Iphone not recommended for women

[Slug]

You place a Note 4 next to an iPhone 6. They look very close, especially the metal band design. The backs and screens are different but they do bear some similarities.

You'll see the same with a Note 3 and IP6 next to one another. Why not criticise Apple for making the iP6 look like the Note 3?

Samsung is clutching straws, they have simply ran out of things to add to their newest models.

So the improved QuadHD screen, the latest Qaulcomm SOC, better cameras (higher res/better low-light performance), increased S-Pen sensitivity for handwriting/graphics, unrivaled LTE support, 802.11 2.4GHz/5GHz + MIMO wifi, full ANT+ support for wearables/peripherals, or fast charging aren't enough?

Btw, the European Note 4s definitely have the Ultra Power Saving mode.

 

[nickdalzell]

Improved? As in the same bright AMOLED and unrealistic color temp? The LG G3 does better. Both it and the G3 have Snapdragon 801s

Nothing new added to TouchWiz, no 6 inch screen, the same battery life, which the G3 does better, and laggy TouchWiz. Then using metal. If the G Flex got an upgrade and was available for Verizon I'd get it.

I'm well, aware of the love the international models get. Since the S3, I noticed better rom support from the i9300 over the i535, and then there is the loss of the FM radio app on the i535 despite it being an advertised feature.

 

[mikedt]

Improved? As in the same bright AMOLED and unrealistic color temp? The LG G3 does better. Both it and the G3 have Snapdragon 801s

Nothing new added to TouchWiz, no 6 inch screen, the same battery life, which the G3 does better, and laggy TouchWiz. Then using metal. If the G Flex got an upgrade and was available for Verizon I'd get it.

It's only the edging, the escutcheon, that's real metal now rather than the metallised plastic that Samsung has often used on their Galaxys. Problem with the metalised plastic, the finish would often wear off after a time, and make some Samsungs look rather tatty and cheap IMO, that's in addition to the cheap toy like creakiness that some of them have. I'd call it an improvement.

IMO 6inch is becoming slightly too big, you really need two hands to hold and operate it, plus maybe too big for the pockets. But then there are some 7 and 8 inch phones (phablets) available now, and people are carrying them around in bags, ridiculous when held to the ear. The Galaxy Mega is 6.3 inches, that is just too large for my uses.

 

[bjacks12]

Guys, I think we've found the world's most hard to please customer.

 

[Hadron]

I'm well, aware of the love the international models get. Since the S3, I noticed better rom support from the i9300 over the i535, and then there is the loss of the FM radio app on the i535 despite it being an advertised feature.

I can't remember all the Samsung model numbers (there are just so many), but "international" models having better ROM support isn't that surprising: it's a much bigger market, so bigger dev pool. Exynos models recently have suffered both more limited releases and less support for the processors generally. And CDMA models typically have the smallest market of all (more likely to have significant hardware difference from global models). So variations in ROM support are understandable.

As for FM radio, they've removed that generally, just most models didn't have some clown in marketing claim it was still there (copying specs from earlier models and inadequately updating?).

 

[Slug]

Improved? As in the same bright AMOLED and unrealistic color temp?

No, "improved" as in higher resolution and wider colour gamut. If you don't like the default colour rendition then alter the display mode in Settings.

Both it and the G3 have Snapdragon 801s

Unless the US is receiving a watered-down version, I think you'll find that the Note 4 has an 805 SOC i.e. quad-core Krait 450 @ 2.7GHz + Adreno 420 GPU.

Nothing new added to TouchWiz

It's an overlay/launcher, main functionality is in the OS and apps surely?

no 6 inch screen

It's designed as a smartphone, not a tablet.

the same battery life

I suggest that you take a look at some of the early hands-on reviews already available.

 

[nickdalzell]

No, "improved" as in higher resolution and wider colour gamut. If you don't like the default colour rendition then alter the display mode in Settings.

Not sure why, but every SAMOLED display Samsung uses has oversaturated the colors to a point you can't get a more natural tone back, and the lowest brightness setting is still far too bright, and then lighter colors = battery drain--a fact of life for AMOLED in general, not just Samsung

Unless the US is receiving a watered-down version, I think you'll find that the Note 4 has an 805 SOC i.e. quad-core Krait 450 @ 2.7GHz + Adreno 420 GPU.

Either that or Best Buy goofed on the spec sheet.

It's an overlay/launcher, main functionality is in the OS and apps surely?

Actually it is more than that. TouchWiz is also the framework in the UI and OS as well, not just a launcher/skin. it adds features that are quite useful to anyone other than rabid Nexus/Vanilla Android fans, such as Smart Stay, Air Command, Air View, Smart Pause, Ultra Power Saver, etc. up until now, they've always added some catchy new feature to it. but the Note 4 is just a Quad HD version of the same Note 3 we've had already. not worthy of the upgrade. even Ultra Power Saver was left out of it (i couldn't seem to find it in the demo unit at least). Also, one would expect that again, in the past, adding new S-Pen goodness to the new release. but the S-Pen is unchanged both in look as well as function. the phone ends up being the Note 3 in a new shell.

It's designed as a smartphone, not a tablet.

Actually, it's designed as a 'Phablet' not a phone. the Note 1 had a little over 5", the Note 2 added 5.5" to the table, and the Note 3 had 5.7". one would expect Samsung to play some more bezel magic and extend the Note 4 as they have been doing, and fit a 6" screen in pretty much the same size hardware. but nope. same old same old.

 

[dibblebill]

Not sure why, but every SAMOLED display Samsung uses has oversaturated the colors to a point you can't get a more natural tone back, and the lowest brightness setting is still far too bright, and then lighter colors = battery drain--a fact of life for AMOLED in general, not just Samsung




Either that or Best Buy goofed on the spec sheet.



Actually it is more than that. TouchWiz is also the framework in the UI and OS as well, not just a launcher/skin. it adds features that are quite useful to anyone other than rabid Nexus/Vanilla Android fans, such as Smart Stay, Air Command, Air View, Smart Pause, Ultra Power Saver, etc. up until now, they've always added some catchy new feature to it. but the Note 4 is just a Quad HD version of the same Note 3 we've had already. not worthy of the upgrade. even Ultra Power Saver was left out of it (i couldn't seem to find it in the demo unit at least). Also, one would expect that again, in the past, adding new S-Pen goodness to the new release. but the S-Pen is unchanged both in look as well as function. the phone ends up being the Note 3 in a new shell.



Actually, it's designed as a 'Phablet' not a phone. the Note 1 had a little over 5", the Note 2 added 5.5" to the table, and the Note 3 had 5.7". one would expect Samsung to play some more bezel magic and extend the Note 4 as they have been doing, and fit a 6" screen in pretty much the same size hardware. but nope. same old same old.

I, too, hate the saturation and temperature of Samsung AMOLED displays.

 

[bjacks12]

It's an 805. That's concrete.

But then, even after it was announced, you were complaining about how it was probably coming with Tizen, lol.

 

[Slug]

Not sure why, but every SAMOLED display Samsung uses has oversaturated the colors to a point you can't get a more natural tone back

Display mode.... "Natural" in earlier models, "Photographic" (iirc) in the S4/5. The defaults always trashed my own colour-corrected photos, but adjustment to comply with sRGB norms was always possible.

lighter colors = battery drain--a fact of life for AMOLED in general, not just Samsung

A brighter screen always results in heavier battery drain, regardless of display type.

[...]Smart Stay, Air Command, Air View, Smart Pause, Ultra Power Saver, etc. up until now, they've always added some catchy new feature to it

Maybe they decided that there's no more useful functionality to be added? Heck, there have been plenty of complaints about 'bloat' in the past, so many people are sure to be pleased by this.

Also, one would expect that again, in the past, adding new S-Pen goodness to the new release. but the S-Pen is unchanged both in look as well as function.

You must have missed my mention of the S-Pen in the previous post. Don't however take my word for it, visit Samsung's website and see for yourself.

the Note 1 had a little over 5", the Note 2 added 5.5" to the table, and the Note 3 had 5.7". one would expect Samsung to play some more bezel magic and extend the Note 4 as they have been doing, and fit a 6" screen in pretty much the same size hardware. but nope. same old same old.

Or maybe they decided that 5.7" is the optimum size? There is such a thing as "diminishing returns".

 

[bjacks12]

The Note 4, for some reason, never got the Ultra Power Saver mode either, which is disappointing.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say you've never played with the Note 4.

I took this picture just for you at Best Buy tonight, as a reminder to be sure of the facts you cite:

Having had a chance to play with both the Note 4 and the iPhone 6+ this week, I would handily pick the Samsung offering. I found it easier to handle and the UI was much better. I might be coming around on Touchwiz.

 

[nickdalzell]

I found UPS mode by accident, it was buried in the quick toggle settings. Best Buy had that toggle turned off and i had to rearrange the quick toggles to get it to show. as such i couldn't find it initially. i did mention it was either 1) not available or 2) Samsung hid it. the latter was at least partly true.

The Note 4 does indeed keep the oversaturation, in fact, the retail mode tries to downplay IPS LCD by showing it aside a SAMOLED, with it bragging on about how SAMOLED has better more 'vivid' color. i went into the Display settings and it had only three options, Adapt Display, which is default and very overdone, and two other modes like Photo and Cinema which just give a bluish or greenish tint to the already oversaturated colors, making it worse.

The problem probably has more to do with them using a Pentile Matrix, and makes me wonder why they never kept the SAMOLED Plus+ display on the newer models. iirc, the Galaxy S2 had far better color reproduction because it had Super Amoled HD Plus. a shame they never brought that to the later models.

As for smoothness, you won't get much benefit out of that SOC, because TouchWiz still stutters and lags a bit. especially if you quick flip through home screens or the app drawer. the LG G3 never does that, at least not in my case. i couldn't slow it down.

Also, yes, the Note 4 still looks a bit like an iPhone to me. it has little gaps in the metal band that remind me of those found on the iPhone 4 that gave it the antennagate problem. since the demo model had no SIM i couldn't test that by holding it myself, but Best Buy staff never could give me a straight answer on whether or not they had the same problem. i've been dead set against metal phones after the iPhone 4's signal problems, which kept me from even looking at HTC Ones, in addition to the Ones having no removable battery or SD slot, which is a deal breaker for me.

Yes, Samsung did make TouchWiz easier on the eyes and simpler, that has been done since the Galaxy S5. the Note 3 never got the UI (but my Note 10.1 did with KitKat which i found odd). it still lags though. the Samsung apps aren't consistent with the flat UI. S-Voice is flat, Messaging is flat, but WatchON Remote is skeuomorphic. some icons are flat (music, for example) but some are not (Phone, Contacts, Email). it has a sort of identity crisis similar to iOS 7. better looking though. Sadly the Note 4 does away with the 'nature scene' widget for weather, with just text only showing. proof they're taking the beauty of Nature UX apart piece by piece. the sounds are still there but that's all that's left of Nature UX.

But, if i had to choose between TouchWiz and the new LG Optimus UI, i choose the latter. it's faster, not overly colorful, and the G3 has far more accurate colors that don't burn my retinas.

The Note 4 just isn't enough for an upgrade. unlike previous models, they seemed to have stopped giving them larger screens and more software features. the Note 4 is just a lot of the same tired stuff. i would have gotten it if it had a 6" Screen and more S-Pen fun. but nope. same old same old. new shell, that's all.

 

[Slug]

[...]it had only three options, Adapt Display, which is default and very overdone, and two other modes like Photo and Cinema which just give a bluish or greenish tint to the already oversaturated colors, making it worse.

A noticeable colour tint sounds like either a defective LCD panel or the effects of fluorescent lighting.

The Photo mode is profiled for aRGB, which is similar to the widely-used sRGB but with an extended blue/green gamut i.e. aRGB is capable of displaying more colour shades than sRGB.

the Galaxy S2 had far better color reproduction because it had Super Amoled HD Plus

I had one of those and, believe me, the default display mode was anything but perfect in its colour rendition. Only the Natural mode rendered images faithfully i.e. true to how they were balanced and profiled during post-process.

Also, yes, the Note 4 still looks a bit like an iPhone to me.

And it looks very like a Note 3, which by definition must therefore also look a bit like an iPhone. Which came first? So I would hardly hold Samsung to blame for continuing with their design paradigm, especially as the form of the iP6 wasn't known until long after the Note 4 was finalised.

it has little gaps in the metal band that remind me of those found on the iPhone 4 that gave it the antennagate problem. since the demo model had no SIM i couldn't test that by holding it myself

Please give this a rest. I've already told you that, as the Note's antenna has NO connection to the purely decorative metal band, it can have NO effect on RF reception.

they seemed to have stopped giving them larger screens and more software features.

Yup, because 6" handsets such as the Xperia Z Ultra or Galaxy Mega have really sold well.... and nobody complains about Samsung's duplicate software taking up precious storage.

i would have gotten it if it had a 6" Screen and more S-Pen fun

Write and draw more naturally and precisely using the latest S Pen

The latest S Pen gives you an improved digital handwriting experience thanks to its enhanced pressure sensitivity. Make the most of your writing and express yourself more precisely.

I've seen it demo'd and it can accurately simulate things like pencil sketching or even charcoal. Sounds pretty "fun" to me.

 

[dibblebill]

A noticeable colour tint sounds like either a defective LCD panel or the effects of fluorescent lighting.

The Photo mode is profiled for aRGB, which is similar to the widely-used sRGB but with an extended blue/green gamut i.e. aRGB is capable of displaying more colour shades than sRGB.

I had one of those and, believe me, the default display mode was anything but perfect in its colour rendition. Only the Natural mode rendered images faithfully i.e. true to how they were balanced and profiled during post-process.

And it looks very like a Note 3, which by definition must therefore also look a bit like an iPhone. Which came first? So I would hardly hold Samsung to blame for continuing with their design paradigm, especially as the form of the iP6 wasn't known until long after the Note 4 was finalised.

Please give this a rest. I've already told you that, as the Note's antenna has NO connection to the purely decorative metal band, it can have NO effect on RF reception.

Yup, because 6" handsets such as the Xperia Z Ultra or Galaxy Mega have really sold well.... and nobody complains about Samsung's duplicate software taking up precious storage.



I've seen it demo'd and it can accurately simulate things like pencil sketching or even charcoal. Sounds pretty "fun" to me.

Personally wishing there was a Shield phone with a DirectStylus

 

[nickdalzell]

Actually Samsung is planning a Galaxy Mega 2. but isn't the original Mega a bit over 6"?

Ever since the first Note they gave screen increases. in fact, the original Note and subsequent models were also panned as being 'too big'. yet they increased the size exponentially but never got to the magic number where it isn't too small for a tablet or too big for a phone. the Note 3 got a larger screen by .2" without increasing the phone size at all. in fact they actually reduced it iirc? they could have pulled an LG and reduced the bezel size a lot more, got rid of the hardware keys and gave it a 6" screen while maintaining the same size as the previous Note 3 easy.

Believe it or not, many did appreciate having options inside TouchWiz. don't like them? buy a Nexus. some of us actually like the addition of Pen and Multi-Window and Air Command. some actually do like Smart Stay. the key is not everyone does. not everyone likes iOS 7. that doesn't stop Apple from selling iPhones, and it doesn't stop Samsung from being the top leader of Android phone sales, either. if you do the math, you'd discover that a lot more like TouchWiz than those who hate it.

The problem is that Samsung is now starting to run out of ideas to add. no additional Air Command options, no more support for Air View (let's face it, is you're browsing some site like AF, and want to do a little 'mouse-over' on a thread title and see a preview of the post, Air View seems perfect for the job, but wasn't done in the Note 3, but they never quite expanded its support in the 4 either.) and no other features added. even the pen itself is the same one used in the 3.

Either Samsung has run out of stuff to add in, or they're starting to go all Nexus on us and take stuff out--not exactly what i would expect nor care for. if i wanted a Nexus and boring UI i'd buy one. their new TouchWiz is very nice, a major improvement but the S5 had more stuff than the Note 4 does.

The Note 4 in white does look a lot like an iPhone but the black model and the more geeky Edge model are better. i admit the Edge with its neat curved notification area is super neat. it's not yet available here to test though. all the demos have no SIM in them so unless i want to fork over the full retail price (as i said it's not enough change for an upgrade from the 3) i'd be able to pop in my SIM and test. but it's not something i want because they never did enough to make it worthy of upgrading to. it's like the difference between the S3 and S4. just not enough. i'd expect better from the Note line, it's not like they are on the same short upgrade cycle the S series have. they have longer to make them better with each generation but they have not this time.

One thing i do give them credit for however, is that they got rid of that stupid proprietary cable that was part of the Note 3. Battery capacity sadly remains the same 3,200 mAH that kept the Note 3 on its charger after my 12 hour workday, so i never got full use of stuff like the remote control app, which isn't a problem with the LG G3 given its much better battery life that seems to be a lot better than the Note 3 despite it having 200 less mAH to deal with. my G3 comes home with over 70% remaining after a 12 hour shift, but my Note 3, when it wasn't beeping 'Danger! battery is below 20%!' at me, would come home with anywhere from a paltry 30-40%, and needing charge, despite spending the good majority of my day inside my jeans pocket with the display off. like the S3, and S4 before it, its top consumer was 'Cell Standby' often with an accompanying higher than normal percentage, despite it showing less than 3% of that time without a signal. the worst consumer on the G3 is 'Google Play Services' which is at a more respectable 20-25% and is partly due to syncing with my G Watch.

 

[mikedt]

Actually Samsung is planning a Galaxy Mega 2. but isn't the original Mega a bit over 6"?

There's two Galaxy Megas currently available, a 5.7 and 6.3. The thing with the Megas, is that they're NOT flagship, top of the line, high specced devices. They're mid-priced and mid-range phones, unlike the Galaxy Notes. Originally intended for emerging markets, where people may often want large screened but affordable phones, usually because no carrier subsidies are available.

 

[bjacks12]

There's two Galaxy Megas currently available, a 5.7 and 6.3. The thing with the Megas, is that they're NOT flagship, top of the line, high specced devices. They're mid-priced and mid-range phones, unlike the Galaxy Notes. Originally intended for emerging markets, where people may often want large screened but affordable phones, usually because no carrier subsidies are available.

I held the Mega at Best Buy last night. It definitely feels cheap, whereas the Note 4 has a premium feel to it. And the Note slays the Mega in specs.

If I upgrade phones this year, the choice will be between the Note 4 and the upcoming Nexus 6.

 

[mikedt]

I can remember making a post about the Mega when it first came out, think it was in answer to something about, why does Samsung make so many models of Android phones. Sure at the time it was only available in Asia, and not western markets. It's larger than a Note, while it's specs are actually quite modest in comparison. Here in China a Mega 6.3 is less than half the price of a Note 4. On the other hand I can buy a flagship Chinese phone for a reasonable price that also slays the Mega in quality of construction and specs.

 

[nickdalzell]

Aren't the specs of the Mega more like the S3? It still runs ancient TouchWiz.