The Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Review
by Joshua Ho on October 15, 2014 9:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Samsung
- Android
- Mobile
- Galaxy Note 4
WiFi Performance
While the Galaxy S5 LTE-A Broadband had a Qualcomm Atheros solution (QCA6174), the Note 4 moves back to Broadcom's WiFi solution. In this case, we see the BCM4358, which is a revision of the BCM4354 that was first seen with Samsung's Galaxy S5. This shouldn't have any major differences outside of improved Bluetooth coexistence but antenna design can and does change between revisions. In order to test this, we use iperf and Asus' RT-AC68U router to try and achieve maximum performance.
As one can see, the Galaxy Note 4 has a strong showing in this test, easily surpassing every other device we have available for testing.
GNSS
At this point, it really goes without saying that the GNSS solution of choice is the one built into Qualcomm's modem. This allows for fixes based upon initial location and time data that the modem has, and therefore in practice every GPS fix is a hot fix and takes around 5 seconds for a lock in good conditions. In the case of the Note 4, with airplane mode on and no assistance data I saw that it took around 50 seconds to achieve a lock, but this is strongly dependent upon environmental conditions. Once locked, I found that the Note 4 had quite a strong lock and quickly went down to 10 foot accuracy level without issue.
Misc
Similar to the new Moto X we see a Cypress CapSense solution in the Note 4 but this is likely used for the capacitive buttons rather than any impedance-matching antenna tuner. The UV sensor appears to be a Maxim design win, although there's no information on the specific part. The battery's fuel gauge is also a Maxim part, as is the speaker amplifier and pulse sensor. The NFC chip used is NXP's PN547, so host card emulation should be supported and therefore Google Wallet's tap and pay system should work as well.
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theduckofdeath - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
If you can't see or understand the difference between a Galaxy Note 4 and a Galaxy S5, I really don#t see what you're doing commenting technology. Cementing the prejudice that iPhone buyers have no clue about technology and should always be considered the last people to ask for advice from?melgross - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
Really? I always thought it was Android users who thought that way. I guess you never know.KPOM - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
I'm as big a techie as anyone on lots of subjects but am an Apple fan. There is a lot of advanced technology underneath the pretty Apple UI.Ratman6161 - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
Little bit of trolling there? Since the iPhone 6 plus has only been out a couple of weeks I find it hard to believe that switching phones is actually an option. Unless you are fabulously wealthy then what a surprise...you aren't going to dump your brand new phone for something else.KPOM - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
The OP could be within the return window for the 6 plus.melgross - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
But no one would be nuts enough to do that.mkozakewich - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
If you get a custom back plate with Doge on it, it will have wow factor. Such custom. Very shibe.Tams80 - Thursday, October 16, 2014 - link
The iPhone 6 Plus just looks like a iPhone 6... oh, wait.xype - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
"Overall, the design of the Galaxy Note 4 is massively improved. "Uh… it}s still ugly though. So maybe _slightly_ improved?
theduckofdeath - Wednesday, October 15, 2014 - link
Uh, or we really couldn't care much less about you trying to BEND the interpretations of things here...