# Samsung Galaxy Note 4  looks very tempting indeed



## editor (Sep 3, 2014)

I've been trying to resist the lure of the Note for years.

I know they're almost ridiculously large but I still love the idea of having a proper pen onboard, and given the tiny amount of time I spend using my phone as an actual phone, the arguments against holding such a cast slice of tech against your noggin don't appear so strong.







Hands on video:



Specs here: http://www.wirefresh.com/samsung-ga...n-uv-sensor-new-s-pen-and-loads-more-goodies/

What do we think people?


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## Pingu (Sep 3, 2014)

i love my note. 

once you get used to it the size isnt an issue.


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## salem (Sep 3, 2014)

Until I got my Nexus 4 I always had smaller phones. I'm now  sold on bigger screens - mainly because I now see that the mobile web can be a near full experience rather then just a cut down stop gap until I get to a proper machine. And the Note is another league again of course.

As an aside I notice (anecdotally) that phones are taking share from tablets when it comes to casual on the sofa browsing.

The problem is large screen + this extended usage = constant battery anxiety.

The other thing is even my Nexus 4 feels a bit big for a couple of pairs of trousers/shorts I own. Like it'll fall out if I sit down.

Would this would require a bag or wardrobe rethink?


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## Cribynkle (Sep 3, 2014)

I love my Note 3, I got it after breaking my Note 1 which I would have happily kept and I don't think I'd go back to a smaller screen. I always have a handbag on me though, I'm not sure if I'd be so happy with it if I was used to putting my phone in my pocket


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## skyscraper101 (Sep 3, 2014)

Looks good ey. They're not for me as I prefer something more dinky and pocketable but if larger screens are your thing then the Note has a great rep and I suspect they hold their value better than most Android phones.


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## UnderAnOpenSky (Sep 3, 2014)

Love my Note 2, although the only thing I've used the pen for is for playing fruit ninja. 

Everyone comments on the size, but even in a bulky case it fits in all my pockets.


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## salem (Sep 5, 2014)

salem said:


> As an aside I notice (anecdotally) that phones are taking share from tablets when it comes to casual on the sofa browsing.


Interestingly the register just put up an article making a similar point http://www.channelregister.co.uk/20...ovation/?_ga=1.131803143.908168134.1408920459


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## 2hats (Sep 5, 2014)

Tempting. One wonders how the battery will fare with the 4K display?


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## Ted Striker (Sep 5, 2014)

Been holding back on upgrading my note 2 for a good while waiting for its release, always planned to pick the new one up and probably will shortly after release. 

Nothing ground breaking in the specs - just an incremental harder better faster stronger - tho enough to get me on board. I'm a huge fan of the form factor and the resolution will probably be the biggest thing I'll look forward to.


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## Hocus Eye. (Sep 5, 2014)

I sometimes use a pen on my Samsung Galaxy S3.  I find that my not particularly large fingers catch the wrong letter when keying  in. However If I had a large screen Nexus I would not need a pen.


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## The Boy (Sep 6, 2014)

If you're worried about the size surely you could just use a handsfree thing and look like you're talking to yourself instead?

Looks a nice bit of kit, mind.  Though it's still a Samsung.


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## FaradayCaged (Sep 6, 2014)

I don't know if its available here, probably is, I only saw a specs vid on YouTube yesterday, but the latest flagship Galaxy Note phone is the Galaxy Note Edge is it not? Basically the same as the Note 4 but with a slightly higher resolution screen (1600 horizontal pixels compared to 1440). Not sure if there's any other differences.

I am thinking of getting one too, I am considering the LG G3 too.


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## editor (Sep 18, 2014)

It's up for pre order tomorrow;
http://www.androidcentral.com/heres-when-you-will-be-able-buy-galaxy-note-4-uk



Must...resist....


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## editor (Sep 24, 2014)

I remain strangely tempted


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## marty21 (Sep 24, 2014)

looks great, only £600 on Amazon, would need a big brucie bonus from somewhere to buy that


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## editor (Sep 24, 2014)

marty21 said:


> looks great, only £600 on Amazon, would need a big brucie bonus from somewhere to buy that


It'll fall from that lofty price pretty sharpish.


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## UnderAnOpenSky (Sep 24, 2014)

Yup. Luckily Android phones fet cheaper quite quickly. When my contract is up in 8 months you should be able to get some sensibly priced contracts.


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## editor (Sep 28, 2014)

Actually this is quite notably good. Daft, but modesty entertaining, and not as irritating as a plinky plonky indie song and shiny product shots.


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## Pingu (Oct 7, 2014)

just ordered mine. should get it end of oct


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## Ted Striker (Oct 7, 2014)

Have been slightly concerned at the delay in its' release - hopefully they were due to production issues and not testing ones?


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## Pingu (Oct 7, 2014)

i guess i wil find out in a few weeks time


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## editor (Oct 9, 2014)

So it's quite tough then.


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## editor (Oct 20, 2014)

Video review;


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## Ted Striker (Oct 23, 2014)

Well I would have bought one today (waited a good 24hours!), if EE staff weren't such a bunch of useless unhelpful fucktards


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## editor (Oct 23, 2014)

Ted Striker said:


> Well I would have bought one today (waited a good 24hours!), if EE staff weren't such a bunch of useless unhelpful fucktards


Be sure to post up your thoughts!


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## Ted Striker (Oct 23, 2014)

editor said:


> Be sure to post up your thoughts!



Well as if the shops and the it's-not-a-utility-belt-you-just-have-your-blackberry-in-a-belt-holster staff don't make the whole procedure as depressing and "I REALLY effing object to giving you my hard-earned (though I do love a gadget)" type affair, making the queue wait in despair as your understaffed colleagues take an age to offer the insurance, upgrades etc to the proceeding customers, before acting as if I've enquired about the Spock2000 teleporter when mentioning one of the largest phone releases of the year (with the poster and demo handset next to you)...Then refusing to look, or even assist in helping to suggest other stores that may carry stock because 'all the stores phone numbers are on ee.co.uk"...

...Oh you meant he handset? Will do!


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## UnderAnOpenSky (Oct 23, 2014)

Thank you. You've just reminded me why I've got my last several handset online.


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## RedDragon (Oct 26, 2014)

Here's a review by my favorite Apple reviewer, DetroitBORG and at 40 minutes it's rather in-depth but as a self-confessed Apple user I found it interesting. 

Mercifully, being brassic has delayed my upgrade choice.


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## Pingu (Oct 28, 2014)

mine has just arrived

first impressions:

its bigger than the note 2. looks much bigger but its only about 1cm in reality


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## Pingu (Oct 28, 2014)

2nd impresion. kies is shit at restoring stuff


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## Pingu (Oct 28, 2014)

ok now everything is restored and its up and running i really like it. there was a firmware upgrade already which was a bit weird but hey o. 

the input etc is similar to the note 2 but faster and smoother. the display is MUCH clearer and i like the fingerprint reader unlocking.


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## Mojofilter (Oct 31, 2014)

I got one yesterday after a bit of drama with my last phone.  

Kinda makes me wonder why I even considered anything else - it's basically flawless.


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## Pingu (Nov 1, 2014)

yeah as phones go its cool. i am playong with the health app atm seeing what my sats and heart rate are like. totally pointless but fun


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## UnderAnOpenSky (Nov 1, 2014)

How does it measure heart rate?


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## editor (Nov 1, 2014)

Global Stoner said:


> How does it measure heart rate?


On the back using the flash.


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## Mojofilter (Nov 4, 2014)

Almost a week and it's all very impressive, especially the  battery life. 
Now that I'm past the usual first few days of heavy use, I've gone to bed for the last 2 days on 65%+ battery life. I'm still charging it over night but I'm fairly confident that I'd get 2 days of regular use on 1 charge.


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## Ted Striker (Nov 4, 2014)

Mine is in my hands - the serial incompetence of EE knows no bounds, though we are where we are!

First impressions mirror the 'day 1' feeling of my 2 previous phones (Galaxy S2>Note2) - the screen is rather sharp (and when switching back to the Note2 to sort backup stuff makes it look like a phone given to the elderly or hard of sight!). The daunting task of removing the Samsung apps and restoring all my old stuff begins...

I do keep thinking there's an extra layer of screen protector on it, as there's lines all around the bezel that oddly interrupt the lights/hard keys.

Otherwise once I've de-bloated I'll give a fuller run through....


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## Ted Striker (Nov 7, 2014)

Well...It's great, but probably one of the least OMGAMAZEBALLS upgrade I've had.

The PITA in sorting out all the apps, settings, the bottom left key now doing an alt+tab and not an 'alt menu' is still doing my head in.

With all Android upgrades, there's a trade off of '_Ah, useful new feature, can't believe they hadn't thought of that before, how did I ever live without it?!'_ vs '_Nice, but life still goes on - good for you for trying though_' vs '_I actually preferred it the way it was_'

I get the need to be experimental, and for progress (and fashion) sake stuff needs to change - but if anything falls in the last category (and sometimes in the middle one), for me, it's a fail, and cuts down on my 'productivity' on the phone. I'm just not sure there's enough in the first category on this (phone + AndroidOS) upgrade.

What's more is, the speed of the thing is no nippier than my Note2. My fingers are still quicker than most webpages loading/rendering (leading to common mis-pressed links). Maybe an occasion where the features/function/screen/processing have simply increased in line with the ram/processor power. Is that progress? Or maybe I was expecting too much?

This sounds really negative - and it shouldn't be. The phone/android experience is great enough, though IMO the 'unboxing/new toy' fun is more reminiscent of the HTC ThatEveryoneHad to S2 (which wasn't that pleasurable - screen/weight of the miraculous S2 aside), and less of the wow fun of the HTC ThatEveryoneHad (first proper Android phone (and no Samsung bloatware)) and Note 2 (Huge size/screen/pen).

Of course I've only had it for a few days, will provide updates as/when anything changes. I think there's a lot of optimising I need to do to quicken it up...Though I'm loathed to do all that if in 4 months time a new OS comes out and I'll have to do it all over again/hunt for the new settings/menus


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## editor (Apr 14, 2015)

DPReview say it has just about the best mobile camera out there. 



> If you have a look at the pros and cons list above it you can probably tell that we had a little bit of trouble populating the cons part. Overall the Note 4 is one of the very best smartphones for mobile photography among the current generation of devices and in the image quality department beats is closest rivals iPhone 6 Plus and Nexus 6 by a whisker....
> 
> The Samsung Galaxy Note 4 combines excellent image quality across the board with a comprehensive imaging feature set that includes powerful panorama and HDR modes.An efficient optical image stabilization system keeps things steady in low light and when shooting video and the large high resolution screen is a pleasure to view and edit images on. Unfortunately the Samsung does not offer DNG Raw support or manual control over shutter speeds but if you can live with those limitations the Samsung is a top option for any mobile photographer.



http://connect.dpreview.com/post/8738956944/samsung-galaxy-note-4-camera-review?page=10

Rave camera review here too: http://www.phonearena.com/reviews/C...3-LG-G3-Galaxy-S5-Galaxy-Note-3_id3822/page/7


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## Mojofilter (Apr 14, 2015)

I'm no expert when it comes to the camera but to my untrained eye it takes great photographs. 

This is one of the first pictures that I took with it (and I don't know if this actually is a sign of quality but...) I was astounded that on the full res version you can zoom in and *just* about make out the words on the sign post that I've highlighted.











I can't stop Tapatalk from reducing the resolution so you'll have to take my word for the words being a bit clearer uncompressed, but you get the idea.


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## UnderAnOpenSky (Apr 14, 2015)

Phone contract has ended. Prices on a contract seem to have fallen in the last few months. Quite tempted to replace my Note 2.


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## UnderAnOpenSky (Apr 15, 2015)

£32 pm unlimited mins and texts with 5gb of data. Annoying as I get unlimited with my Note 2 and is 7 quid more.


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## UnderAnOpenSky (Apr 27, 2015)

Well I've dropped my Note 2 weeks out of contract which kinda seals the deal. Was also looking at the Sony Z3 as it's waterproof, but there's something to be said about sticking with what you like. The thought occurs to me that as memory cards become a thing of the past and cloud storage becomes more common, this may be the last phone that I can have 128gb on board for a while.

Has anyone seen any decent flip cases? I had a fantastic one for my Note 2 which was a decent protection all round, but the company seems to stop making them. I don't like the really armoured cases with a plastic screen protector as that gets scratched and isn't as nice to use as glass and most flip cases look flimsy on the back.


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## UnderAnOpenSky (May 2, 2015)

It's a very nice bit of hardware, but feels less of an upgrade then others in the past, I guess because the technology is maturing. Dumped Touch Wiz on the first day, god it's ugly and it's funny to think that it's what most people will be using. The higher resolution screen and extra speed is nice. The fingerprint reader is shit and the heart rate monitor kina pointless. The camera is a nice upgrade. What has supervised me is how widespread 4g is. I assumed that living in the Peak District it's something I wouldn't see, but it clocked 37mbs in Buxton. The handwriting recognition is much improved, but I still don't really use it, still find the swiftkey keyboard faster.

Oh and I found a decent case.


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## Throbbing Angel (May 4, 2015)

Global Stoner said:


> £32 pm unlimited mins and texts with 5gb of data. Annoying as I get unlimited with my Note 2 and is 7 quid more.



Sorry - was that a SIMO or for a Note 4 on contract?!   if so - where???


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## UnderAnOpenSky (May 4, 2015)

Mobiles.co.uk 

Handset is free on a new contract, 50 quid on upgrade.


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## emanymton (May 16, 2015)

Does anyone know how to contact Google to complain? As is par for the course with them the most recent 'update' has screwed  up my note 4. I am feed up with this the killed my nexus and now this. But I can't see anyway to contact them. I think I will go Apple for my next phone, and I never thought I would say that but google just seems to get progressively worse with each update.


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## Ted Striker (May 19, 2015)

emanymton said:


> Does anyone know how to contact Google to complain? As is par for the course with them the most recent 'update' has screwed  up my note 4. I am feed up with this the killed my nexus and now this. But I can't see anyway to contact them. I think I will go Apple for my next phone, and I never thought I would say that but google just seems to get progressively worse with each update.



Pretty much my experience too - 'killed' is perhaps a touch too strong, and I doubt it's a Note 4 issue, but yet again there's another pointless and irritating colourscheme/display/functionality 'shuffle' - Fuck all's improved, all your instinctive controls and notifications that you've only just got used to (since the last 'upgrade') have been reset. I see Chrome has also fancied a bit of a switcheroo and all tabs are their own window (Hello an extra 7 seconds of fumbling each time you need to close a window!)

And they still haven't sorted the obvious standout stupidity of the volume limit confirmation (though I guess that's a H&S thing?!) and the "always use this app for this file type" confirmation - whats the fucking point in having an 'always' option if the app forgets it, and then ask for confirmation again next time you open the bloody same file!


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## UnderAnOpenSky (May 19, 2015)

You can switch the Chrome tabs back to how they were.


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## Throbbing Angel (May 19, 2015)

Hmmm,  I'll defer this Chrome update.  It looks crappy going off the photos in the play store, quite a few complaining in the comments section too. 

I don't suppose there is va way of updating security features only without updating everything else?


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## emanymton (May 19, 2015)

Global Stoner said:


> You can switch the Chrome tabs back to how they were.


Wow thanks. Chrome was not working for me because of this I didn't even think to check if I could switch it off. 

I just gave up and went back to Firefox, although that causes me memory problems


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## UnderAnOpenSky (May 19, 2015)

I'd have liked if they were grouped together, but spread out between all your open apps I found a pain.


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## Ted Striker (May 19, 2015)

Yup, have changed that back (tbf, I did plainly ignore the warning when it was installed  )

And another thing...Poweramp now requires 24 hours notice if you wish to start/skip a tune. Nice one.


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## Ted Striker (May 19, 2015)

AND the fucking shitcunts have stopped my work calendar from synching.

Microsoft 10: I'm all yours


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## Mojofilter (May 20, 2015)

I'm pretty pissed off with Lollipop too.  
The phone is stupidly laggy and the battery life has dramatically decreased. Tried factory reset etc... (which was a fucking ball ache). 

No doubt it will be fixed but I bet it's not in the next 3 months. 
Think I'm going iPhone next time - this shit might still happen but at least it's fixed in days rather than months.

Bag of wank.


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## Mojofilter (May 22, 2015)

I've rooted and installed CM 12.1.
It's much, much better - still doesn't support the S Pen which I'm not too arsed about but other than that it's feels like a premium device again.


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## Mojofilter (May 22, 2015)

It's actually stupid how much better this phone is on CM, really makes you wonder why Samsung don't just make the stock version like this. 

I'm on 71% battery after unplugging at 6am and that's with a 30 minute run using GPS + about an hours worth of 3G music streaming. 
On stock I'd be reaching for the charger about now. 

That's without going into how into how much faster it is. 

Surely that's better than all the crap that they package with the device?


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## UnderAnOpenSky (May 22, 2015)

That's interesting. One of the first things I did was install Nova Launcher, which makes it feel smoother as well as less ugly. 

I'm tempted to go the whole hog, but my memories of CM were apps crashing more frequently, plus the phone is still quite new and you lose the guarantee


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## editor (May 22, 2015)

Nova Launcher is the first thing I install on new phones.


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## Mojofilter (May 23, 2015)

Global Stoner said:


> I'm tempted to go the whole hog, but my memories of CM were apps crashing more frequently, plus the phone is still quite new and you lose the guarantee



It's still early days but no sign of crashing so far.
The fast charge feature doesn't seem to be working but since I'm back to only charging overnight it's a minor issue.
And the fingerprint scanner. Again, meh.

I don't properly understand how it works but it's a nightly edition, I think that means it's still under development and that features are still to be added?

It does kind of take the piss that the manufacturer basically breaks the phone and then tells you that you've invalidated the guarantee because you've fixed it!
I've got insurance though so it can always get dropped in the bath if required [emoji33].


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## UnderAnOpenSky (Jun 9, 2015)

Has anybody gone from Lollipop back to Kit Kat? 

My phone feels a bit laggy, certainly not an upgrade from my Note 2

I know there are options like cyangenmod, but I'd like to keep things like fast charging and the S Pen.


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## Mojofilter (Jun 9, 2015)

I understand that it's possible without rooting, but that's the limit of my knowledge. 
I don't think the 5.1 update is too far away, but you never fucking know with S*msung. Wankers. 

Definitely iPhone or Nexus next time, I'm sick of this shit :/


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## UnderAnOpenSky (Jun 9, 2015)

Tbf I had no problems with my Note 2 which is why I got the 4!


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## Mojofilter (Jul 19, 2015)

My Note 4 met a grizzly end in the washing machine so I've gone to the dark side (iPhone). Sorry folks, I was just sick of shitty half arsed updates fucking up my phone - it's happened on all the Android phones that I've owed.
I appreciate I've probably just been unlucky and I want to love Android. I blame the manufacturers not Google but fucks sake, I just want shit to work properly.

Cyangenmod would be good solution, but I manage my money much better with mobile banking so I'm out.

For the record iOS has improved a lot (aka stolen a load of features from Android) since I last had an iPhone so I'm pretty happy with it. It's not worth the extra money, but 2nd hand iPhone seems to keep their value inexplicably well so I'll recoup most of the difference when I come to sell so meh.


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## 2hats (Aug 13, 2015)

Maybe this should be in a new thread but worth noting that Samsung are waving the Galaxy Note 5 around (apparently no release date planned for Europe).

Sadly they appear to have downgraded it to an iPhone by eliminating the removable battery and microSD card slot. Perhaps they'll add them back in to the Note 6 if the Note 5 (deservedly) tanks?


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## UnderAnOpenSky (Aug 13, 2015)

I'm less fussed about the battery, as I suspect like many I use a power bank, but the memory card thing is pants if they are shipping it with a max of 64gb


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## 2hats (Aug 13, 2015)

Maybe Incipio or a.n.other will produce a battery case like they do for the S6, with a microSD slot, but the Note is big enough already so I'd pass it over for a phone in that class already offering them. Replaceable battery and removable media are too useful for me.


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## UnderAnOpenSky (Oct 21, 2015)

I did the update to the latest Android the other day. I can't see any difference tbh.

Rather annoyingly the memory card decided to keep unmounting when I was in the hills the other day and using maps stored there. I had a paper map of course, but still frustrating.


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