SpecEagle review · Samsung

Galaxy Note 4 review: A fan-favourite Note — metal frame, big removable battery, QHD screen.

SpecEagle Editorial·Oct 2014·$750
Overall
44/100
Class rank
#79 of 92
Tier
Flagship
Buy?
Look elsewhere
The verdict, up front

A 2014 Note many fans still miss — removable battery and all.

The Note 4 paired a metal frame with the practical removable battery and microSD that later Notes dropped. A nostalgic favourite, now firmly history.

01Display

74/100

74/100 puts it above the 72-point average for flagship phones of 2014.

TypeSuper AMOLED, 60 Hz
Size5.7 inches
Resolution2,560 × 1,440 px (515 ppi)
ProtectionGorilla Glass 4

02Camera

52/100

52/100 is one of the weaker camera results among flagship phones of 2014 — 11 points under the average. Check the rows below before buying for this.

Main16 MP, f/2.2, OIS
Selfie3.7 MP, f/1.9
Video4K @ 30 fps
FeaturesS Pen Air Command

03Performance

34/100

34/100 is one of the weaker performance results among flagship phones of 2014 — 25 points under the average. Check the rows below before buying for this.

ChipsetSnapdragon 805 / Exynos 5433 (20/28 nm)
CPU4–8 cores
GPUAdreno 420 / Mali-T760
RAM3 GB
Storage32 GB · microSD

04Battery

56/100

56/100 is one of the weaker battery results among flagship phones of 2014 — 8 points under the average. Check the rows below before buying for this.

Capacity3,220 mAh (removable)
Wired15 W Adaptive Fast Charge
WirelessOptional

05Build

60/100

60/100 is one of the weaker build results among flagship phones of 2014 — 8 points under the average. Check the rows below before buying for this.

06Value

42/100

42/100 is one of the weaker value results among flagship phones of 2014 — 11 points under the average. Check the rows below before buying for this.

What works
  • Beloved by fans — metal frame plus a removable battery and microSD.
  • Sharp QHD AMOLED; capable S Pen.
  • Good battery life for 2014.
  • Adaptive Fast Charging.
What doesn't
  • Plastic back; microUSB; mono speaker.
  • Software ended at Android 6.
  • No water resistance.
  • Discontinued — a vintage device.
Cross-shop it against
Nexus 5 (LG)
$349 · score 84/100

How this review is built: every section score, spec row and comparison on this page comes from SpecEagle's tracked catalogue — scores weight measured specs against the 92-phone cohort of flagship devices released around the same time. We don't publish invented lab anecdotes. Spot an error? .