Performance
Like the Note 3 before it, the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 comes with two variants of CPU. For compatibility with European and certain American radio bands, the Note 4 is the first phone to feature the latest quad-core processor based upon the Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 chipset, at 2.7GHz and coupled with an Adreno 420 GPU and 3GB of RAM.
Other markets will see the debut of a 64-bit Samsung processor in the form of an in-house octa-core Exynos 5433, featuring four low-powered cores at 1.3GHz and four higher powered at 1.9GHz, which works alongside a Mali-T760 GPU.
As far as storage space is concerned, the same 16, 32 and 64GB options are available as in the Note 3, while microSD storage is still present, but now capable of accepting cards up to 128GB.
Battery
The Galaxy Note 3's 3,200mAh battery was no slouch by any stretch of the imagination, easily powering the large screen and stylus-smarts for a day's heavy usage. The Note 4 has extra grunt under the hood and an extra 1.6 million pixels to drive, so the slightly increased capacity from the 3220 mAh removable battery is welcome – despite packing only 20 extra mAh.
After all, a smartphone the size of either the Note 3 or Note 4 is verging on tablet territory, so it should be expected to last past the standard day's usage of most smaller smartphones.
Like the Galaxy S5 and Galaxy Alpha, a new Ultra Power Saving Mode is included in the latest iteration of TouchWiz UI, allowing you to stretch the battery life even further without having to reach for the charger.
If you'd rather not have the hassle of plugging a charging cable like you would on a Note 3, Samsung has introduced wireless charging for the first time on the Note 4. Like the charging plate bundled with the Lumia 930, there's no wires needed - you just place the Galaxy Note 4 onto the plate to charge it, no doubt saving precious seconds.
Price
Where the Note 3 can now be had for around £400. While the Galaxy Note 4 pricing hasn't been announced yet we expect it to be only slightly higher than the predecessor's original price.
When you consider that for this you're getting a QHD display, the latest quad or octa-core processor and a slimmer metal chassis, the extra few pounds are easily worth it.
Quick Verdict
If you already own last year's Galaxy Note, then you'd have to be a die-hard Samsung fan or have deep pockets to upgrade so swiftly.
While the Galaxy Note 3 is still a phone that performs in most regards, the vastly improved aluminum frame makes Samsung's Note finally feel like a premium handset on the outside to match the top-flight specs that lie inside.
An uprated processor, QHD screen, larger battery and improved camera are all welcome specification improvements that leapfrog anything currently available from LG and HTC.
Of course there are still some predicted features that Samsung wasn't quite ready to deliver, such as a wrap-around display and retinal scanning security features. But as annual updates go, Samsung has delivered everything we could have reasonably expected.
