It’s the battle of the QHD displays as we take a look at the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and the LG G3.
In terms of design both LG and Samsung have been attempting to leave behind their older design aesthetics in favor of more premium looking designs. In terms of LG, they have been making a new sleeker look when it comes to the G3, that now comes with a 5.5 inch screen, but the Galaxy Note 4 despite still having its 5.7 inch screen, now has a metal frame all around that really gives an even better look than before. The Note 4 bezels aren’t exactly massive and the LG G3 has some of the thinnest bezels around, accomplished by moving its power and volume buttons back to the back of the phone. The front of the LG G3 is also without any physical buttons while the Note 4 has its same button layout with the tactile home button. While both handsets offer large displays, the Galaxy Note 4 is still noticeably bigger and it makes it a little bit harder to handle. The battle of the displays is going to be an interesting one, because now we have 2 QHD displays. While the Note 4 display is a little bit bigger it also sports a Super AMOLED compared to the LG G3 which has the IPS+ LCD display. There is no denial that they are both great, but some people do prefer the Super AMOLED vividness over the LCD of the LG G3. As far as the pixel density goes, we do still get over 500 ppi in either of these displays and it should make for a very sharp experience, whether you are looking at media or text. We can say that we don’t really have a preference between Super AMOLED and LCD, you are getting a great experience either way with either of the devices, so you really only have to look at the size in your comparison.
Obviously the Note 4 being the newer device you’ll be getting a little bit of a boost when it comes to as performance, mainly because you will have the Quad-Core Snapdragon 805 processor, which is the newest one in the bunch. That does trump the Snapdragon 801 from the LG G3, but we do have to say that the LG G3 processing package, even though it might be a little bit lower than that of the Note 4 is still not a remarkable difference at all. You will see a lot of great performance on either of these devices, but we will say that the Note 4 is sporting a 4 GB of RAM over the 2 GB or 3 GB that you can get with the LG G3. So that is a bit in the favor of the Note 4, but with both of these devices you’ll really see how heavy the actual UI is and with the processing packages that you do get, you will also see that it’s able to go through all of its elements pretty well. Performance really does seem a little neck-in-neck here unless you want to be on the leading edge, in which case you would probably go for the Galaxy Note 4.
When it comes to the hardware, you will be getting an expandable storage in either of these devices so storage shouldn’t be that much of a problem. Everything you would expect from LG and Samsung flagships makes the “C” when it comes to connectivity, but of course the Note 4 has the added benefit of its stylus. The patented S Pen which really adds to the experience especially for those professionals out there who really want to be able to write down notes on the fly at any point.
When it comes to the cameras we do have to say that LG is one of the pioneers when it comes to optical image stabilization on their phones, but Samsung has finally adopted it with the Note 4. Which means you will get smoother video, clearer picture and especially better low light performance with its bumped up 16 Megapixel rear-facing camera. On the LG G3 you will also get 13 Megapixels but the device also comes with a great laser focusing system, quickly finding its subjects in order to get you to capture your images fast. Now the Galaxy Note 4 does take the lead with its front facing camera because it is a 3.7 Megapixel front facing unit that features a 90° viewing angle that can be further enhanced with a wide viewing angle that you can use in a panoramic mode to be able to get group selfies very easily.
Finally in software we look at the “feature-ish” package of the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 which adds enhancements on to previous packages, including in the S Pen and Multitasking. In Multitasking now you get the ability to trigger the multi-window straight from the recent app screen and you will be able to seamlessly move from it. When it comes to the S Pen you will also get new modes like Smart Select, which will make doing research a lot simpler on the phone, and the Snap Mode which digitizes handwritten info with any pictures that you take. Using the mode will detect the writing and the images that can be used inside of an S Note. Now the LG G3 features some big changes of its own and mostly comes with the new flatter and streamline UI, but it also comes with a smart software which will help you maintain some parts of your phone and also customize things like the keyboard. Ultimately you will get a very rich software package on either of these but the Note 4 does have the Stylus that adds some more functionality to it. So if you really need those features than the Galaxy Note 4 is probably the one for you.
These two Korean manufacturers have really been going neck-to-neck when it comes to their flagship devices. Not only do we have better designs, but now both of them also have QHD displays. Underneath the surface we have great performance and from there we have the camera experience on the LG G3 that was already great with the laser guided auto-focus, but the Note 4 is catching up with its own version of optical image stabilization. It really comes down to the usage that comes out of it and if the S Pen is better suited for you, in which case that would really make the Note 4 over the top. The LG G3 performs very well and provides a lot of useful features for anybody out there that wants to get a lot done.