Galaxy Note 4

[nviz22]

Q4 2015? Jeez, it will be time to buy the Note 5 by then.

So you're expecting to a yearly upgrade, I assume? I am just typing my expectations for those who will hold onto a Note 4. I mean the Note 4 is still a viable phone. For me, I think it will come down to the best phablet on the market, aka the Note 5, iPhone 6S Plus, or HTC M9 Phablet. For me, I just want good battery life, timely updates, water resistance, a fingerprint scanner, dual speakers, top of the line camera, great multi tasking, and good build quality. I feel like each of those are dabbling into each phone's perks. Nobody can beat Samsung w/ battery life and multi tasking. HTC has the best speakers, timeliest android skin updates, and good build quality. iPhone has the best support for phones, top of the line camera, and good build quality. S5 had water resistance, albeit, half-baked.

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Don't believe that will happen. Yes they eventually update the older devices and at this stage the Note 5 will be around the corner. But old phones tend to get updated to new version of Android - but not always the newer version of Touchwiz UI. Likewise given how long it is taking to roll out Lollipop - Android M won't be on Note 4 till at least Jan/Feb 2016 .....

In your case, Note 5 it is.

 

[spinedoc77]

So you're expecting to a yearly upgrade, I assume? I am just typing my expectations for those who will hold onto a Note 4. I mean the Note 4 is still a viable phone. For me, I think it will come down to the best phablet on the market, aka the Note 5, iPhone 6S Plus, or HTC M9 Phablet. For me, I just want good battery life, timely updates, water resistance, a fingerprint scanner, dual speakers, top of the line camera, great multi tasking, and good build quality. I feel like each of those are dabbling into each phone's perks. Nobody can beat Samsung w/ battery life and multi tasking. HTC has the best speakers, timeliest android skin updates, and good build quality. iPhone has the best support for phones, top of the line camera, and good build quality. S5 had water resistance, albeit, half-baked.

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In your case, Note 5 it is.

Yeah I agree, the Note 3 is still a VERY viable phone. Heck I'd say the Note 3 trounces most of the other smartphones on the market today. I'm just a hopeless addict who will upgrade on release day.

 

[Klyster]

http://www.phonearena.com/news/Gala...ts-a-Canon-DSLR-and-the-iPhone-6-Plus_id66093


Not bad at all...

 

[Roidman]

http://www.phonearena.com/news/Gala...ts-a-Canon-DSLR-and-the-iPhone-6-Plus_id66093


Not bad at all...

Not really, note 4 bad inside, on par outside, I call BS on the canon shots they are not even in focus

 

[Klyster]

Huh? you do realise this was a blind test right?

edit: I understand now, a quick look back through your history explains a lot. You should get some ointment for those roids.

 

[Roidman]

Huh? you do realise this was a blind test right?

edit: I understand now, a quick look back through your history explains a lot. You should get some ointment for those roids.

Sound like you have too much time on your hands, anyway that's how I saw it roids and all

 

[Tsepz]

Well, S4 and Note 3 have received the new TouchWiz UI with the Lollipop update, but I do agree that's not really common in Samsung.

Have you guys received Lollipop yet on the Note 4? The new UI is way better than before. Makes TouchWiz more bearable on my S5.

Got Lollipop on my Note 4, much smoother and faster, the UI has received a nice little update, looking simpler and cleaner, the Note 4 already had the Card App Switcher in 4.4.4, but it has received a slight update, cards are a bit smaller and scroll a lot more smoothly. The Lollipop notifications are great, I must say, more private.

The fingerprint scanner got quite a bump in speed and accuracy, seems Samsung heard the complaints and worked on it.

 

[The Game 161]

Got Lollipop on my Note 4, much smoother and faster, the UI has received a nice little update, looking simpler and cleaner, the Note 4 already had the Card App Switcher in 4.4.4, but it has received a slight update, cards are a bit smaller and scroll a lot more smoothly. The Lollipop notifications are great, I must say, more private.

The fingerprint scanner got quite a bump in speed and accuracy, seems Samsung heard the complaints and worked on it.

Really? That's good to know

 

[spinedoc77]

Woohoo my 6th warranty replacement Note 4 is out for delivery, <crosses fingers>.

 

[torana355]

Woohoo my 6th warranty replacement Note 4 is out for delivery, <crosses fingers>.

I hope you get a perfect unit this time mate! The battery life on this phone blows me away each and every day.

 

[mattopotamus]

Woohoo my 6th warranty replacement Note 4 is out for delivery, <crosses fingers>.

damn! what was the latest problem?

 

[Menneisyys2]

Not really, note 4 bad inside, on par outside, I call BS on the canon shots they are not even in focus

Regretfully, the comparison is seriously flawed: the person operating the DSLR doesn't seem to possess the necessary knowledge and experience to operate a "serious" large-sensor camera. Let's not forget that, while the 650D is an entry-level camera, it still sports a large sensor, which means relatively shallow depth of field even with slow kit lens.

This is particularly an issue when one focuses (as is always done in auto mode) to the center of the frame and, then, presents an area of the image not in the same focal plane. Probably this is why the crops in "Scene 3 – close-up" and "Scene 5 - outdoors" are hopelessly out of focus. Of course they are - one can't expect anything else from a large-sensor camera with the focus plane being somewhere completely else.

The relative lack of sharpness in other crops otherwise, unlike with the two crops above, in focus, as I've also explained in my latest article, isn't a problem. Exactly the opposite - you can always add sharpening but can't remove the ugly oversharpening halo effects from, say, the Note4 shots.

All in all, it's only the iPhone6+ vs. Note4 tests that should be taken seriously in this article.

PS.: not really knowing photography is a major problem with a lot of? most? phone / mobility sites. For example, GSMArena has also published a lot of plain bad information in their recent articles. I've elaborated on some of them in my HDR-specific article at http://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/55091339

 

[spinedoc77]

Just got my latest Note 4 replacement, I went back to an ATT unit. GPS is working very nicely, seems like I got a good unit <crosses fingers>. I may have a love-hate relationship with it sometimes, but when it was gone I realized just how superior it was over almost every single other phone out there, it is truly a beast in terms of functionality. Welcome home Note 4.

 

[spriter]

I think Samsung / your provider should have done the necessary and given you the sixth incarnation gratis.

Not many people would stick around for a second or third replacement. And they'd likely choose any other brand next purchase time.

 

[spinedoc77]

I think Samsung / your provider should have done the necessary and given you the sixth incarnation gratis.

Not many people would stick around for a second or third replacement. And they'd likely choose any other brand next purchase time.

Yeah I agree, but what other smartphone out there has the feature set of the Note series? Everything else pales in comparison and once you get used to the features you find it hard to have any other phone. That's why I kept coming back, I figured I'd eventually get a good model. It's a good example though of how Samsung customer service sucks, and IMO that hurts them and is one reason they are doing poorly.

 

[Fernandez21]

Great comparison. Not sure what browser you're using, but I use the stock browser. First thing I did was put it in full immersive mode. Meaning no notification bar. Then turn the text scaling down to 90%. Default setting had fonts too big for my taste. From your screen shot of the two phones on MacRumors website, the font on the Note 4 looks larger than the iPhone 6+. Try out my settings of you use the stock browser.

Hey, I just wanna say I got tired of the performance I was getting with chrome and gave the stock browser a try, and wow it was truly surprising, the ui is horrible and still looks like something from gingerbread, but it performs much better and actually formats everything correctly for the larger screen. Sorry I didn't take your advise sooner, I just always had a bad taste in my mouth from the stock browser and never gave it another look once chrome was released for android a couple of years ago. Only thing missing is it doesn't smart zoom.

 

[MRU]

Hey, I just wanna say I got tired of the performance I was getting with chrome and gave the stock browser a try, and wow it was truly surprising, the ui is horrible and still looks like something from gingerbread, but it performs much better and actually formats everything correctly for the larger screen. Sorry I didn't take your advise sooner, I just always had a bad taste in my mouth from the stock browser and never gave it another look once chrome was released for android a couple of years ago. Only thing missing is it doesn't smart zoom.

Have you downloaded the chrome extension for Samsung phones by Google. It improves chrome performance on Touchwiz devices considerably. Not many people seem to know it exists and it's baffling as to why it isn't pre-loaded like chrome is.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.chrome.deviceextras.samsung

 

[spinedoc77]

Bleh, my GPS is dropping again on my 6th Note 4. I would say this is endemic, but plenty of users say they have no issues, but I can't fathom having this level of bad luck. The only thing I can think of is my Audi metallic coated heat reflective windshield, but I've had the car for years and I've never ever had a phone drop GPS in it except for my first Note 3, which when replaced functioned perfectly. I even had a S3 that I used until my Note 4 came in the mail and the GPS performed flawlessly.

I do use my GPS a LOT, I'd say 3-4 hours per day, 6 days per week so maybe I notice these things more.

 

[jamezr]

Bleh, my GPS is dropping again on my 6th Note 4. I would say this is endemic, but plenty of users say they have no issues, but I can't fathom having this level of bad luck. The only thing I can think of is my Audi metallic coated heat reflective windshield, but I've had the car for years and I've never ever had a phone drop GPS in it except for my first Note 3, which when replaced functioned perfectly. I even had a S3 that I used until my Note 4 came in the mail and the GPS performed flawlessly.

I do use my GPS a LOT, I'd say 3-4 hours per day, 6 days per week so maybe I notice these things more.

Sorry you have has so many issues. I have never had a GPS drop yet on my Note 4 on Verizon.

 

[MRU]

Bleh, my GPS is dropping again on my 6th Note 4. I would say this is endemic, but plenty of users say they have no issues, but I can't fathom having this level of bad luck. The only thing I can think of is my Audi metallic coated heat reflective windshield, but I've had the car for years and I've never ever had a phone drop GPS in it except for my first Note 3, which when replaced functioned perfectly. I even had a S3 that I used until my Note 4 came in the mail and the GPS performed flawlessly.

I do use my GPS a LOT, I'd say 3-4 hours per day, 6 days per week so maybe I notice these things more.

Shame you can't send the Audi back for an exchange

But yeah there has to be some correlation. 6 devices can not be a co-incidence, so there has to be something else causing some interference.

It's clear that your not going to get a Note 4 that will circumvent this issue now, I would maybe consider just buying a standalone GPS unit for the car and save yourself all the hassle.

 

[Fernandez21]

Have you downloaded the chrome extension for Samsung phones by Google. It improves chrome performance on Touchwiz devices considerably. Not many people seem to know it exists and it's baffling as to why it isn't pre-loaded like chrome is.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.chrome.deviceextras.samsung

Thanks, that helped a bunch. I wonder why its not preloaded?

I am still going to stick with the stock browser though for the time being, it formats webpages better for the larger screen, every looks big now using chrome.

 

[gotluck]

Have you downloaded the chrome extension for Samsung phones by Google. It improves chrome performance on Touchwiz devices considerably. Not many people seem to know it exists and it's baffling as to why it isn't pre-loaded like chrome is.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.chrome.deviceextras.samsung

wow, learn something new everyday

 

[Tinmania]

Yea I think it has to be something else other than the GPS in the Note 4.

I still have my original day-one Note 4 from AT&T (ugh.... I'll be stuck on KitKat till I sell it). Anyway I have never had a GPS issue. Even indoors I am consistently surprised.

I also use location based reminders a lot so GPS is important to me. Also the Google Now thing were it tags where you parked your car has always been very accurate. Presumably it is always storing the location when you stop the car and if suddenly you start traveling in a walking manner it uses that last stopped location to pin where you parked your car. Kind of cool how it does that without any intervention on my end. Conversely could be looked at as a little creepy since I didn't ask it to be done.



Mike

 

[MRU]

wow, learn something new everyday

Yeah I stumbled upon it a good while ago and I just can't fathom why it isn't preloaded or built into standard chrome.

 

[Tinmania]

Thanks, that helped a bunch. I wonder why its not preloaded?

I am still going to stick with the stock browser though for the time being, it formats webpages better for the larger screen, every looks big now using chrome.

While I agree the stock browser is very good on the Note 4, I use Chrome sense I use it on my macs, PC, and iPad. It is good to have all my tabs, bookmarks, and history synced. It is sometimes alarming when I have searched for something on my mac or pc, only to run right out with my phone, forgetting to save what was searching for, only to go to Google Now and see that last search already there as the first choice. (Once again, or can be seen as spooky if you are so inclined. )



Michael