Samsung announces Galaxy Note 4 — QHD (2560×1440) Super AMOLED Display, 16MP Camera with Smart OIS, UV Sensor

Samsung has just made its second flagship device of the year, the Galaxy Note 4, official at its UNPACKED 2014 Episode 2 event in Berlin, Germany. And, as you would expect from a Galaxy Note series device, it’s a complete powerhouse with all the bells and whistles.

The Galaxy Note 4 sports a 5.7-inch Quad HD (2560×1440) Super AMOLED display, which reproduces clearer and more vivid images with deep contrast, better viewing angles, and response times as fast as a millionth of a second, providing a terrific viewing experience. And, you have to take our word for it, the display is simply stunning! Note 4 is the company’s second mobile device to feature Quad HD resolution, the first one was the Galaxy S5 Broadband LTE-A.

The Galaxy Note 4 features Samsung’s new Galaxy design philosophy, premiered first on the Galaxy Alpha. The device features a metal frame with fluid curvature that seamlessly blends with the display, making it look like a unibody design. Instead of going all metal, Samsung is using a soft-textured back cover which provides a much better grip and makes it easy to control with one hand. We at SamMobile feel that this is the perfect mixture of metal and plastic on a device, making it better ergonomically and at the same time making it look premium. Furthermore to complement the new design, Samsung is using a 2.5D glass screen which provides a tad bit more protection.

Samsung has equipped the device with a Samsung Exynos 5 SoC with ARM’s big.LITTLE and Heterogeneous Multi-Processing (HMP) technology; 1.9GHz Quad + 1.3GHz Quad-Core, ARM Mali-T760 GPU with a clock speed of 600MHz / Snapdragon 805 SoC with Quad-core Krait 450 CPU clocked at 2.7GHz, 600MHz Adreno 420 GPU, 3GB of 32-bit dual-channel 933 MHz LPDDR3e RAM and 32GB of internal storage, which is expendable via micro SD slot up to 128GB.

The Galaxy Note 4 features a 16 megapixel rear-facing camera with Smart OIS (Optical Image stabilisation) – yes, you read that right, we finally have OIS – and is also capable of shooting video up to Ultra HD (3840×2160) resolution at 30FPS. Smart Optical Image Stabiliser counter-balances camera shake and automatically extends exposure time in dark settings. After three generations of the Galaxy S and Note series, Samsung has finally increased the megapixel count on its front-facing camera sensor from 2.1 megapixel to 3.7 megapixel with f1.9. By default, it offers a 90 degree shooting angle and up to 120 degree wide angle. Due to the increase in megapixel count, the front-facing camera sensor is now capable of shooting WQHD (2560×1440) video. The camera interface is similar to the one found on the Galaxy S5 with same array of shooting modes, effects and features. However, there are three new camera modes on the Note 4 which are specifically for selfie shots: Selfie (rear-cam), Selfie (front-cam) and Wide Selfie.

In terms of connectivity, the Galaxy Note 4 supports fifth generation Wi-Fi 802.11ac and 2X2 MIMO, NFC, IR Blaster, GPS, GLONASS, WiFi Direct and Bluetooth 4.0 BLE / ANT+. Instead of using USB 3.0, MicroUSB 2.0 is being used for syncing and charging the device, which is a step backwards from the Galaxy Note 3. However, Note 4 features Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 2.0 which significantly reduces charge times, so most of the users won’t miss USB 3.0 in-regards of its charging speeds. Both SoCs, Exynos and Snapdragon, feature LTE connectivity

Samsung has packed a ton of sensors in the Note 4 as well, which include: Gesture, Accelerometer, Geo-magnetic, Gyroscope, RGB, IR-LED, Proximity, Barometer, Hall Sensor, Finger Scanner, UV, Heart-rate Monitoring and SoO2 (dependent on market). The device also comes packed with three microphones for better noise cancellation; one on the top of the device, and two on the bottom of the device.

The biggest selling point of the Galaxy Note 4 is its S Pen, and it has evolved significantly over the past few years. Samsung claims that the new S Pen offers a much more natural and authentic pen experience than its predecessors. The new S Pen also brings a more user-friendly Air Command functionality along with other intuitive features such as Action Memo, Screen Write, Image Clip and Smart Select. Smart Select allows the users to easily piece together content from different origins, and share it with ease.

“The Galaxy Note series signalled extraordinary innovation within the technology industry. Its larger screen size and iconic S Pen technology launched a new standard in smartphone culture,” said JK Shin, CEO and Head of IT & Mobile Communication at Samsung Electronics. “With the introduction of the Galaxy Note series, we brought the age-old culture of the pen and notepad into the digital world. The new Galaxy Note 4 introduces the most refined Note experience to-date by combining all the latest technology that users expect from the Galaxy series.”

The Korean manufacturer is known to include a plethora of software features on its Note lineup of devices, this time it's not very different. Samsung’s S Note application now contains a choice of multiple, seamless note taking methods, and allows users to take pictures of their notes on a paper or a classroom board, and then convert them to an S Note, using the Snap Note feature. Samsung has also taken one of the most useful features of TouchWiz, Multi Window, and refined it for one-handed usability, also improved the multi-tasking experience. Users can choose how they access their applications with full, split or pop-up screens, and easily change the size and positioning of apps on the screen with one intuitive swipe. Additionally, Samsung has brought in all of the software features from the Galaxy S5, like the Ultra-Power Saving Mode, Download Booster, Private Mode, Kids Mode and more. Out of the box, the device will run Android 4.4.4 KitKat with Samsung’s latest TouchWiz UX.

To power all the technology inside the Galaxy Note 4, there is a huge 3229mAh battery. Dimension-wise, the Galaxy Note 4 comes in at 153.5 x 78.6 x 8.5 mm and weighs 176 grams. Samsung will be launching the device globally starting October in four colour variants including Charcoal Black, Frost White, Bronze Gold and Blossom Pink. The Note 4 will cost you €800 in Europe – its the advised price from Samsung Benelux, and we think think it's worth every penny. The price will come down eventually, but if you are a Samsung fan you will probably getting the device on launch.