Samsung Galaxy Note 4 vs Note 3: What's new

Samsung Galaxy Note was a massive game changer. A phone that propelled 

Samsung to the top of the mobile sweepstakes.

An incredibly handy device with a stylus that lets you doodle, take notes, and do a 

lot more with your phone. More importantly, giving the world it’s first taste of obscenely 

large-screened phones, or small screen tablets with the ability to call, depending on 

how you look at it.

Thus the phablet revolution began. Two years later, Samsung has announced the 

fouth avatar of the Note. Let’s see how it’s grown up to be better than Note 3.

1. Design

While fully embracing the pebble design, Samsung’s Note 3 played 
around with different materials. With a metal look on the sides and 
the back, Note 3 had a nifty leather look which was gimmicky, but 
felt really nice.

At a glance, the Note 4 looks a lot like Note 3. Though Note 4 has
continued this language of sleek metal edge that is actually metal 
instead of plastic, that contours around ergonomically in contours 
that aid in grip. On the back, however, is a soft textured finish in plastic. 
Finally, with the Note 4, Samsung has found its design legs to match 
its technology head. Completely outclassing everything 
Samsung has done so far by leaps and bounds.

2. Build quality

Galaxy Note 3 was a bit of a low point in Samsung’s literally flimsy love for 

cheap plastics although the different textured material surfaces helped iron 

things out.

Note 4 shifts to premium materials, with a metal frame wrapped around a 

beautiful thin body. The back is a soft touch plastic and on the front is a 

2.5D glass screen.

3. Display

Galaxy Note 3 had a sensational 5.7 inches Super AMOLED capacitive 

touchscreen, 16M colors (1080 x 1920 pixels) at 386 ppi pixel density 

protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3.

Note 4 comes with 5.7 Super AMOLED at Quad HD, which is no surprise. 

Samsung says the Note 4’s 2.5D glass is a lot stronger than the Note 3. 

What took the cake in display was the Note Edge. A Quad HD Super 

AMOLED+ screen that curves at the edge, providing several scrollable panels.

4. S pen

Until the Note 3, the SPen was just a big phone with a stylus. 

While Note 3 did have a few SPen features. However, this has all 

changed with the Galaxy Note 4.

Enhanced sensitivity at 2048, with angled response, rotation, speed 

sensing and super easy-to-use featured built around it. Samsung Galaxy 

Note 4's software just flows around the SPen like a natural extension of you, 

in direct relation to your innate built-in experiences with writing things down 

on a notebook.

With the SPen, everything is so much easier and faster. In tandem with the

camera, you can actually trace written text on a photo you have taken, 

convert it and edit it as you see fit.

5. Additional features

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 had a plethora of sensors. However, it was 

outclassed by Galaxy S5’s health sensors.

Note 4 packs in the Galaxy S5’s heart rate monitor, which also doubles 

as a shutter button; as well as an Advanced Voice recorder with 3 new 

mics, with wider field for recording while reducing ambient noise.

It also has in-built noise cancellation as well as a fingerprint scanner 

and SD card slot.

6. Hardware

Galaxy Note 3 was bristling with processors, with a 1.9 octa-core 

processor and Mali GPU on some models and a 2.3 Ghz Snapdragon 

800 on others, with 3GB of RAM.

For those expecting the Note 4 to be the first to sport a 64-bit 

processor, get ready to be disappointed. It also packs a 1.9Ghz 

octa-core (1.9 quad-core and 1.3 quad-core) and in some models 

2.7 GHz quad-core processor also with 3GB of RAM.

Both the Note 3 and Note 4 are nearly identical, though we suspect 

Samsung has done software tweaks so the Note 4 can squeeze 

more out of the same hardware.

7. Software & interface

This is where both Galaxy Note 3 and Note 4 intersect. The Note 

4 takes the same colorful flat simple interface from the Note 3 and 

extend across all aspects that make the Note a formidable device.

Taking full advantage of the large screen, Samsung has refined 

Multi-window user interface so you can multitask easily; with the 

SPen taking center stage, and the rest of the UI dancing around it.

8. Camera

Galaxy Note 3 packed in a fantastic 13 MP camera that was crisp 

and clear with image stabilization, HDR and other modes. It had a 

2MP front camera with 1080p recording.

The Note 4 ups the optics with a 16MP back camera with Smart 

Optical Image Stabilisation. In front, the Note 4 has a 3.7 MP selfie 

cam at a wide angle f1.9. For wider selfies, you have a 120 degree 

Wide Selfie mode that lets you take a panorama for selfies.

Heart Rate sensor can be used as a shutter button, making selfies 

easy to take. Using software and hardware wizardry, Samsung claims 

that both cameras are 60% Brighter.

9. Battery

Galaxy Note 3 had a big 3200 battery. The Note 4 ups it to a 

mere 3220 mAh, but with a few features of its own.

With its ability to charge fast and use software magic, Samsung has 

managed to squeeze more juice out of it with a 7.5% increase in low 

power consumption. We will have more on that when we get our 

hands 

on it for testing.

10. Accessories

While the Note 3 had the standard set of covers, Note 4 has an 

army of accessories, with a slew of covers, including a LED cover 

like HTC’s One M8 cover.

What got a lot of wow’s was the bling-filled Svarowski cover. Not to 

mention, the Gear VR for the Note 4, which is a VR headset built in 

partnership with Oculus. It converts your Note 4 into a VR extravaganza.

Lastly, Mont Blanc unveiled two fine styluses called “Pix” and 

“e-Starwalker” in addition to two Mont Blanc flipcovers.

11. Competition

Samsung’s Galaxy Note 4 is a big step up for Samsung in the 

right direction, making its software in perfect harmony with their hardware.

The biggest competition could come from Samsung’s very own 

Galaxy Note Edge. Among other players with large screens, there 

is the Oppo N1, Sony Xperia Ultra which can be written on with any 

pen or pencil and the LG G Pro 2.

12. Price

Samsung Note 3 was launched in the range of Rs. 50,000-54,000, 

in the same price range as the iPhone 5s then. Samsung should 

possibly release the Note 4 in the sub Rs. 50,000 flagship price. 

Though as trends go, the pricing could be set post the launch of the iPhone 6.