![]() ![]() Any other bloatware you find on your phone is most likely courtesy of your carrier. These haven't disappeared, they're just packaged into Galaxy Apps and include partner apps (many that comes with deals) like Dropbox and Kindle for Samsung. You might also notice fewer bundled Samsung apps in general, like the Kid's Mode that came pre-installed in the S5. In addition to checking your heart-rate, the app can also monitor your blood-oxygen level (SpO2). In the US at least, S Health gets a new optional "coach" you can use that's sourced by healthcare provider Cigna. You may notice a few tiny changes to S Health. ![]() Just two more notes on apps before we move on. Shrinking the screen is one way to use the Note 4 when you've only got one free hand. Also, though it's meant to be temporary, shrinking the app window defeats the purpose of having such a large display in the first place. You can expand or hide it on any screen, and of course, customize the icons.įeatures that would help me use the phone one-handed are some I'd like to like, but in order for it to work, you have to be able to comfortably grip the phone and navigate with a thumb, something I had problems with while grabbing a pole on the bus and giving blood, both activities that really test these claims by taking an arm out of commission. New in the Note 4 is a persistent panel hosting icons for your home-button functions, plus one to shrink down the application window for theoretically better one-handed use. Large phones like this one often come with settings to turn on one-handed operations. As a security measure, the biometrically-minded can set up the fingerprint scanner as well (though its time-saving property is dubious). Blocking mode and private mode are present, and those who find the UI a little too frenetic can switch to a simpler Easy mode. Otherwise, you'll find a slew of ways to customize things from motion control to the notification panel. ![]() Google Search's always-listening ear is off by default, but you can turn it on in the app's settings menu under "Voice."Īndroid 4.4.4 is the backbone beneath Samsung's TouchWiz layer. I also enjoyed color-coding app folders on the home screen, which is another relatively tiny Note 4 omission. The Toolbox feature that was introduced with the S5 is also gone. My Magazine, the newsfeed that lives to the let of your home screen, has morphed into Flipboard (which powered it anyway). If anything, Samsung seems to have scaled back from the Galaxy S5 rather than piling more on top like it usually does. OS and appsĪndroid 4.4 KitKat is practically a given on this phone, as is Samsung's custom TouchWiz layer. Behind the scenes, the Note 4 supports Bluetooth 4.1 and NFC. Music plays nice and loud out of the speakers, though its certainly passable audio quality is a little tinny and thin, not quite the rich, rounded audio of the HTC One M8, for example. This isn't a deal-breaker by any means, though some folks find that "waterproof" phones (also like the Xperia Z3) are a little more convenient for their hydrophilic lives. One thing you won't notice is a rubber gasket surrounding the internal parts to help keep them free of water, unlike on the Galaxy S5. There's a lot of power inside the Note 4, just no waterproofing. Apart from predictable differences in color temperature and tone between the LCD iPhone and G3 versus the AMOLED Notes, differences in lettering and image quality were minor, if visible at all. I also threw in the Note 3 for good measure. I spent a lot of time scrutinizing the Note 4's presentation of many HD images, Web sites, and even 4K video against the iPhone 6 Plus and LG G3, all of them with brightness cranked to the max. These are big, impressive numbers on a big, impressive display that is undoubtedly clear and sharp. Its pixel density of 515 ppi soars over the Note 3's 386 ppi and the iPhone 6 Plus' density of 401 ppi (but is less pixel-packed than the slightly smaller LG G3's at 538 ppi). ![]()
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