Samsung has upped their game once again with this morning’s announcement of the Galaxy Note 4, which included some very nice upgrades from the Note 3.
First, there is the metal frame, which we saw on the Galaxy Alpha a few weeks ago. That should please many who have been complaining about cheap plastic on Samsung products for years. For the back cover Samsung stayed with the faux leather found on the Note 3, though the Note 4 does not have the fake stitching found on the 3. Some of the press in attendance said that it feels very good in the hand. A heart rate monitor and UV sensor have been added as a part of S Health, along with a fingerprint scanner. For the screen, Samsung has upped the resolution with their first ever Quad HD display to 2560 X 1440, giving a pixel density of 515 ppi. Of course, the Note 4 still has that beautiful AMOLED display that makes Samsung stand out.
For those who are fans of the stylus, Samsung has come through once again with multiple upgrades, which should make using the pen even easier and more enjoyable. Samsung has also added a fast charging feature which, they say, will allow you to charge the device by 50% in only 30 minutes.
For those who have been clamoring for Optical Image Stabilization, it is finally here on the Note 4, meaning better pictures in low light and smoother video. The 16 megapixel rear camera is an upgrade from the 13 MP of the Note 3. The front facing camera has been bumped up to 3.7 megapixels with a wide viewing angle of 90 degrees for those awesome selfies and there’s even a Wide Selfie mode, allowing even wider images to be captured.
Touchwiz is still Touchwiz, but there is a more modern, flatter look and it’s said that Samsung’s slow process of making the bloatware less intrusive is making some amount of progress. New software features include something called Smart Select, which allows you to copy content from differing sources and save them all in one place for sharing later. Multitasking mode has also been improved. A unique feature is selective recording mode, which allows you to voice record from different directions (front and back, for instance), using one of three microphones included in the device.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 4 will be available in the US on AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon, along with multiple carriers worldwide, likely priced along the lines of the Note 3. You can get your hands on one, starting in October.
Sources: Android Authority/Android Central
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