Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Release Date, Specs, Rumors

Now that the Samsung Galaxy S5 is officially official and the excitement over the launch of the Galaxy S5 Prime is starting to wash out, the median and the Samsung fans alike are turning their attention towards the next big release of the South Korean phone maker: Galaxy Note 4.

Even though Samsung was laughed in the face back in 2011 when they unveiled the 5.3-inch Galaxy Note, the Asian company showed everyone that there’s a big market for smartphones with big displays and high-end technical specifications. The original Galaxy Note got a successor every year and the family became more popular in time. Now everybody is anticipating the launch of the Samsung Galaxy Note 4.

As we are getting close to the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 launch new details and leaks of the much-awaited phablet are surfacing online on a regular basis. This article aims to keep you up to date with the latest Samsung Galaxy Note 4 release date, specs, and rumors so feel free to return here from time to time and check what’s new. We will try to update the article as soon as new details are revealed and also to dismiss the rumors that prove to be inaccurate.

Release Date

Even though there’s no official confirmation from Samsung regarding the Galaxy Note 4 release date, the latest reports and the company’s pattern for previous releases might give us the exact date when the new smartphone will be announced.

Samsung has always seen the Galaxy Note as the smartphone meant to attract the customers aiming to purchase an iPhone. That’s why the company had placed its announcement in the fall, around the dates new iPhones were expected to be revealed. Since Apple made a habit out of introducing their new iPhone in September, Samsung though it would be best to unveil their Galaxy Note at IFA, the Berlin-based tech fair.

It was only a week ago when we’ve heard a report coming from Korean media saying that the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 release date has been set for IFA 2014. Surprised? Nor are we. The original Galaxy Note was officially announced at IFA 2011, the Note 2 saw the light of day at the same tech fair, the the same happened with last year’s Note 3.

IFA Berlin 2014 will open its gates for the public on September 5, so expect the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 to be officially announced there.

Display

The Galaxy Note family of smartphones is known for their larger-than-usual displays, so expect nothing different this year.

In terms of resolution, the Note 4 is expected to pack a Quad HD (1440 x 1560). In fact, it was rumored that even the S5 would come with a QHD screen, but, in the end, the company has settled for a Full HD unit. Anyway, since LG already released a Quad HD smartphone, the G3, we are confident that Samsung will want to match that and the Note 4 would be the perfect occasion.

Even though there are lots of voices saying that Galaxy Note 4 will arrive with a 5.7-inch screen, we believe that the smartphone will feature a 5.9-inch unit. Why? Because the South Koreans have made a habit out of increasing the Galaxy Note screen 0.2 inches a year. The first Note had a 5.3-inch display, the Note 2 had a 5.5-inch screen, and last year’s Note 3 panel measured 5.7 inches diagonally. If the pattern checks out, the Note 4 will most likely come with a 5.9-inch Super AMOLED display.

A report no older than a week indicates that Samsung is planning to offer the Note 4 in two display variants: a flat-screen AMOLED model for mass marketing and a curved model for niche markets. Early rumors have suggested that the Galaxy Note 4 might come with a Youm-like display bent over the smartphone’s edges, but don’t hold your breath on that.

Dimensions

Samsung’s Galaxy Note 3 is 151.2 mm tall, 79.2 mm wide, 8.3 mm thin, and weighs 168 grams. Expect the Note 4 to have similar dimensions.

Because it’s obvious that most smartphone makers are aiming to reduce the size of the bezel around the display, the Galaxy Note 4 might actually be more compact than its predecessor if it keeps the same screen size, or it might have about the same dimensions if the screen is increased by 0.2 inches.

If the rumors prove true an the next-gen Samsung phablet will indeed be build of metal, it might be heavier than the Note 3.

Processor

Earlier this year, the folks at Qualcomm officially unveiled their high-end processing solutions for 2014: the Snapdragon 801 and the Snapdragon 805. Even though Apple made the jump to 64-bit computing with the A8 chipset that equips the iPhone 5S, we won’t be able to see 64-bit processor on the Android smartphones until next year.

Because the Snapdragon 805 is intended for high-end smartphones launched in the second half of the year, that’s what we’ll see under Galaxy Note 4′s hood. The Snapdragon 805 SoC is based on four Krait 450 cores clocked at 2.7 GHz and a quad-core Adreno 420 GPU that promises up to 40% graphics and compute performance improvement over its predecessor.

As usual, there will be two processor variants for the Note 4. The Snapdragon 805 model that will be made available on most markets and an octo-core Exynos 5 Octa variant that will hit the emerging markets. The Exynos 5 Octa SoC will most likely be identical with the one powering some Galaxy S5 variants: quad-core 1.9 GHz Cortex A15 CPU + quad-core 1.3 GHz Cortex A7 CPU and a Mali-T628 MP6 GPU.

Memory

You shouldn’t expect anything out of ordinary when it comes to storage. There will be two storage options: Samsung will either go with 16 and 32 GB of native storage or 32 and 64 GB.

As usual, there will be microSD card support that will allow expansion with up to 128 GB.

As I was mentioning above, the Galaxy Note 4 won’t make the jump to 64-bit processors, so don’t even dare to dream about 4 GB of RAM. Because the Note 3 already packs 3 GB of RAM and so does the LG G3 which, why not face it, will be one of Note 4′s rivals, the next-gen Samsung phablet will surely feature 3 GB RAM.

Connectivity

The connectivity features of the modern high-end smartphones have pretty much became standard for all manufacturers.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 4 will most likely feature HSDPA, 42.2 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps; LTE, Cat4, 50 Mbps UL, 150 Mbps DL, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, DLNA, Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi hotspot, and Bluetooth 4.0 Low Energy.

The connectivity features of the Galaxy Note 4 will also include NFC, IR blaster, and microUSB 3.0 with USB On-the-go and USB Host.

Camera

Most the reports agree on the camera module used by Samsung for the Galaxy Note 4: the same 16 MP camera that equips the Galaxy S5, but upgraded with Optical Image Stabilization.

In fact, the Galaxy S5 was also expected to feature optical image stabilization, but sources in the industry reported that because of Samsung’s incapacity of manufacturing enough OIS modules, the company had to ditch the feature from their flagship smartphone for 2014.

It seems though that Samsung has contracted Sony to manufacture the OIS modules for them, so expect the Galaxy Note 4 to feature the technology.

As a refresher, Samsung’s 16 MP ISOCELL camera sports phase detection autofocus, LED flash, 1/2.6” sensor size, 1.12 µm pixel size, Dual Shot, Simultaneous HD video and image recording, geo-tagging, touch focus, face and smile detection, image stabilization, HDR, support for 4K video recording at 30 fps, video stabilization, and slow motion 720p@120fps.

Operating System

Samsung’s Galaxy Note smartphones didn’t arrive with major TouchWiz design changes and I don’t see any reason why this year should be different.

Unless Google decides to introduce a new Android version before the launch of the Galaxy Note 4 (rumor has it that Android 4.5 might be released sometime this summer), Sammy’s high-end phablet will probably run Android 4.4.3 out of the box.

Among other changes, you should also expect improved functionality for the S Pen stylus and upgrades for Samsung’s native apps. If the rumors prove true and the South Korean company launches a Google Glass competitor synchronized with Note 4′s debut, expect the new smartphone to come pre-loaded with an app that allows the user to connect the phone to the smart wearable. We should also be able to see improvements for Knox and extended functionality for the fingerprint sensor.

Design

Samsung continues to receive bad reviews for the quality of materials used for their high-end smartphones and we are sure that the company plans to change that in the near future.

The Galaxy Note 3 and its faux-leather back was the company’s attempt to show us they can build premium smartphone, too. But they might go further than that this year. Many sources are indicating that, starting with the Galaxy S5 Prime/Galaxy F (a smartphone that should see the light of day later this summer), Samsung will use aluminium for their high-end smartphones.

Moreover, Samsung’s officials have confirmed in the past that the Galaxy Note 4 will have a “new form factor” and this might actually happen now that the company’s mobile design chief has been sacked. If the rumors saying that the Galaxy Note 4 will also be offered with a curved screen prove accurate, then we can indeed say that the handset will have a new form factor.

As I was mentioning above, there were voices saying that the Note 4 might have the display bent over one of edges, just like the Youm prototype presented by Samsung at CES 2013. This would be a first for the smartphone market and Sammy will need great designers to achieve that.

Other Features

Because Apple has fitted a fingerprint sensor on their iPhone 5S the technology has became mainstream and other manufacturers want it on their devices just to rival the Cupertino-based company.

The Galaxy S5 was Samsung’s first smartphone to pack a fingerprint sensor and I see no reason why the company won’t use one on the Note 4. They won’t change its position either, so it will be still embedded in the Home button. Samsung’s latest smart wearables integrate a lot f fitness-specific features and the Note 4 will have to go along with that and a rear-mounted heart rate monitor would definitely come to help.

Because the S Pen is an integral part of the Galaxy Note family, we should be able to see improvements brought to Samsung’s stylus: higher accuracy, new functions, and more.

Price

Samsung’s Galaxy Note smartphones were always a bit more expensive than the Galaxy S flagships launched ahead of them and we believe that Samsung will keep the strategy for 2014, too.

You shouldn’t be too surprised to hear that the Galaxy Note 4 will be launched at the same price the Note 3 had at its debut: around $650 – 700 off-contact.

The major US carriers will probably sell the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 at $299 after you agree to sign two-year contracts with them.