good value.
VERDICT
The Note 4 is as good as ever, but the software still needs work.
SPECIFICATIONS
5.7in 2560x1440 pixel touchscreen • 2.7GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 quad-core processor • 3GB memory • Adreno 330 graphics chip • 32GB storage • 4G • Micro SIM • MicroSD slot • Android 4.4 KitKat• 176g • 154x79x9mm (HxWxD) • One-year warranty