Samsung Galaxy Note Edge vs Samsung Galaxy Note 4

Samsung Galaxy Note Edge vs Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Specs Head-to-head

Early September, Samsung announced two new flagship smartphones, both members of the Galaxy Note family. We are talking about the highly anticipated Galaxy Note 4 and the new Galaxy Note Edge with its bent display. Since they are two of the most powerful smartphones on the market we are going to put them head to head in the Samsung Galaxy Note Edge vs Samsung Galaxy Note 4 specs battle.

The Samsung Galaxy Note Edge vs Samsung Galaxy Note 4 specs battle will follow the same pattern as our previous Versus posts. There will be ten rounds where we will be judging the performance of the two devices in terms of Display, Dimensions, Connectivity, Memory, Camera, Design, Battery Life, Operating System, and Price. Each round is worth one point and, of course, the smartphone that manages to score most points wins the battle.

Display

Without a doubt, the screen is the main selling point of the two devices. Both phablets come with Quad HD screens.

Samsung Galaxy Note 4 features a 5.7-inch Super AMOLED display with Quad HD (1440 x 2560) resolution and a pixel density of 515 ppi. The screen is protected by a Gorilla Glass 4 layer.

On the other hand, Galaxy Edge has a curved edge screen measuring 5.6 inches diagonally and having a total resolution of 1600 x 2560. It has a protective Gorilla Glass 3 layer and a pixel density of 524 ppi.

Even though they are both similar when it comes to resolution and size, Galaxy Note 4’s screen is more appropriate for basic tasks such as web browsing or watching videos. Furthermore, it’s less prone to scratching courtesy of the Gorilla Glass 4 layer. Note 4 wins the display round.

Dimensions

We are dealing with two phablets here, so don’t expect anything decent when it comes to dimensions. Both come with 5.5+ inch displays, therefore the body needs to be large enough to accommodate them.

Samsung Galaxy Note 4 is 153.5 mm tall, 78.6 mm wide, and only 8.3 mm thin, while weighing in at 176 grams. Galaxy Note Edge is 151.3 mm tall, 82.4 mm wide, 8.3 mm thin and weighs in at 174 grams.

As you can see the Galaxy Note Edge is more compact than its cousin. The curved device wins this round.

Connectivity

The connectivity features are fairly similar for the modern smartphones. Let’s see what hides under the hood of Galaxy Note 4 and Galaxy Note Edge.

Connectivity-wise Samsung Galaxy Note 4 arrives with LTE Cat 6 or Cat 4, HSPA, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot, Bluetooth 4.1 Low Energy, NFC, IR blaster, and microUSB 2.0. On the other hand, Galaxy Edge comes with LTE Cat 6 or Cat 4, HSPA, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot, Bluetooth 4.1 Low Energy, NFC, IR blaster, and microUSB 2.0.

Can you spot the difference? No? Well, it’s probably because there’s no difference between the two in terms of connectivity. This round ends as tie.

Memory

Games, apps, your music collection, your favorite TV shows, and lots of photos. All these require a lot of storage, so let’s see how Note Edge and Note 4 perform.

Samsung Galaxy Note 4 integrates 32 GB of internal storage and has support for 128 GB microSD cards. Believe it or not, Note Edge also comes with 32 GB storage and a microSD cards that accepts up to 128 GB of external storage.

Android is famous for its multitasking and Samsung took it to another level with Multi Window. Both devices arrive with 3 GB of RAM, so the multitasking experience will be flawless.

As you can see for yourself Samsung Galaxy Note Edge and Galaxy Note 4 are identical when it comes to Memory. The round ends as tie.

Processor

The high-end smartphone market is currently dominated by Qualcomm’s chipsets. Even though Samsung has their proprietary Exynos SoC, the South Koreans are using Qualcomm’s solutions for many of their phones.

Both Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and Galaxy Note Edge are underpinned by the exact same chipset. We are talking about a Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 processor that is based on four Krait 450 cores clocked at 2.5 GHz and an Adreno 420 GPU.

There’s no way to differentiate the two devices when it comes to Processor. Another round ends as tie.

Camera

Samsung’s flagship smartphones have always boasted about great cameras. Galaxy Note 4 and Galaxy Edge make no exception.

Just like Note 4 and Note Edge have the same processor, they also arrive with the same cameras. They pack 16 MP primary shooters with optical image stabilization, autofocus, and LED flash. They also integrate Dual Shot, Simultaneous HD video and image recording, geo-tagging, touch focus, face/smile detection, panorama, HDR, and support for 4K video recording. The fort-facing units of the two smartphones have 3.7 MP sensors with Wide Selfie feature.

Yes, you are right. The Camera round also ends as tie.

Design

In the past, Samsung received a lot of criticism for the design of their phones, many customers and journalists complaining that their devices aren’t premium-enough. We are glad to see that Samsung is taking huge steps forward towards a premium design.

Starting with Galaxy Alpha, Samsung’s smartphones started using premium materials. Both Galaxy Note 4 and Galaxy Note Edge are build using premium materials and they are fairly similar in design. They both have a metal flame around the body, a faux leather back that feels soft and high-quality, and they both have a slot for the S Pen stylus in the lower left corner. The main camera is placed in the higher end of the phone, centered, and right below it there’s a heart rate monitor. Both have a fingerprint sensor embedded in the Home button.

Samsung Galaxy Note 4 continues the design philosophy introduced by its predecessor, the Note 3. It has sharp edges and less rounded corners. Note Edge follows the same design guidelines, but its display is bent over one of the edges. It’s a bit wider than Note 4, but in the same time it’s shorter and slimmer.

Both devices look and feel premium and there’s no way to tell which one looks better. This round is a tie.

Battery Life

Besides sporting big displays, the phablets are also known for having above-average battery life. Let’s see how Note Edge and Note 4 perform when it comes to autonomy.

Samsung Galaxy Note Edge is powered by a Li-Ion 3,000 mAh battery. In our tests the device managed to get through about two days of normal usage on a single charge.

Samsung Galaxy Note 4 is kept alive by a 3,220 mAh battery using the same Li-Ion technology. We’ve tested the Note 4 and we can say that it’s battery is large enough to keep it awake through about two days of normal usage.

Even though Note 4 has a slightly bigger battery, the two smartphones are similar when it comes to battery life. It’s a tie!

Operating System

Samsung is the largest Android OEM in the world and both Note 4 and Note Edge are underpinned by Google’s mobile OS. They both come pre-loaded with Android 4.4 KitKat.

Both phones have Samsung’s proprietary ToucWiz UI installed on top of Android 4.4.4 KitKat, bringing some neat software features. Just to name a few Smart Select (allows the user to easily select content using the S Pen and share it right away), Photo Note (you can take photos and convert analog text to digital), enhanced Multi Window (you can now resize the windows), Fast Charging (go from 0% to 50% in about 30 minutes), and Ultra Power Saving Mode (shuts down unnecessary processes to dramatically increase battery life).

Besides all the aforementioned features, Galaxy Note Edge has a couple of aces up its sleeve. You can move all the notifications to the Edge screen (side screen) and you can enable it to be always on while sleeping and transform your phone in some sort of alarm clock. You can also customize the information shown on the side screen, place shortcuts there, or have a different background.

The Edge-specific software features are quite intuitive and quite useful and the phone definitely outmatches its cousin when it comes to OS. Galaxy Note Edge wins the operating system round.

Price

We will try to keep it simple in the Price round. The cheaper smartphone wins. And because high-end phones are usually sold on-contract, we will be comparing the on-contract prices of the two devices.

In the US, AT&T and Sprint are the biggest carriers to have the Galaxy Note Edge in their portfolio. AT&T is selling the 32 GB Galaxy Note Edge at a price of $399.99 with a two year-contract, while Sprint is asking $429.99 for the 32 GB model after you sign a two-year agreement with them.

The price of the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 is the same whether you purchase it from AT&T or Sprint. The 32 GB variant costs $299.99 with a two-year contract.

Without a doubt, Galaxy Note 4 is the cheaper device. That’s why it wins the Price round.

Conclusions

Here we are at the end of the Samsung Galaxy Note Edge vs Samsung Galaxy Note 4 specs battle. It’s about time to start counting points and to see which smartphone is the winner.

I will start by saying that not less than six rounds ended as tie. The two devices where equally matched in terms of Memory, Camera, Processor, Connectivity and Design.

Samsung Galaxy Note 4 has won the Display and Price rounds. It’s because its screen is more appropriate for basic tasks such as web browsing or watching videos and because it’s cheaper than Galaxy Note Edge.

Samsung Galaxy Note Edge outmatched Galaxy Note 4 in two rounds. It scored two points for winning in Dimensions and Operating System rounds, because it’s more compact and because of the Edge screen-specific software features.

In our opinion, Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and Galaxy Note Edge are equally matched, so you can choose any of them without failing.