Samsung unveils Galaxy Note 4 and curved-display Galaxy Note Edge at IFA

[Jos]

Samsung officially announced an all-new flagship phablet at IFA 2014 this morning. An iterative update over last year's Note 3, the Galaxy Note 4 features a 5.7-inch Quad HD 2560 x 1440 display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 or Samsung Exynos 5433 SoC (depending on the region), and a 16-megapixel rear camera with optical image stabilization -- a first for Samsung.

Memory remains the same at 3GB while internal storage now starts at 32GB, with a microSD slot that can take up to 128GB cards for expansion. The battery is just about the same size as last year's model (3200 vs. 3220 mAh), and Samsung says it will charge from zero to 50 percent capacity in just 30 minutes thanks to Qualcomm's QuickCharge technology. 

The S5's fingerprint scanner and heart-rate monitor have made their way into the Note 4 as well, alongside an updated S Pen with improved tracking.

In terms of software the Note 4 runs Android 4.4.4 KitKat with Samsung's usual range of apps and interface tweaks on top of it. Among the highlights here are a new stacked card multitasking view, improved multitasking with the ability to have more than two windows open at a time, the ability to pin short notes to your home screen, and S Health specific improvements.

While the device itself maintains a similar design compared to its predecessor, one major change is the inclusion of a metal band that wraps around the frame of the Note 4 -- much like it was the case with the new Samsung Galaxy Alpha. Elsewhere the back is still textured plastic, which you can remove to access the SIM card, MicroSD memory card, and battery.

The Galaxy Note 4 be available from all major U.S. carriers, but Samsung hasn't shared specific details on pricing and launch dates.

Galaxy Note Edge

In addition to the new Note, Samsung also showed off a limited-edition version of the device with a curved edge screen on one of the sides. Dubbed Galaxy Note Edge, the phablet's differentiating feature is admittedly gimmicky, it'll be up to developers to exploit this extra bit of screen real estate in creative ways.

By default this edge acts as an app launcher, but there are a number of widgets designed specifically for it. Some examples mentioned or shown off by Samsung included tickers of sorts that let you flip through news or tweets, notifications, or app-specific toolbars. The idea is you get more functionality and information without disturbing whatever you're doing on the main screen.

The Galaxy Edge is also coming to all major U.S. carriers, and likewise, there's still no word on pricing or availability at this point.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/57940-samsung-unveils-galaxy-note-4-and-curved-display-galaxy-note-edge-at-ifa.html

 

[VitalyT]

I hope that by now Samsung has learned how not to present new products - placing a soporific Korean central-stage and let him struggle for the few English words that he knows.

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

I hope that by now Samsung has learned how not to present new products - placing a soporific Korean central-stage and let him struggle for the few English words that he knows.

I agree. They should've asked Tim Cook to do the presentation instead.

 

[Jad Chaar]

If I were a note user, I would be pretty disappointed. It seems like a very minor spec upgrade. I wonder why they didn't increase the battery capacity since I would expect the better screen would consume more power. Well it is what it is. At least the quick charging is pretty cool. The Note Edge is just a total gimmick.

 

[Nobina]

Man these curved edges are pointless, they don't even look good imo. Note 4 is a minor upgrade because there is really not much to add to it. Every new smartphone just has slightly better hardware and that's it.

 

[hahahanoobs]

This is the curve I was waiting for, except I wanted it on both edges.

 

[Guest]

Curved display the most ***** thing ever like three wheels bicycle.

 

[Guest]

Yawn. ..... boring.

Announcing a prototype curved edge screen at a product launch.... meh.

Goodluck for next week.

 

[p51d007]

Nope!
Samsung is getting about as bad at Apple with their iPhones. Minor hardware upgrades, but a HUGE price increase. I upgraded my Note1 in July to a Huawei Mate2 and couldn't be happier! Had people telling me that it only has a 720p scree, no KitKat, no snapdragon 801 processor, the benchmarks are nowhere near the top, it will be slow bla bla bla. Oh how wrong they were! I am a heavy phone, web, camera, email & text user. Around 1500-2000 minutes per month. Phone is fast, no lag, runs everything I want and with that huge battery, it lasts 2-3 days EASY! Try that with any of these QHD screen screaming devices. I've come to the conclusion, that the ever increasing processor speed, screen density is getting about as bad as the megahertz race in the early days of the PC. For day to day use, the majority of users won't really benefit from these 80x processors. You "might" open an app 0.01 seconds faster, but will that really do you any good? I run my device every day and negligible real world performance isn't what I am after. If it has a bright clear screen, has no lag, no crashes, a good camera & outstanding battery performance, THAT is what I want. The price was another factor. You know, off contract, the Note4 will be in the upper 700-800 dollar range off contract. The Mate2, off contract, full retail was only $300 bucks! I think the day of ever slightly increasing specs, without real innovation is hopefully coming to an end. Fingerprint scanners? Curved edge screens? Gimmicks. But, as with the iphones, notes and the like there will be fanboys lining up to get their hand on one, to wear out the battery running benchmarks and posting the results and crowing about how fast their device is, when, in just day to day operations, you might save 1-2 seconds in the ENTIRE day running a Note 4, iPhone6 etc, versus a midrange device.
Hey, those devices are nice, but personally, I can't see paying enough money to have 2 of my phones, versus one of those.

 

[Trillionsin]

Nope!
Samsung is getting about as bad at Apple with their iPhones. Minor hardware upgrades, but a HUGE price increase. I upgraded my Note1 in July to a Huawei Mate2 and couldn't be happier! Had people telling me that it only has a 720p scree, no KitKat, no snapdragon 801 processor, the benchmarks are nowhere near the top, it will be slow bla bla bla. Oh how wrong they were! I am a heavy phone, web, camera, email & text user. Around 1500-2000 minutes per month. Phone is fast, no lag, runs everything I want and with that huge battery, it lasts 2-3 days EASY! Try that with any of these QHD screen screaming devices. I've come to the conclusion, that the ever increasing processor speed, screen density is getting about as bad as the megahertz race in the early days of the PC. For day to day use, the majority of users won't really benefit from these 80x processors. You "might" open an app 0.01 seconds faster, but will that really do you any good? I run my device every day and negligible real world performance isn't what I am after. If it has a bright clear screen, has no lag, no crashes, a good camera & outstanding battery performance, THAT is what I want. The price was another factor. You know, off contract, the Note4 will be in the upper 700-800 dollar range off contract. The Mate2, off contract, full retail was only $300 bucks! I think the day of ever slightly increasing specs, without real innovation is hopefully coming to an end. Fingerprint scanners? Curved edge screens? Gimmicks. But, as with the iphones, notes and the like there will be fanboys lining up to get their hand on one, to wear out the battery running benchmarks and posting the results and crowing about how fast their device is, when, in just day to day operations, you might save 1-2 seconds in the ENTIRE day running a Note 4, iPhone6 etc, versus a midrange device.
Hey, those devices are nice, but personally, I can't see paying enough money to have 2 of my phones, versus one of those.

Why do I feel like this is all kind of beside the point... really. Change bad! No CHANGE! Your phone will cost me the same exact about as when I get the Note 4. $300 bucks if what I've read is correct. (But I'm with your there that the curved edge screen is a gimmick, but hey some people will love it!)

 

[trparky]

I have the Note 3 and I'm seriously not thinking about getting another Samsung device next time I get a new phone. Samsung still hasn't got Android 4.4.4 out for this device and 4.4.4 has been out for months.

I don't know what I'll be getting but from the looks of it, it isn't going to be a Samsung. Perhaps HTC or something.

 

[Guest]

Dual sims anyone ?

 

[Guest]

Note 4 looks good.... the 805 cpu is a nice upgrade most don't realise... better gpu and the new cpu nm....more power less powerhungery....
3gb ram is enough until google roll out 64 bit....
camera looks nice too.
note 3 battery is great so I except note 4 do well too...
qhd screen? well I guess its nice but full hd does the job well enough on a mobile, I would rather have that because it would need less processing power and therefor using less battery than q hd....
fingerprint I couldn't care less for as I wont give away my fingerprints to any machine(they all can be hacked).....my fingerprints cant be changed a password can....
overall a good upgrade but having note 3 which Is an amazing phone cant see my self upgrade and rather wait for next year when google rolls out 64 bit..... still its a great uprade for note 2/s3 owners...