The Samsung Galaxy Note 4 is a big deal in every sense of the word. Samsung ensured that they held nothing back when it came to the features of the phablet (phone and tablet combo) and this is evident in the impressive specs which the device has.

However, can these impressive specs combine to give a first-class experience?

The Screen

When you look at the Note 4, a few things catch your eye. The first is the gigantic size of the device. The phone sports a gigantic 5.7-inch display (For comparative purposes the S5 has a 5.1-inch screen and the iPhone 6 a 4.7). Even though the phone is huge, it actually feels lighter in the hand than expected.

The next is the design. The back of the phone has a faux leather similar to the one used on the S5.

Turning on the phone, the gorgeous HD Super AMOLED display jumps right at you.

The screen shows the brightest and sharpest colours I’ve ever seen on a phone. This is especially evident when you watch videos on YouTube or those which you’ve recorded yourself.

Camera

This leads me to the best aspect of the Note 4 — the camera. With a 16-megapixel rear camera capable of capturing pictures in 2k, this camera is capable of competing with most high-end cameras.

I loved that the phone can automatically capture shots in HDR instead of having to wait for the image to be processed.

Speed

With over three gigabytes of RAM and a Quad Snapdragon processor, the Note 4 is exceptionally fast.

The phone turns on in seconds and apps load almost instantly. Even the most graphically-demanding games never lag and will resume even after opening numerous other apps. The Multi-Window feature of the Note 4 also allows you to use multiple apps side-by-side, which is perfect for copying texts or images from one app to another, or for watching a video while using social media.

The Pen

The S Pen has been improved on the Note 4 and writing on the device feels as natural as writing on paper.

The S Pen works fantastically with apps such as S Note, which allows you to capture images from a book or board and convert it into a notebook-style digital version.

The Battery

One area which most smartphones tend to fall down on is the battery life. However, I’m happy to say, try as I might I was never able to truly kill the Note 4’s battery. Even with heavy use of the camera, data and constantly playing video games, the phone never seemed in danger of dying before I reached home.

To make matters better, the phone’s charger actually came with fast-charging, which had the phone fully charged in about an hour.

The Disappointment

The Note 4 is not perfect, however. The biggest disappointment I found with the phone is its speaker which is at the back. This means that when playing music you have to place the phone on the screen when you put it down or you’ll get a muffled sound.

The Samsung TouchWiz experience isn’t very intuitive as well and the menu system can be very confusing.

Overall, the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 is easily the best Android device on the market. It meets all the expectations one has when one thinks of a smartphone and is useful to almost any type of consumer. The device is truly noteworthy.