Honest thoughts on the Note 4

[CTalman]

Hi,
I'm currently toying with the idea of getting rid of my LG G3. One of the options I'm considering is the Note 4.
I've already done a lot of research and feel that this would be a good purchase (despite the Note 5 which I can't buy anyway as in the uk).
I'm hoping you guys can just give me your honest thoughts about the phones, positive and negative to help me make my mind up for sure.
Also has anyone used both LG G3 and Note 4. How do they compare?
Thanks.

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[SpookDroid]

I have only praise for the Note 4. Yes, it does have some lag depending on which version you get (some carriers have lag in the multitasking menu, some international versions had lag saving/opening images from the camera app), but a very powerful beast with an amazing camera. Also a very satisfying battery life.

I've been using the Note line since the Note 2 and couldn't be happier.

If you're thinking about the Note 4, though, and you're coming from the G3, you could also consider the G4. Also a great device. I couldn't love it entirely because I kept comparing its features to stuff already found on the Note 4, but still (although the G4 camera's manual controls do surpass the Note 4).

 

[Mr-Guy]

I cannot compare them but have the Note4 currently. Check out YouTube and the S-pen usage because that is what makes it special.

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[fatyank]

Love the Note 4. It's my first note. There is a little lag here and there but that's not something that bothers me. I use it as a companion to my Note Pro 12.2 tablet for mostly business but other things also. My music is on the Note 4 (SD card) as are photos. They are backed up on One Drive. No apps on the card. It seems like a big device at first but it's really not. I don't use a case but it looks like new. Lollipop was a nice upgrade for it. The screen is very sensitive. I've got big hands and sometimes while holding it I end up opening an app because part of my hand brushed the screen. I just close the app and life goes on. I move to the Note 4 from an S4 and it was a world of difference. The SPen really sold me. I'm using Nova launcher prime and Swiftkey Beta keyboard.
It's a real workhorse for me.

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[PookiePrancer]

The G3 I had suffered from horrible lag and other compromises due to its chip. Throttled brightness in hot weather, limited qHD video recording, redraws on the home screen and drawer.

My sister has one, however, and loves it. From my limited handling of it, it's way better than the one I had.

Ultimately, though, I switched to a Note 4 and haven't looked back.

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[Jude526]

I have had the Note2 Note3 and upgraded to the Note4. I do use a case though unlike other users. Its an awesome device. I do have to charge it nightly. I use for work too. Occasionally will lag. Facebook is the worse on it. But other than that no issues. I will not use a phone that has no SD card or removable battery.
I highly recommend the Note4

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[RumpRoast]

I came from a G3 and am happier with the Note 4.

The G3 fell off the roof of my car going 45mph and was ran over by multiple vehicles. Assurian offered me a Note 4 due to ATT discontinuing the G3 and I'm glad I took their offer.

I absolutely loved the screen on the G3, at the time it was the first Qhd screen and everything just seemed to pop and floated on the screen. The problem with the G3 however, was the Snapdragon 801 was not up to par to handle the Qhd screen. There was a lot of stutters when playing games, going to the home screen and just general jerkiness when scrolling.
The Note's 805 handles the Qhd demand quite a bit better imo and both devices had 3gb of ram. I used Nova prime and imported my exact layout from the G3 to the Note.

I'm going on 3 weeks with the Note and can tell that everyday tasks seemed much smoother. Battery life is also better with me ending my work day with about 75% on the Note vs 40-50% on the G3.

Sorry for the wall of text, I hope that answers any questions you had between the 2 devices.

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[chrisjtown33]

Honestly I can't see using anything other than a Samsung. The phones are made very well. I have the note 4 and upgraded from s3. Big difference. A friend of mine had a g3 and said battery life was horrible had problems with freezing. I haven't experienced any freezing up and I have a ton of apps, pics, and messages. The battery is phenomenal. Heavy use and the phone lives for 6-8 hours. Moderate use 12-24 hours. Light use 24-48 hours. Standby goes for days and days and days etc....I can't see making a switch ever, unless Samsung bombs all of the sudden. Hopefully it doesn't happen. Gl with your decision.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

 

[fatyank]

RumpRoast how did you get your G3 to go 45mph? I couldn't resist.

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[Raybo7]

I love the Note 4. Even at a year old it still holds its own and it's features are still relevant today

Posted via the Samsung Note 4

 

[Tsepz_GP]

Hi,
I'm currently toying with the idea of getting rid of my LG G3. One of the options I'm considering is the Note 4.
I've already done a lot of research and feel that this would be a good purchase (despite the Note 5 which I can't buy anyway as in the uk).
I'm hoping you guys can just give me your honest thoughts about the phones, positive and negative to help me make my mind up for sure.
Also has anyone used both LG G3 and Note 4. How do they compare?
Thanks.

Posted via the Android Central App

I got my Note 4 last year after a colleague of mine got his G3 32GB.

The G3 had a lot of Micro-lag, and its display was not as good to look at as the Note 4's.

The Note 4's build quality is another major win, the mix of Metal frame, and textured faux leather back, makes the phone feel premium, solid and grippy.

If you do get the Note 4 I advise updating to 5.1.1 immediately. Samsung messed up 5.0.1 but they bounced back in 5.1.1, it runs beautifully and so smooth.

I'd say even compared to the LG G4 the Note 4 is far ahead, it has a more powerful GPU, the SPen makes it unique, the battery life is a lot better, etc...

I personally rate the Note 4 to be the very best Android so far, only being truly rivaled by the Sony Xperia Z5 Premium. The Note5 and S6 Edge+ took a step backward, especially when compared to a Note 4 running 5.1.1.


Sent from my Note 4 +64GB MicroSDXC via Tapatalk

 

[CTalman]

Thanks for all the comments so far. All very useful and informative.
I do like my LG G3 but I'm ready for a change. I've not had a Samsung before and I like to try different phones each time.
The Moto X Pure/Style is also on my radar but the Note 4 may just win through.
A decent battery, very good camera and good screen are high upon my wish list for a phone and with the price of the Note 4 starting to drop it sounds like this could be a winner (despite being a year old).
Does anyone use the fingerprint scanner, sounds to me that this isn't particularly good on the Note 4?
TouchWiz is a concern but I'd probably just use Nova or another launcher... What is the experience of using these launchers on this phone?
Thanks.

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[nahoku]

Does anyone use the fingerprint scanner, sounds to me that this isn't particularly good on the Note 4?

I just posted something about this in another thread. For me, the secret to the finger print scanner is to register your prints with "very light" pressure... meaning, do not distort your fingers. When I unlock my phone, I "barely" touch the sensor. I'm talking... very, very light pressure over the scanner.

I think a lot of people who have trouble with the scanner are animals! LOL! They use too much pressure while registering their prints, thus distorting their finger and prints in the process. And then, when they attempt to unlock their phone, the pressure they use may or may not match the distorted prints they registered.... and the phone unlocks inconsistently. Then they grumble about how bad the scanner is!

Logic tells me that if you register with very light, undistorted prints, then unlock with very light undistorted strokes, the scanner will be able to read your prints more consistently.

Light pressure is the key! Does it work? For me, one swipe, about 90% of the time. Not perfect, but no phone is. Lastly, if you register your prints without a case on the phone, re-register when you put a case on, or change the case. The scan and read angle may change with different cases.

By the way, the Note 4 is a very good phone. Personally, the only lag I see are in milliseconds. It takes longer for me to cough than my phone takes to reach the task I want it to do. I've heard about the camera to gallery lag, but I don't see this. I even did a side by side comparison in Costco with my Note 4 against the Note 5 and the lag difference was miniscule. I think the Note 5 was just a tad bit faster, but not by much... maybe, .1 seconds? I mean if the camera to gallery lag I notice on my Note 4 is what people are grumbling about, then I must be lame!

Personally, I don't think you can go wrong with the Note 4. If you get the phone, do yourself a favor... read the manual, watch a ton of tips and hidden feature videos, and run through all the things the phone can do... before you start installing a ton of apps! At least that way, you can get a good sense of what a "clean" Note 4 runs like.

 

[natehoy]

I love it and would buy it again in a microsecond, which is about what most of the "lag" is between tasks. This is my first Note, and the primary reason I moved back into the Note series was because of poor battery life and the lack of a replaceable battery in the Moto X series, which I loved other than that. I just got sick of carrying around a battery brick and putting my delicate charging port at risk by having a cable dangling out of it walking around playing Ingress, mostly. So when I bought it, my primary considerations were "big screen" and "replaceable battery" - otherwise I would not have canceled my preorder for a Nexus 6 to go with the Note.

I got a lot more than I expected. S-Pen has changed the way I use a phone in a number of ways. The screen is really, REALLY good. The phone is a beast in terms of performance. The camera is excellent. The fit, finish, and appearance look as great in a protective case as anything else (smirk).

I'm still not a TouchWiz fan but with Nova Prime it's not something that bothers me as much as I thought it would.

All is not perfect in Noteland. Having the back button on the right drives me bat-guano crazy sometimes. Sorry, I know it's consistent among Samsungs, but I am used to Android and it's a transition going back and forth all the time. I have the AT&T edition and the GPS is troublesome. I've put a lot of work into it and it's acceptable, but it is one of the poorer GPS performers I've owned. Signal, and particularly data, seems somewhat weak (but most of the time I've owned it it's been in the summer in Maine. Once the tourists all leave, things tend to speed up, so here's hoping it's just the Summer Signal Blues).

There is notable lag in a few places - most visibly right after taking a picture - if you want to look at that picture, be prepared for a bit of a wait. It's not earth-shattering but the lag there is noticeable - as in seconds, sometimes as much as ten seconds. Not a huge deal, since I rarely want to look at pictures right after I've taken them. If I'm not sure the photo came out, I'll take two more just in case.

But all in all, it's a nice balance of size, utility, and performance. I wish they had added a little more thickness and put a bigger battery in, but I can do that myself with a ZeroLemon or something if that's more important to me later on, and being able to pop a new battery in any time I feel like it offsets that a lot. Fast charging also helps, but I'd rather not have to depend on a power source during the day at all, if possible.

 

[Carrtman]

love it but I would recommend rooting it to unleash the whole power of this baby and to uninstall all the unneeded Samsung and bloatware.

The S Pen is just great I use it daily be it after eating something on the go and not wanting to touch the phone with my fingers or doing some brainstorming on the beach and see where it goes. One of my favorite features is the ability to select which part of a site I want to screenshot for scrapbook it's called intelligent selection, you'll love it.

Another recommendation would be to install Nova because Tw is well Tw and turn of all the unneeded animations and trust the phone will fly.

I've never had the G3 so I can't compare them but I think you will like it a lot the screen is unbelievable the only downside is that the phone is huge other than that by far the best phone samsung ever made and unlike it's successor it's a productivity device instead of a wannabe ISung toy.

oh and btw.The battery lasts 2 days easily so 3 batteries means you only have to charge it once per week

 

[natehoy]

oh and btw.The battery lasts 2 days easily so 3 batteries means you only have to charge it once per week

I'm usually looking longingly at my spare battery by 6PM unless I've managed to get an hour on the charger squeaked in sometime during the day, but I use the hell out of my phone constantly, so different use cases = different needs.

 

[CTalman]

Thanks again for all your honest and indepth posts.
Really helps with my decision.
Im going to go for the Note 4 and trade in my LG g3 while there's still a bit of value left on it.
Now I just need to find the best deal! I don't go through a carrier as hate getting locked in as I know after a year I get tempted to move again!
Thanks again guys.
Any more thoughts or opinions still welcome as won't be pushing the trigger for a few days yet.

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[nahoku]

There is notable lag in a few places - most visibly right after taking a picture - if you want to look at that picture, be prepared for a bit of a wait. It's not earth-shattering but the lag there is noticeable - as in seconds, sometimes as much as ten seconds.

This is just so strange. I wonder why there's so much deviation in times noted on different phones. Here's a video I just shot of my camera to gallery delay. All my photos and videos are stored on SD by default. For me, it doesn't matter if it's a photo, or video, the gallery pops up quite readily when I hit the button.

You can tell when the gallery has launched by watching the icons change at the top of the phone. Also note that I showed the "recent apps" so you can see that both the camera and gallery were not previously launched.

I have to wonder if it's some kind of sync issue, or a Lollipop issue.

 

[NYVET]

Love my Note 4! Don't even want the 5. This is the best phone on the planet!

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[PublicImageLtd]

Love it and hate n5

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