Negatives to Note 4

[motoguy1]

Wife and I have been using iPhones since '08. We currently have (or had) the 4S model. Both of us were getting bored with iOS, the past few updates have pissed her off with functionality, etc. She had just reached a point where she was "done with Apple". She wanted a new phone, I wanted a bigger screen than my iPhone 4S.

I should point out I purchased a pair of Sero7 Pro tablets for us last year. I like (and use) mine, but she was ready to throw hers out the window after a week. HATED it. Being used to iOS, Jellybean was too much of a learning curve (relative to her commitment to the swap), and she just quit using the tablet. I ended up giving it to my day. All that to say...she LOVES her S5. Even she will admit, she likes it "probably just because it's different", in addition to the screen size, etc.

I went with the Note4. We've had both phones just over a week (still in the 14 day return period). Having tinkered with the Jellybean tablet over the last year, I'm somewhat familiar with Android. Still, I find the experience on the Note to be "clunky", compared to the iPhones. It also felt like it's "slower" than the iPhone, with delays on screen rotate, opening/closing apps, etc. Is it REALLY clunky, or am I just "trained" to iOS? Valid question...but tasks that take me a single tap on the iPhone are taking several taps on the Note. I've started to change some of the apps around (hate the stock mail app, installed BlueMail, which I like better. Handcent for texts, running Nova, etc.

I have the ATT version, which means mine is bootlocked (I rooted the Sero7, but never really did anything with it). I've been debating whether I should return the ATT phone and pick up a TMobile version, but I think I'm just going to stick with the (overpriced, locked) ATT version. I never really exploited the jailbroken iPhones or rooted tablet (aside from customization/appearance aspects), so I don't think I'm missing much.

I had considered a Nexus, for the "pure" Android experience (as opposed to bloatware, manufacturer specific UI's, etc), but the lack of SD card slot was a deal killer. I'm tire of buying into / being locked into memory capacity (iPhone), so the idea of expandable (and swappable) memory appeals to me. I had no idea about the S-pen, and I'm still not real sure what it does/what benefits it offers. Reading here about the 'make the phone into a notepad' aspect, I think I'll have to check that out.

Back to the point of the thread, the "negatives" I've found are 1) clunky OS (which is likely just a learning curve issue), and 2) size. I REALLY like the size of the wife's Galaxy S5 better, but I like the screen size (and 'more capable device') aspect of the Note. I contemplated returning the Note for an S5, until reading several "Note 4 vs S5" comparisons.

 

[MightyMike]

Can't fit in pocket and run well otherwise awesome

posted with my note 4

Lol...I had to adjust my work wardrobe because of this. Guess that is a negative!

Sent via the Next Big Thing, My Galaxy N4

 

[PlanetPluto7]

I use Textra for messaging. It's good; very straight foreword. Can't imagine having a phone without an active stylus. I did the Note3 and now the 4.

 

[PlanetPluto7]

The s-pen is a pen or pencil in art. It also does a good mouse imitation.

 

[donas2000]

Pros- I love the s-pen, the thinness of the the phone, and screen resolution
Cons- I really think this is the worse phone I have had in years as far as performance. It lags and very often the touch screen responds inaccurately. I am on my second one, as the first one had a defect and would not send clear pictures, every picture that was compressed became extremely blurry. I am on the Verizon network and have never experienced drop calls and slow internet until this phone, now both are daily. I have been working with their customer service for weeks now. I have so many registered dropped calls Verizon offered to waive the early termination fee so I can switch carriers......I could go on and on about this device.

I'm not looking to get blasted by everyone that loves the Note 4, just providing my personal experiences.

 

[Lambertoid]

I have the note 4 and for me the negative is the reason I bought it and it's the size. Everything else is great I could have went with a g3 and been just as happy but for taking notes this thing takes the cake.

i hate big phones thats why i got a.. (phablet)

 

[Nick_1020]

I just moved from Windows phone, which I love, to the Note 4 just for the S pen. I work in Sales. I need to be able to take notes. I used to have several notepads lying around with notes from meetings. No rhyme or reason to the notepads. Now, between the MS Surface 3 and the Note 4, I am totally paperless. With the Surface 3, I can take notes in meetings using the stylus. With the Note 4, I can take notes at lunch meetings where the Surface is to large to take out. And, since Android has OneNote, all my notes sync between phone, Surface 3, and home Windows computer. Nirvana!!

So for me, the S pen isn't a gimmick. It's a tool I use every day.

Pretty much the same for me....

Except I don't work in sales, nor own a Surface 3.

Absolutely loving the Note 4!

 

[mayconvert]

The only thing you Will miss is iMessage. its better than anything android has to offer.
I work at apple and have a Note 4 if that says anything. iOS may have a little smoothness to it that android doesn't have, but at the cost of No real widgets, No S pen like features, No customization ( you can't even turn off the ignorant auto arrange apps and place them where you want)

iOS is great, but I am just SO bored with it after using it from iPhone 3G to iPhone 6+ that I can't stand it any more.
I have had several android phones and only 2 phones in this world make me forget all about iOS.

2014 Moto x (yes cam is crappy but the hands free is so amazing, its almost worth it)
and the Note 4.

I have had the Note 4 for 3 weeks now and i Still can't stop touching it.
S Pen, I honestly don't use a lot, it's Not a gimmick, but if you don't have a Reason to use it, or if you don't Make use of it, its not really going to do much for you.

 

[GSOgymrat]

I would say the biggest negative to Note 4 is that for most people it is overkill. Cheaper phones are available that will meet the needs of 95% of users. If your problem is that you are bored with iPhone I can assure you exploring Note 4's features and options will keep you entertained.

 

[LaTuFu]

For me it has been an absolute worthwhile transition.

I've never liked the iOS platform. My wife is a loyal apple fan, and I have always felt iOS lacked functionality in so many crucial ways. I am not bashing iOS, it just didn't fit what I needed a smartphone to do, nothing more.

I've been with an Android device since the earliest days of Android, so I have been along for the ride with lag, freezes, battery draining apps, GPS inaccuracies, Bluetooth incompatibilities, and yet somehow I stayed a fan of this platform all throughout.

Probably because by the time the Galaxy S2 came out, the platform began to mature enough that it was a solid performer and had real world usefulness.

I now use my Note 4 for everything, and only go to a laptop or PC if I absolutely have to. I scan documents into PDF, I sign quotes on screen, prepare emails, cut and paste photos into emails to send to colleagues, and so many other things. The business functionality and efficiencies I've gained from the S-Pen and the larger screen are enormous.

There are a few limitations of the phone, but I've yet to run into a smart phone that is perfect, so I don't really notice the limitations of the Note 4 that much. This device does so many things to help my daily tasks run smoother that it is imperfect in ways I can live with.

 

[kobe008]

I have had the Note 4 for about a month now and there are only 2 things I do not like.

1. When listening to music via headphones or Bluetooth when the volume is raised to a certain point there is a nag message saying you could hurt your ears. I have to click OK before it lets me raise the volume. It does not remember this setting either you have to do it every time you listen.

2. There is a small bump on the back cover where the speaker is so if you lay the phone down on a hard surface and try to type the phone will rock back and forth.

 

[tech_fan]

I was an IOS fan before I got my Note 3. I was stung by the Galaxy S3 right before I went to IOS. The Note series is unique for the stylus. I do not use the stylus every day but when I use it, its very convenient. I have a co-worker who uses her Note 3 and stylus everyday. She has it fully integrated into her life much better than I do.

When the Iphone 6 was announced, I was tempted to return back to IOS because the device looked nice. That only lasted for the day.

The battery life on my Note 3 is far superior to the Iphone. If, the Iphone 6 never came out, my wife was gong to switch to the Note series. She is a major Apple fan but, really liked my display and useability of my Note.

Another nice feature of the Note is the ability to remove the battery and add extra SD card support. The other Android devices that you mentioned, do not have that flexibility. Recently, I decided to try the pure Android experience by trying out the Moto x. I hated the battery life, the camera did not seem to take very good pictures and overall the phone was not for me. Also, I was missing the features of the Note 3 and found that I was adding software to phone to make a mini Note 3. I wound up returning it and going back to my Note 3.

Once Verizon is done clearing me of the Moto X(its been 2 months), then I will upgrade to the Note 4 or Edge. I will probably wind up with the Edge because I think that curved screen simplifies a lot of the processes that I do on my phone plus, its a substantial enough of improvement to motivate me to upgrade.

 

[doohsun]

So far everything has been great on my note 4 except for the scratches on the metal trim. There's quite a few complaints about that. At first i thought my case doesn't scratch it but i release i was wrong. I have the UAG others have the spigen brand. I think their metal strip is poor designed or cheap. Knowing Samsung they won't admit to their mistake so they'll blame the case manufactures. And I'm sure they will be blaming Samsung in the end customers get burned!

 

[hdhuntr]

I also hate number 1 but it is an Android thing not exclusive to the Note 4

I have had the Note 4 for about a month now and there are only 2 things I do not like.

1. When listening to music via headphones or Bluetooth when the volume is raised to a certain point there is a nag message saying you could hurt your ears. I have to click OK before it lets me raise the volume. It does not remember this setting either you have to do it every time you listen.

2. There is a small bump on the back cover where the speaker is so if you lay the phone down on a hard surface and try to type the phone will rock back and forth.

 

[Rmbrown1964]

I been using android since it first came out on Tmobile. I also went one year with the iphone 4s then Note 2 ,3 and now the Note 4 I also had a windows phone and blackberry. It really depends on you and your needs. As we all know nothing is ever going to be perfect. figure out if the pros outway the cons. For me I love the Note4. It has a beautiful screen. I don't have any lag as others complained about. Battery has been good not great. The only other problem I have is taking pictures anything that moves gets blurred. I have tried everything to fix this problem, out door picks are great and video is awsome. Being able to add more memory and also replacing the battery is a big plus. Hope this helps out!

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[sly11]

Really love the screen,battery ,the pen is what i like the most


Dislike
1 the camera is the worse one i ever had on a phone
2 It reboot 3 times so far
3 Lots and lots of lag


I will echange 4 a new one tomorrow and see if it's better if not will return on saterday.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[mayconvert]

Really love the screen,battery ,the pen is what i like the most


Dislike
1 the camera is the worse one i ever had on a phone
2 It reboot 3 times so far
3 Lots and lots of lag


I will echange 4 a new one tomorrow and see if it's better if not will return on saterday.

Posted via the Android Central App

You have a defective phone.
My camera takes some Killer pictures.
Never rebooted on its own.
There is a minor hitching, once in a while, here and there, but my Note has the least amount of lag of ANY android phone I have ever owned.

 

[hdhuntr]

This is likely not a defective phone. There are SO many posts in here like the one you quoted (that won't be in this post) that almost always turn out to be by people who just don't know all the stuff that makes these phones do what they do. I know people can't be born knowing this stuff but if you read the post (number 36) it's pretty clear if he/she handed it to someone who has had these things it'd be about a 10 minute fix...

You have a defective phone.
My camera takes some Killer pictures.
Never rebooted on its own.
There is a minor hitching, once in a while, here and there, but my Note has the least amount of lag of ANY android phone I have ever owned.

 

[emerrow]

I'm really enjoying my note 4. I switched from an iphone 5 at the beginning of november. Though, this phone doesn't go without some cons

1. Note 4 does not work very well with my car's (toyota prius) bluetooth interface. I can't play any music from my car's touch screen interface, I have to use the actual phone. I also get a little sound hiccup sometimes when playing music via bluetooth. The iphone worked flawlessly all the time. *the note 4 phone calls work pretty well through my car's system*

2. Siri (sort of). Mostly just how easy it was to use siri. I could just hold down the home button and say something like "Play artist/song/track _____" and siri would instantly play it. Google now is okay, but I'd rather be able to hold down the home button to have the ability to use voice commands. And the recognition of "Okay Google" works about 60ish% of the time for me. Overall, not horrible, just a little different/inconvenient for me.

3. iMessage

4. Unnecessary software. I disabled and uninstalled a lot software I never needed or used. Definitely helped any sort of lag I was noticing or any battery life problems.

Other than that, I love this phone, the camera is incredible! Love the S pen, love the google suite of apps. I'm really enjoying android as well! If only I could get an iDroid phone... that would be awesome! but until then, I'm keeping and enjoying my note 4!

 

[LaTuFu]

I'm really enjoying my note 4. I switched from an iphone 5 at the beginning of november. Though, this phone doesn't go without some cons

1. Note 4 does not work very well with my car's (toyota prius) bluetooth interface. I can't play any music from my car's touch screen interface, I have to use the actual phone. I also get a little sound hiccup sometimes when playing music via bluetooth. The iphone worked flawlessly all the time. *the note 4 phone calls work pretty well through my car's system*

Your iPhone 5 runs an older version of Bluetooth (v4.0) than the Note 4 runs (v4.1). Toyota needs to update the firmware on their head units to support 4.1. Most auto manufacturers are pretty good about maintaining BT compatibility in their systems, so you'll probably see a firmware update within the next 6 months. As long as you're not expecting a 15 year old Prius to get a firmware update.

2. Siri (sort of). Mostly just how easy it was to use siri. I could just hold down the home button and say something like "Play artist/song/track _____" and siri would instantly play it. Google now is okay, but I'd rather be able to hold down the home button to have the ability to use voice commands. And the recognition of "Okay Google" works about 60ish% of the time for me. Overall, not horrible, just a little different/inconvenient for me.

Duly noted. I expect this to steadily improve over time. They've gone from nothing to OK Google in less than a year, so it is pretty impressive where it is now, considering all of the manufacturers that they have to deal with.

3. iMessage

I know this sounds snarky, but I am always amused at the way Apple goes to great lengths to make their systems completely incompatible with the rest of the world (and in the case of iMessage, ripping off the idea from another company in the process), but people coming from Apple devices always lament that they don't have a particular feature any more. If it helps you any, I went through a period of withdrawal from BBM (the original iMessage) when I transitioned away from Blackberry 5-6 years ago, so I do understand your pain.

4. Unnecessary software. I disabled and uninstalled a lot software I never needed or used. Definitely helped any sort of lag I was noticing or any battery life problems.

Yeah, this is unfortunately the necessary evil of "open source" platforms like Android. The good news is, you can disable the bloatware now. A couple of years ago, Carriers were free to force that garbage down our throats and we were powerless to do anything about it if we didn't want to root our phones. At least rooting was easier back then.

Other than that, I love this phone, the camera is incredible! Love the S pen, love the google suite of apps. I'm really enjoying android as well! If only I could get an iDroid phone... that would be awesome! but until then, I'm keeping and enjoying my note 4!

Glad to hear that! Welcome to the Note 4 and AC!