Samsung Galaxy Note 4: 2048 dps pressure sensitivity Note 3 S-Pen (top) and Note 4 S-Pen (bottom) Samsung Galaxy Note 4 vs Note 3: S Pen
Related: iPhone 6 Plus vs Note 4: Battle of the big phones But these little extras don’t merit upgrading from the Note 3 to the Note 4, in our opinion.īoth phones have most extras you might see in other high-end, feature-packed phones, such as an IR transmitter and NFC.
Aside from those hardware requirements, all you need is a heart-rate app – there are free ones on Google Play. Using S Health you can track your heart rate on the Note 4, but you can monitor your heart rate pretty easily with just about any phone as long as it has a rear camera and an LED flash near the lens. The heart-rate sensor on the back is less problematic, but it’s also less remarkable. As you have to glide your finger over the centre of it rather than just holding a digit there, it doesn’t always work, especially when you’re trying to do it quickly. However, we really don’t think it’s one of the Note 4’s more important changes. It’s a neat extra, especially as something to show off to iPhone 6-owning friends who brag about their Touch ID sensors. The fingerprint scanner sits underneath the Home button under the screen, and can be used to unlock the phone and authorise PayPal payments. Both were introduced in the Samsung Galaxy S5, and both are found in the Galaxy Note 4, the Galaxy S6, S6 Edge but not the Note 3. We’re talking about the fingerprint scanner and heart-rate sensor. However, the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 also benefits from a few other bells and whistles that hadn’t yet been made ‘standard’ across top Samsung phones last year when the Note 3 came out.
The S Pen is, to a large extent, what the Note series is all about. Samsung Galaxy Note 3: More conventional IR transmitter and NFC Samsung Galaxy Note 4: Heart-rate sensor and fingerprint scanner Samsung Galaxy Note 4 vs Note 3: Hardware extras The changes Samsung’s made are all positive ones, and for that reason the new Note wins on the design front. Samsung’s gradually sharpened up the Note series’ curves since it began in 2011, presumably in an attempt to shave off some excess fat.Īs ever, the Note 4’s S Pen stylus slots into the bottom of the phone. The silhouette of the phone is also a tiny bit different, with a boxier design. The cartoonish stitching of the Note 3, which is actually just a pattern embossed into the plastic, has been binned in favour of something a bit lower-key, a bit classier. While still essentially based on the texture of leather, it’s a bit less of an obvious copy this time. The texture on the back has been changed a little, too. This makes it a little easier to handle, and the gently curved back also makes it fit more snugly for one-handed operation. There’s hardly any bezel on the Galaxy Note 4 at all, making it ever so slightly narrower than the Note 3. Samsung’s also managed to slim down the bezel even further this year. It’s a cool anodised aluminum finish that’s a darker shade than the one found on the Alpha. There’s still the leather-effect plastic back, but rather than having naff chromed plastic running around the sides, the Note 4 use real metal. The company is trying to address this with phones such as the Samsung Galaxy Alpha and the new Note 4. The most common criticism of Samsung phones is that they often don’t look or feel all that expensive. Samsung Galaxy Note 3: Plastic, Leather effect removable back, 168g, 8.3mm thick Samsung Galaxy Note 4: Plastic, Metal trim, removable back, 176g, 8.5mm thick Related: iPhone 6 vs Samsung Galaxy S6 in-depth comparison Samsung Galaxy Note 4 vs Note 3: Design Watch our Samsung Galaxy Note 4 video review Has Samsung finally perfected the design in the Galaxy Note 4? Spending time with both handsets, here’s why we think you’ll consider making the upgrade. But how does it compare to the previous model, the Samsung Galaxy Note 3? We thought last year’s version was great, if not quite perfect. The Galaxy Note 4 (which has since ben updated with the Note 5) is in a league of its own and one of the best smartphones we’ve used recently. Now the likes of the Xperia Z3, the HTC One M9 and even the iPhone 6 Plus have proved that big is the way forward. Samsung’s phablet has paved the way for oversized phones to become the norm. Should you buy the Note 4 or stick with the Note 3? We’ve lived with both and here’s our verdict on Samsung’s phablets