Samsung announced two variants of its popular Galaxy Note ‘phablet’ at the Samsung Unpacked event in Berlin: the Galaxy Note 4, which is a revision of its popular phablet, and the Galaxy Note Edge, an iteration which curves the screen over the smartphone’s edge.
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The next generation Galaxy Note 4 benefits from a metal chassis and a larger 5.7in screen. Its Super AMOLED display has a 2560x1440 resolution for a density of 515 pixels in each inch. Samsung presenters touted the quality of its AMOLED panel and the benefits the high resolution will provide the Note series in multitasking over other 1440p smartphones, such as the LG G3 and Oppo Find 7.
Increasing the screen size and resolution to Quad-HD will demand more power, but Samsung has only increased the Note 4’s battery by 20 milliamp-hours to 3220 milliamp-hours. The company claims software improvements have helped lower battery consumption by 7.5 per cent, while a fast-charge feature only takes thirty minutes to charge 50 per cent of the battery.
The Note Edge shares most specifications with its sibling, the Note 4, save for a few differences in screen technology and battery capacity. The Galaxy Note Edge has a fractionally smaller 5.6in, 2560x1440-pixel resolution display, with another 160 pixels assigned to the curve in its screen. The battery has a lesser 3000 milliamp-hour rating.
The curving display on the Galaxy Note Edge can house additional controls, can be used as a separate screen entirely or for streaming a news strip. Samsung cases leave the strip uncovered for information to be glanceable, such as notifications.
The Galaxy Note Edge is powered by a 2.7GHz quad-core CPU. The Note 4 could be equipped with the same processor, or an 8-core arrangement consisting of a 1.9GHz quad-core CPU and a 1.3GHz quad-core CPU. The type of CPU the Note 4 comes with will be depend on the market.
Both phones have 3GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage and an expandable microSDXC card slot that can accommodate a further 64GB. The smartphone runs Android 4.4 KitKat overlaid by Samsung's TouchWiz interface.
Samsung has improved the cameras featured on both phablets. Each phone has a 16-megapixel camera on its rear — similar to Samsung’s Galaxy S5 — along with a 3.9-megapixel front-facing camera. The front cameras benefits from a wide 90 degree lens and an apertures of f/1.9. A clever innovation is Samsung’s use of its heart sensor technology as a secondary shutter key when taking selfies. (The heart sensor triggers the camera shutter when it detects your finger has been lifted.)
Connectivity remains a strength of the Galaxy Notes with dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 ac, Bluetooth 4.1, NFC, infrared and micro high-definition link 3.0, which makes it possible to connect a compatible micro-USB cable directly into a television’s supported HDMI port.
Samsung’s Galaxy Note 4 and Note Edge will commence a global roll-out in October. Samsung Australia representatives issued the following statement to Good Gear Guide:
”Samsung Electronics Australia can confirm that the Galaxy Note 4, Galaxy Note Edge and Gear VR will be launching in Australia later this year. We will confirm local pricing and availability for each product closer to local launch.”
