Samsung's Galaxy S5 might rule the roost when it comes to mainstream smartphones, but the Galaxy Note phablet range is king when it comes to big screens. The Galaxy Note 3has been on sale for over six months now, so it's time to start looking for rumours of its successor, the Galaxy Note 4.
SAMSUNG GALAXY NOTE 4 NAME
If Samsung is one thing, it is predictable. The Galaxy and Galaxy Note ranges are now household names; maybe not to the extent of Apple's iPhone, but easily the most well-recognised of all Android devices. It would be foolish for the company to abandon the Galaxy Note brand for the new handset, and now that it has finally abandoned roman numerals for its product names we're almost certain the phone will be called the Galaxy Note 4.
SAMSUNG GALAXY NOTE 4 DESIGN
Samsung keeps its flagship smartphone designs a closely guarded secret ahead of launch, but even without seeing the phone it's possible to work out what it will look like. The Galaxy Note 3 was a revised take on the Galaxy S4, albeit with a unique faux leather rear cover, so we would expect the Galaxy Note 4 to take design inspiration from the Galaxy S5. Whether the faux leather will return is unclear, as it has received a lukewarm reception from the technology press, but if customers like it, Samsung could decide to keep it for the new model.
Expect the Galaxy Note 4 to look like a mashup of the Galaxy S5 and Note 3
According to IT Today, the Galaxy Note 4 will retain the Galaxy S5's IP67 weatherproof build, although with so long to go until the reveal it's possible this will change. If Samsung decides there is demand, it could even make two models; one with weather-proofing and one without.
If Samsung is indeed targeting "premium" customers with the Note 4, it is possible it will finally move away from plastic to a metal design. With the iPhone 5s and HTC One (m8) using metal extensively, Samsung's smartphones are beginning to look a little cheap by comparison.
According to Yoon Han-kil, Samsung's senior VP of product strategy, the company will be revealing "new form factors" when it introduces the Note 4 later this year. Speaking to Reuters about the company's efforts with Android and Tizen, he said "Our ultimate goal is to make products that consumers really aspire to have. This is how we are trying to find a breakthrough in the stagnant premium market."
Although he didn't elaborate on what those form factors might be, we've seen plenty of patents filed by Samsung over the past few years that could give us a clue. Curved, flexible or even bendable screens are a possibility, or he could be referring to construction - with a metal Galaxy Note 4 still a possibility.
SAMSUNG GALAXY NOTE 4 SCREEN
As the Galaxy Note 3 has a 5.7in, Full HD display already, we're expecting Samsung to either go bigger, or add more pixels for the Galaxy Note 4. Considering that the Galaxy S5 has grown to 5.1in, it's most likely the Note 4 will grow to 5.9in - it's the next logical jump, seeing as the original Galaxy Note had a 5.3in screen, the Note 2 5.5in and the Note 3 5.7in.
Samsung itself has confirmed it is aiming for a 2014 release for higher than Full HD resolution screens - daum.net quotes Samsung representatives as penciling UHD (2,560x1,440) resolution screens for this year and, seeing as the Galaxy S5 is sticking with Full HD, the Galaxy Note 4 seems like a likely candidate.
A Samsung patent filing spotted in May 2013 suggests the company is working on three-sided bent displays, but neither the Galaxy Note 3 nor the Galaxy S5 used such technology. It's possible that the Galaxy Note 4 will mark the first appearance, but as it wasn't on the leaked roadmap this is a real long shot.
New patent discoveries have seemingly reinforced Samsung's plans to launch curved screens that cover the sides of a smartphone as well as the front. The sides would display notifications, as well as shortcuts to make it easier to jump straight into certain apps without swiping through multiple app drawer pages.
According to a Bloomberg report back in January, Samsung executives have hinted that the Galaxy Note 4 would have a new display type that would provide better viewing angles. The AMOLED display found on the Note 3 has excellent viewing angles in the traditional sense already, which could mean a bent or curved screen isn't out of the question for the new model.
SAMSUNG GALAXY NOTE 4 PERFORMANCE
When it launched last year, the Galaxy Note 3 was one of the most powerful smartphones we'd ever tested thanks to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 system-on-chip (SoC), which ran at 2.3GHz and was paired with 3GB of RAM - more than any other Android handset. If Samsung is to continue that trend, it will need to outperform its own Galaxy S5, which has a 2.5GHz Snapdragon 801 CPU.
By the time the Galaxy Note 4 goes on sale, Qualcomm may have solved the performance issues it has been having with the upcoming Snapdragon 805; originally expected to arrive early this year, the chip was instead delayed and didn't make it into either the Galaxy S5 or HTC One (m8).
If it arrives in time, the 4K-ready chip should easily outpace everything else on the market, especially if Samsung adds 3GB or even 4GB of RAM into the mix.
There's also a very likely possibility that Samsung will debut its own quad-, hex- or even octa-core processor specifically for the Galaxy Note 4. It would probably be called Exynos 6, seeing as the Exynos 5 appeared in the international Galaxy Note 3, although it may be reserved for specific markets and may not make it to the UK. 64-bit CPUs have also been rumoured, which would support the idea of a Samsung-built chip.
SAMSUNG GALAXY NOTE 4 CAMERA
Unlike other aspects of the Galaxy Note 4, the rear camera is less of a mystery. When an internal roadmap was posted online late last year, it showed that the company planned to use 16-megapixel ISOCELL sensors on its flagship smartphones throughout 2014. It first appeared on the Galaxy S5, and we would expect it to be used again on the Galaxy Note 4.
The Galaxy Note 3 had a great camera, but expect the Note 4 to go one better
If it does use the same sensor, the Galaxy Note 4 could be a potent smartphone for photographers. The ISOCELL sensor is technically capable of delivering higher image quality than a similarly sized CMOS sensor, because it isolated individual pixels to reduce crosstalk by as much as 30 per cent. That means less light leakage between pixels, resulting in clearer, more accurate images.
SAMSUNG GALAXY NOTE 4 SOFTWARE
What version of Android the Galaxy Note 4 will launch with depends very much on Google's plans for the mobile operating system. Android 4.4 Kitkat has been around for the best part of six months, and will be approaching its first birthday by September 2014, so it's highly likely the company will update to either 4.5 or 5.0 in that time.
Samsung has been making more of an effort to speed up the upgrade process for its existing phones, but with the custom Touchwiz user interface being such a radical departure from stock Android, it's possible the Galaxy Note 4 will launch with KitKat, regardless of what the latest version will be when it goes on sale.
SAMSUNG GALAXY NOTE 4 LAUNCH / RELEASE DATE
Just like each of the previous Galaxy Note reveals, Samsung is expected to announce the Galaxy Note 4 during or around the IFA trade show in Berlin, which is scheduled for the first week of September. Last year this took place at the Tempodrom, which is one of the only places outside of the Berlin Messe itself to host the number of journalists and Samsung fans expected to turn up for the launch, so we'd expect a repeat for 2014.
The invite to Samsung's Unpacked 2014 Episode 1 event
The Galaxy S5 was launched at Samsung Unpacked 2014 Episode 1, so it's practically guaranteed we'll be seeing the Note 4 at an event called Unpacked Episode 2. IFA runs from the 5th to the 10th of September, so we would expect Samsung to make the announcement on the evening of the first day.
As for a release date, Samsung almost always makes its phones available a month after they are announced. If we get an early September reveal, expect the phone to go on sale from the beginning of October. You'll almost certainly be able to pre-order the phone first, with all the major networks clamouring for your two-year contract.
However, Samsung will want to get the phone out of the gate as soon as possible, as Apple is also expected to launch a new phone in September. The iPhone 6 may even launch in two models; a standard handset with a 4.7in display and a larger phablet with a 5.5in screen that could compete directly with the Note 4.
SAMSUNG GALAXY NOTE 4 PRICE
The Galaxy Note range has always been more expensive than the standard Galaxy line-up because of the oversized screens and bundled S Pen stylus, which cost more to manufacture. With the Galaxy S5 costing a massive £650 SIM-free directly from Samsung, that could mean the Galaxy Note 4 will cost anything up to and above £700.
According to a Bloomberg report, Samsung executives have suggested the Note 4 would be aimed at customers wanting a "premium experience" and will have a price to match.
BEWARE FAKE PHOTOS
When dealing with rumours and speculation on a product that doesn't officially exist yet, it's important to remember that many of the leaks and "news" posts we have to sift through will have been made up. We're happy to post 3D renders, as they can help visualise what a future product or feature might look like, but will always point out renders when we post them to avoid confusion.
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