The handset is 8.5mm thick (8.67mm by our measurement), so we’d class it as a phablet. It won’t fit into your front pocket easily and is best used with two hands, although there are features to help out. It’s also tall, so reaching for the physical and touch-sensitive buttons below the screen feels uncomfortable. The back button is particularly hard to reach one-handed.
It’s available in Charcoal Black, Frost White, Blossom Pink and Bronze Gold. It also comes with the S Pen, which is what puts the ‘Note’ in the name.
The Quad HD Super AMOLED screen is stunning. The 1440x2560 resolution gives an incredible sense of depth. Not only is it beautifully crisp, but it has excellent viewing angles from any direction and bags of brightness.
The super-speedy 2.7GHz quadcore processor also has 3GB RAM and Adreno 420 graphics. We found it extremely smooth and snappy when launching and switching apps.
We expected impressive results from this powerful smartphone and for the most part we got them. The Note 4 is the first to break the 3000 barrier in GeekBench 3, although it couldn’t outpace the similarlysized iPhone 6 Plus (tinyurl.com/o9rx9un) for graphics.
There’s a fingerprint scanner beneath the home button, and a heart rate monitor on the back that can measure your blood oxygen saturation level and even stress level. It isn’t as effective as Apple’s Touch ID, though.
Interestingly, the Note 4 also has a UV sensor, which Samsung says is the first to be found in a mobile device. It’s part of the S Health system, and sits on the back of the phone. You simply point it at the sun and take a reading The 16Mp rear-facing camera has autofocus and smart optical image stabilisation. HDR offers a live preview, so you can see what your image will look like before capturing it. And you can record 4K video.
A decent 3.7Mp front camera has an aperture of f1.9. There’s also a fun Wide Selfie mode, so you can capture more of the environment around you. The size of the Note 4 means taking photographs is not an easy task, though. Samsung has added lots useful features to take advantage of the large screen.
Multi Window, for example, lets you use two apps at once in a split screen view. A window can also be viewed as a pop-up screen that can be moved around. The S Pen can now emulate various pen and writing types, including a fountain pen or calligraphy pen, thanks to its 2048 levels of pressure sensitivity. We found it useful as a replacement for a finger as an input device – it’s accurate and avoids the screen getting grubby.
We all want our smartphone to last as long as possible between charges, and although the Note 4 has a large 3220mAh battery, it didn’t blow us away. Realistically, it will last a day and have a bit of charge left, though, not enough to make it through a second, so you’ll have to charge it every night. However, it does fast-charge 50 percent of the battery in just 30 minutes and an Ultra Power Saving mode can make that last few percent stretch as far as possible, avoiding cut-off.
Verdict
This phone is a bit of a handful and expensive but Note lovers will be just as enamoured with this one. It is a great device with plenty of power and features as long as you’re aware that you’re buying a huge phone and will get the most out of what it offers. Otherwise a smaller and cheaper handset is probably a better choice. J Chris Martin
