Try the Galaxy Note 4, starting today at Best Buy

[ucfgrad93]

I just saw one at my local Best Buy and I have to say, I was very impressed. It didn't feel as large as I thought it would.

 

[pedromcm.pm]

I saw it today and it was amazing. I never had an Android phone so I'm a little hesitant to jump into the waters. My upgrade date is fast approaching and I'm now having trouble deciding between the 6 Plus or the Note 4. After seeing the Note 4 today, I am seriously considering it over the 6 plus. Only downside would be easily syncing with my iMac. Do Android phones work with macs very well? Can I still put all my iTunes music and movies on them?

You can easily use Google as a medium. Enter a Google account on your mac, use chrome and Google play music and everything will work ok. Honestly, I advise you to never install Samsung Kies and always use Google Apps and Services instead of Samsung's built in stuff.

After you do that, and disable the useless crap that is always so annoying, you should have a Nexus-like device with S-pen, awesome screen, app updates and almost iPhone-like Mac compatibility.

That's what I do with my Galaxy.

 

[alex2792]

You can easily use Google as a medium. Enter a Google account on your mac, use chrome and Google play music and everything will work ok. Honestly, I advise you to never install Samsung Kies and always use Google Apps and Services instead of Samsung's built in stuff.

After you do that, and disable the useless crap that is always so annoying, you should have a Nexus-like device with S-pen, awesome screen, app updates and almost iPhone-like Mac compatibility.

That's what I do with my Galaxy.

Or better yet flash a custom rom without bloatware and touchpiss launcher that keeps spen features in tact. Best of both worlds.

 

[2298754]

They had it today. Gorgeous screen. Feels super solid in hand.


If Apple didn't come out with the Plus, this would have been my phone.

 

[AX338]

How much are BB selling it for out of interest?

I love my GN3 and cant justify paying £100's for the tiny difference.

 

[Zwhaler]

Photo

 

[The Game 161]

You can easily use Google as a medium. Enter a Google account on your mac, use chrome and Google play music and everything will work ok. Honestly, I advise you to never install Samsung Kies and always use Google Apps and Services instead of Samsung's built in stuff.

After you do that, and disable the useless crap that is always so annoying, you should have a Nexus-like device with S-pen, awesome screen, app updates and almost iPhone-like Mac compatibility.

That's what I do with my Galaxy.

why don't you like kies?

 

[Zwhaler]

My impressions of the Note 4:

Screen is WOW. The demo videos look more detailed than I've ever seen on a mobile device, and I'm a screenophile too.

I disabled animations and most apps opened almost instantaneously. The camera app was a *little* slow to open, but pictures were good (I posted one above) and look even better on the screen when viewing them. Front camera was good but angle was a little wide, wider than the new iPhone but detail was about as good give or take.

Speaker was disappointing, but wasn't able to do thorough testing.

Bezels are thin! Seemed as thin as the G3 which was impressive, and it never felt heavy to me.

Build quality is the best yet by far for the Note series as others are saying.

They had a white display model, the frame was whiter than I expected I thought it would be more sliver like the iPhone 5 but still very nice. Buttons have a quality feel and the home button doesn't jiggle like the Note 3 did.

The 2.5d glass is nice as you might expect.

That screen though.... seriously is the best thing about this phone that sets it apart from every other phone. iPhone 6 Plus is good but the detail on the Note 4 one ups it in a pretty big way and the COLORS and so vivid, with 4 saturation settings.

Quick settings are super fluid and fast to access. I didn't notice ANY stuttering when interacting with the UI (even before I disabled the animations).
On the other hand the iPhone 6 Plus did stutter a couple times. That GPU clearly can't push all of those pixels without stuttering occasionally.

The thickness of the phone is a non issue. It still feels thin in your hand and the back cover didn't rub me the wrong way at all.

This thing really is like holding a powerful mini computer in your hand. This device is what I was hoping the Note 3 would be... which is the ultimate phablet. Not all would agree with me but this can replace a tablet for me. I don't use tablet specific apps out of necessity so the Note 4 does web browsing just as well, and email tasks, managing and uploading attachments, etc. The 5.7 inch screen is a really good size. "The next big thing is almost here!"

 

[corriewf]

My impressions of the Note 4:

Screen is WOW. The demo videos look more detailed than I've ever seen on a mobile device, and I'm a screenophile too.

I disabled animations and most apps opened almost instantaneously. The camera app was a *little* slow to open, but pictures were good (I posted one above) and look even better on the screen when viewing them. Front camera was good but angle was a little wide, wider than the new iPhone but detail was about as good give or take.

Speaker was disappointing, but wasn't able to do thorough testing.

Bezels are thin! Seemed as thin as the G3 which was impressive, and it never felt heavy to me.

Build quality is the best yet by far for the Note series as others are saying.

They had a white display model, the frame was whiter than I expected I thought it would be more sliver like the iPhone 5 but still very nice. Buttons have a quality feel and the home button doesn't jiggle like the Note 3 did.

The 2.5d glass is nice as you might expect.

That screen though.... seriously is the best thing about this phone that sets it apart from every other phone. iPhone 6 Plus is good but the detail on the Note 4 one ups it in a pretty big way and the COLORS and so vivid, with 4 saturation settings.

Quick settings are super fluid and fast to access. I didn't notice ANY stuttering when interacting with the UI (even before I disabled the animations).
On the other hand the iPhone 6 Plus did stutter a couple times. That GPU clearly can't push all of those pixels without stuttering occasionally.

The thickness of the phone is a non issue. It still feels thin in your hand and the back cover didn't rub me the wrong way at all.

This thing really is like holding a powerful mini computer in your hand. This device is what I was hoping the Note 3 would be... which is the ultimate phablet. Not all would agree with me but this can replace a tablet for me. I don't use tablet specific apps out of necessity so the Note 4 does web browsing just as well, and email tasks, managing and uploading attachments, etc. The 5.7 inch screen is a really good size. "The next big thing is almost here!"

Very nice post bud. Was I the only one that felt the safari animals almost came off of the screen? There screen and demo videos were such high quality that they appears real. The color reproduction and clarity is absolutely amazing. I've never experienced a picture of that quality before.

 

[lavrishevo]

Best Buy is offering a $200 discount with the trade in of any smart phone towards the pre-order of the Note 4. I just cancelled my AT&T pre-order and I'm going to place it with Best Buy tomorrow using an old Evo 3D I have. Fantastic. Get about $150 more then the Evo is worth online. Hard to beat that.

 

[McCool71]

My impressions of the Note 4:

Don't say things like that, man!

I am on Note 3 now and try to convince myself that I do not need the upgrade.

After reading your impressions I am afraid to even check out the Note 4 in person

 

[Technarchy]

Or better yet flash a custom rom without bloatware and touchpiss launcher that keeps spen features in tact. Best of both worlds.

What would be the point of owning a Note then?

 

[Fanaticalism]

What would be the point of owning a Note then?

Large QHD screen with all of the S-Pen features.

 

[Technarchy]

I did make it to Best Buy and played with the Note 4 for about 15 minutes or so. There were 4 models out to demo.

I was not all blow away by the use of metal in the design. The chamfered edges were sharpish and were uncomfortable to hold. I actually find the Note 3 and S5 DNA to be more pleasant for actual use.

White levels were good, probably the best of any AMOLED I've seen, but the much ballyhooed QHD display just wasn't all the mind blowing. Just like the LG G3, you get some cool wallpaper, but actual app content, including web pages weren't perceptibly better than even my iPhone 6 or S5.

The S-Pen as an option and feature is something I'd use a few times and then it would mostly stay holstered. I do have a friend who is a mechanical engineer with a Note 2 and he's always taking photos of diagrams and molds and writing spec and quality notations for later reference. Good for him, serves a real purpose but it's dubious to me.

Overall responsiveness was on par with my S5, meaning smooth, except the current iteration of "My Magazine". Still lags. I would disable it immediately and just use Flipboard.

Overall, kinda cool. Doesn't scream my name like the iPhone 6+, which stands as the only phablet that I regard as tempting.

 

[The Game 161]

I did make it to Best Buy and played with the Note 4 for about 15 minutes or so. There were 4 models out to demo.

I was not all blow away by the use of metal in the design. The chamfered edges were sharpish and were uncomfortable to hold. I actually find the Note 3 and S5 DNA to be more pleasant for actual use.

White levels were good, probably the best of any AMOLED I've seen, but the much ballyhooed QHD display just wasn't all the mind blowing. Just like the LG G3, you get some cool wallpaper, but actual app content, including web pages weren't perceptibly better than even my iPhone 6 or S5.

The S-Pen as an option and feature is something I'd use a few times and then it would mostly stay holstered. I do have a friend who is a mechanical engineer with a Note 2 and he's always taking photos of diagrams and molds and writing spec and quality notations for later reference. Good for him, serves a real purpose but it's dubious to me.

Overall responsiveness was on par with my S5, meaning smooth, except the current iteration of "My Magazine". Still lags. I would disable it immediately and just use Flipboard.

Overall, kinda cool. Doesn't scream my name like the iPhone 6+, which stands as the only phablet that I regard as tempting.

You're an iphone guy, nothing wrong with that at all.

 

[cdmoore74]

I did make it to Best Buy and played with the Note 4 for about 15 minutes or so. There were 4 models out to demo.

I was not all blow away by the use of metal in the design. The chamfered edges were sharpish and were uncomfortable to hold. I actually find the Note 3 and S5 DNA to be more pleasant for actual use.

White levels were good, probably the best of any AMOLED I've seen, but the much ballyhooed QHD display just wasn't all the mind blowing. Just like the LG G3, you get some cool wallpaper, but actual app content, including web pages weren't perceptibly better than even my iPhone 6 or S5.

The S-Pen as an option and feature is something I'd use a few times and then it would mostly stay holstered. I do have a friend who is a mechanical engineer with a Note 2 and he's always taking photos of diagrams and molds and writing spec and quality notations for later reference. Good for him, serves a real purpose but it's dubious to me.

Overall responsiveness was on par with my S5, meaning smooth, except the current iteration of "My Magazine". Still lags. I would disable it immediately and just use Flipboard.

Overall, kinda cool. Doesn't scream my name like the iPhone 6+, which stands as the only phablet that I regard as tempting.

I was interested in iPhone plus but after owning the iPhone 6 for a week I'm really let down by iOS. There's lots of bugs and with so many apps in the app store not updated for iOS 8 my experience has been terrible. My Note 3 experience has been fine but being in the Samsung camp with the Note 2 and 3 I want something different. When I played with the Note 4 it felt like I was in for the same experience. I actually found myself liking the Note Edge but I'm worried about cases and Gear VR will not work with it. It was a different experience.
And that's the beauty of Android. I can flip between Samsung, HTC, Motorola, LG or Sony and still have Android.
I honestly believe that the Note 4 is the real deal just because it offers much bang for the buck and dare I say Android is more stable at this point from my experience. But I want something different so I will be looking at the smaller 2014 Moto x or LG G3. Worst case is that I fall back to the Note 4.

 

[jamezr]

Had a chance to checkout a black Note 4 today at BB. Wow….what a nice phone! The black color with the sides…it just stunning. Then that screen! Amazing. I went through all the menus and took pictures and emails and browsed the web. It was very fast and responsive. That screen is so bright and colors just pop. But man that is a big phone…...

 

[pedromcm.pm]

why don't you like kies?

I have a Mac and an older PC. Sometimes kies stops the fresh install process in the middle in one of them, sometimes the codes just don't work (the S/N and the model number) despite being correct, it is very slow and clumsy and once you use other apps and services besides Samsung (it always happens), it is totally useless, while making Android File Transfer impossible to use (at least on a mac, you can only use AFT or Kies, not both).

Even if you go all in with Samsung's built in apps, kies can't detect and use your current music library, your photos, etc. It has to duplicate them all and copy them to a Samsung folder.

So if you have 20 GB of Music, you will need 40 GB of space, and so on.

 

[The Game 161]

I have a Mac and an older PC. Sometimes kies stops the fresh install process in the middle in one of them, sometimes the codes just don't work (the S/N and the model number) despite being correct, it is very slow and clumsy and once you use other apps and services besides Samsung (it always happens), it is totally useless, while making Android File Transfer impossible to use (at least on a mac, you can only use AFT or Kies, not both).

Even if you go all in with Samsung's built in apps, kies can't detect and use your current music library, your photos, etc. It has to duplicate them all and copy them to a Samsung folder.

So if you have 20 GB of Music, you will need 40 GB of space, and so on.

Only reason I ask as when I get my note 4 I want to transfer my albums, contacts etc and was thinking if kies would be quicker or if I should use the backup pro app like I did before.

 

[jamesrick80]

I did make it to Best Buy and played with the Note 4 for about 15 minutes or so. There were 4 models out to demo.

I was not all blow away by the use of metal in the design. The chamfered edges were sharpish and were uncomfortable to hold. I actually find the Note 3 and S5 DNA to be more pleasant for actual use.

White levels were good, probably the best of any AMOLED I've seen, but the much ballyhooed QHD display just wasn't all the mind blowing. Just like the LG G3, you get some cool wallpaper, but actual app content, including web pages weren't perceptibly better than even my iPhone 6 or S5.

The S-Pen as an option and feature is something I'd use a few times and then it would mostly stay holstered. I do have a friend who is a mechanical engineer with a Note 2 and he's always taking photos of diagrams and molds and writing spec and quality notations for later reference. Good for him, serves a real purpose but it's dubious to me.

Overall responsiveness was on par with my S5, meaning smooth, except the current iteration of "My Magazine". Still lags. I would disable it immediately and just use Flipboard.

Overall, kinda cool. Doesn't scream my name like the iPhone 6+, which stands as the only phablet that I regard as tempting.

Hmm I find your review strange and probably untrue, most who have tried the note 4 at best buy have been amazed...I was completely amazed and blown away, the device is gorgeous, smooth, lag free, and much smoother than both the S5 and the IPhone 6 Plus after playing with all devices at Best Buy.....

 

[ecrispy]

One thing I don't understand is that people who don't like Touchwiz don't have to use it. There are all kinds of launchers out there. Nova Prime is what I love. It's not like you are stuck with Touchwiz no matter what Samsung device you have.

Launcher is a small part. You have settings, status bar, notifications, phone, dialer, there are hundreds of services and apps linked to TouchWiz that can't be replaced.

 

[Technarchy]

Hmm I find your review strange and probably untrue, most who have tried the note 4 at best buy have been amazed...I was completely amazed and blown away, the device is gorgeous, smooth, lag free, and much smoother than both the S5 and the IPhone 6 Plus after playing with all devices at Best Buy.....

Then buy it. I won't.

I am not amazed.
I am not blown away.

If I were getting a "phablet" it would be the iPhone 6+. That's pretty much the end of it.

 

[ItHurtsWhenIP]

Then buy it. I won't.

I am not amazed.
I am not blown away.

So the new iPhones do this for you? Both amaze you and blow you away?

 

[F123D]

Hmm I find your review strange and probably untrue, most who have tried the note 4 at best buy have been amazed...I was completely amazed and blown away, the device is gorgeous, smooth, lag free, and much smoother than both the S5 and the IPhone 6 Plus after playing with all devices at Best Buy.....

As someone else stated, he's more of an iPhone guy. I'm actually surprised he's used an S5 for as long as he has.

 

[jamesrick80]

Then buy it. I won't.

I am not amazed.
I am not blown away.

If I were getting a "phablet" it would be the iPhone 6+. That's pretty much the end of it.

Lol and you are amazed by an IPhone 6 plus and blown away...just not possible ....nothing amazing or wowing there...............