I have
been using Samsung Galaxy Note 3 for the past year and I am very happy with the
phone. Hence when Samsung Galaxy Note 4 came out, I asked myself: “Should I
upgrade from Note 3 to Note 4?”. Hmm….
After
testing the phone for a week, below are my five reasons why I should upgrade to
Note 4.
1. The Display Screen - Both uses Super AMOLED touchscreen (16M colors).
However Note 4 has approximate 515 ppi pixel density which is higher than Note
3 approximate 386 ppi pixel density. When both are placed side by side, to me,
Note 4 does display the small details better compared to Note 3. I am always a
fan of the Super AMOLED touchscreen. It just makes the picture comes alive and
looks as if it is popping out of the phone!
Note 4’s screen has a curved glass designed as
compared to Note 3’s flat screen design. With the curved glass display, it does
elevate its appearance overall and makes it looks classier as well. The minor
issue here is there is a small gap around the edge of the display and dirt
might get trapped there easily.
2. The Camera - Note 4’s camera comes with an upgrade from 13MP
to 16MP and it comes with optical image stabilisation so say bye bye to blur
pictures.
The front camera also was upgraded from 2MP to
3.7MP. For selfie lovers, it allows you to take up to a 120 degree selfie
photo! This is fantastic for a group photo at arm length, if you do not have a
selfie stick at hand. There is a new way to take a selfie as well! Remember how
difficult it would be to try to reach for the capture button while doing a
selfie. Now you can just place your finger over the heart monitor, below the
main camera, and release it when you are ready for the selfie! Wala, your
selfie will be automatically taken once your finger is off the heart rate
monitor.
3. Larger Battery, Longer Battery Life - In Note 4, the battery is upgraded to from
3200mAh to 3220mAh. The initial thought is how the new battery going to sustain
with the upgraded new display screen. I was surprised that the phone still managed
to last at least for 2 days for normal usage. Seems like the new battery is
powerful enough to power the new chipset and the new display screen.
4. The Fingerprint Sensor - This is a new feature added in, maybe to match
with Apple Touch ID. There are 4 features that the fingerprint can be used:
Fingerprint lock, Web sign-in, Verify Samsung Account and Pay with Paypal. I
tried using the Fingerprint lock. During registration it would require 10
scan of fingerprint of different area of the finger as well. Hence it makes the
fingerprint to be recognised easier when different areas of the finger is used
for scanning.
5. The Redesigned S Pen - For Note 3, I tried to use the S Pen to take
notes on the phone, but the smooth surface and slim body prevented me to have a
good grip of the pen. Samsung have redesigned the S Pen for Note 4. They added
ridges on the body of the pen and this makes the pen easier to grip for writing
and other task.
Of
course, there are other new additional functions and enhancement like heart rate
monitor (below the main camera), new notification appearance (easier to
navigate) etc.
No phone
is prefect though. For me, Note 4 does have 2 points to improve on.
1. Use of micro USB 2.0 instead of micro USB 3.0
used in Note 3 – Why? I also do not understand the change, after all micro USB
3.0 does have a faster transfer speed right?
2. Lack of IP67 certified (dust and water resistant) – If this is included, this phone would be prefect. Maybe this is will be
included in Note 5 instead.
After all this, I have decided to still go ahead
and make the upgrade from Note 3 to Note 4. I have made a reservation on Note 4
already. So would you have made the change from Note 3 to note 4?
