I've been user of the first generation of Galaxy Note franchise: the Galaxy Note GT-N7000, since 3 years. The phone that back in 2011 was ridiculously big and most of the people said that nobody would use a phone bigger than a 4.5 inch device. The phone that started a new era that now any brand has his own phablet (Xperia ZL, LG G3, HTC One Max, Nokia Lumia 1320 etc). After three years, I've decided to go for the next big phablet, the Note 4.
This is not a review. My english is not so good to elaborate a proper review of every feature of this phone. You can see amazing reviews at Engadget, Android Police, Youtube or even here in XDA)
Size Comparasion:
If you thought that your N7000 was reeeeaally big, then get prepared for the Note 4. It's taller than his grandfather, but also is less wide so it's nice in hands.
The N7000 is 78,6 x 153,5 mm while the N910C is 82,95 x 146,85 mm. The weight is almost the same, just 4 grams less than the Note 1.
Build Quality:I think this is the most important difference between both phones. We all know that Samsung ditched polycarbonate in favor to metal. The ORIGINAL (later I will explain why I call it original) Note 4 comes with a brand new metallic frame with chamfered edges and a soft matte strip with the same color of the phone (cold white, pearl black, pink). Personally I don't know why they're still using polished metal for phones, did they not learn the lesson with the iPod touch? The HTC One? The iPhone 4, 5, 5S? Two days after using my Note 4, I saw a lot of scratches on on them, and after a week, it started to oxydize due to hands sweat. I was so angry that I've took metal polisher and started to polish it. The scratches disappeared, but then I polished the matte white strip.. HOLY DIFFERENCE! The phone now have a glossy finish and, due to this, a better grip. Take a look:
ScreenI never saw a better screen than the one in my N7000, until now. The Note 4 comes with a incredibly sharp 2K Amoled screen clocked at 60Hz. It's fast and inmerssive, and the best? There's no input lag. View angles are nice in both phones, the colors are morea accurate, the brightness is nice at direct sunlight and in dark enviorments.
Battery and OS: I never thought that a phone could run out of battery after 2 days of heavy use. AMAZING BATTERY USAGE. My Note 1 can't stay turned on more than 6 hours. Also, Ultra Power Saving mode does his job pretty well. About the OS, it comes with Kitkat 4.4.4. If you're using AryaMod in the GT-N7000 and switch to the Note 4, you will not notice too much difference. And that's due to Samsung's Touchwiz. Belive or not, Touchwiz is getting better. Almost lag free and very, VERY smooth than before. The only lag issue I found is trying to open the recent apps menu for first time, but that's something that Lollipop claims to fix so I'm not too worried.
So that's it. Belive me, the 700USD that this phone costs are totally worth. If you can afford it, go and get one. You will never regret. Thanks to everyone in this community, it's time to turn off my N7000, pull out the battery and save it in my desktop's drawer. Good luck!
