Looking at the mainstream high-end mobile processors, Qualcomm's Krait and ARM's Cortex-A15 are basically the two main types. With the launch of Galaxy Note4, Samsung has also brought us the first Cortex-A57 architecture processor Exynos 5433. Today we are welcoming the port version of Galaxy Note4 using this SoC.
This evaluation uses the port version of Galaxy Note4, SM-N910U, Exynos 5433 1.9GHz+32G Rom+3220mAh, which is different from the national bank version of Snapdragon 805+16G Rom+3000mAh.
Unpacking and styling
The packaging style of Galaxy Note4 is consistent with the Galaxy Alpha we have evaluated before.
There is a related technical introduction on the back. You can see that the Galaxy Note4 supports fast charging technology.
Open the top cover of the carton, and you can see that the Galaxy Note4 screen saver is also printed with several important functions of the product.
Galaxy Note 4 and Galaxy Note 3 both use a 5.7 inch screen, but the resolution has been greatly improved to 2560 * 1440, and Super AMOLED technology is still used.
The earpiece is flat with the front panel, with white paint on the surface, which was silver in the past. There are light sensor and distance sensor on the right side. The front panel adopts strip pattern.
The front camera of Galaxy Note4 has been greatly improved. Finally, the 2 megapixel front camera that has been used for a long time was replaced with a 3.7 megapixel camera, and the aperture reached F/1.9.
The lower part is still the classic entity home key design of Galaxy series. The home key has fingerprint recognition function. The entity key has a multi task touch key on the left and a return key on the right.
The design of the back basically continues the layout of the Galaxy S5.
The rear camera is 16 million pixels, with OIS optical anti shake function, aperture F/2.2, and the sensor is Sony IMX240, which is a 16:9 sensor.
Below the camera, we can see not only an LED fill light, but also an exaggerated sensor design. In addition to the heart rate sensor, Galaxy Note4 even adds an ultraviolet sensor to this position. In addition, we can see that the Galaxy Note4 still uses a plastic back cover made of imitation leather, which is more rugged than the Galaxy Note3.
When the heart rate sensor works, the red light will be on.
The speaker is placed on the back, and the back cover is slightly raised, which to some extent improves the problem of blocking the speaker when it is placed horizontally.
A major improvement in the appearance of Galaxy Note4 is the use of an all metal middle frame. Samsung has finally got rid of the name of "Ten Thousand Year Plastic" by virtue of Galaxy Alpha and Galaxy Note4.
The use of metal middle frame needs to solve the signal problem, so all brands will add metal partition strips on the middle frame or metal back cover. Galaxy Note4 handles this skillfully, spraying white paint on the side frame consistent with the fuselage, so that we can only see the partition layer on the polished edge of the side, not too obtrusive.
Tough metal frame design.
On the left and right sides of the fuselage, you can see that the four corners of the metal middle frame of the Galaxy Note4 are higher than the left and right frames, which can play a stronger role in collision prevention when falling.
On the right is the power button, which is also sprayed with white paint. Of course, there is a danger of paint falling off in these places.
On the left side is the volume key, which adopts the integrated design of long strip, and a concave design is adopted between the two keys.
There is a 3.5mm headphone connector, noise reducing microphone and infrared sensor on the top.
There is also a flaw at this position. There is a gap between the back cover and the metal middle frame. The same problem also exists with the other white harbor that the author unsealed at the same time. It is estimated that the accuracy of the back cover buckle is not high enough.
At the bottom is a micro USB interface and dual microphones. On the Galaxy Note3, we saw the USB interface on the mobile phone for the first time. Since then, we have seen the same design on the Galaxy Round and the Galaxy S5, but on the contrary, the Galaxy Note4 has "degenerated" to USB 2.0. In particular, the Galaxy Note4 has two microphones at the bottom, which can be used with the microphone at the top to achieve multi-directional recording.
The gap between the metal frame and the front panel of the Galaxy Note4 was too large after its launch, and even some retail phones that users got can be inserted with cards... The gap in my hand is not very large, but the fit between the left and right sides is really different
The Galaxy Note4 still has the design of a detachable back cover. The position of the groove for opening the cover is the same as that of the Galaxy Note3.
When the back cover is opened, it is still a replaceable battery design full of "conscience".
The battery capacity is 3220mAh, and the battery cell is made in Korea.
The port version Galaxy Note4 adopts a single card design and supports GSM/WCDMA/FDD-LTE networks. In China, it can support Unicom networks and mobile 2G networks. In addition, micro SD card expansion is also supported. The fuselage label uses simplified Chinese, so we guess that the Hong Kong version of Galaxy Note4 is made in the mainland, and then contact some flaws on the fuselage... well, you know.
The second layer of packaging is some accessories and instructions.
Like ordinary mobile phones, Galaxy Note4 is also equipped with a power adapter, data cable and headset. The difference is that with the addition of S Pen, Galaxy Note4 also comes with several plastic pen tips and a clip for easy replacement.
The power adapter supporting fast charging technology can charge the mobile phone to 50% power within half an hour.
There is no doubt that the Hong Kong version uses British plugs.
According to the charger specifications, the Galaxy Note4 charger has two output modes, one is 9V 1.67A (Xiaomi 4 also uses a similar technology, and the output is 9V 1.2A), and the other is a conventional 5V 2.0A. It can be seen that the quick charging of Galaxy Note4 is achieved by increasing the charging voltage.
The plastic tip and clip for S Pen are included in the package.
We can easily change the pen tip by ourselves through the attached tools.
The Galaxy Note4 still uses a 5.7 inch screen and is very similar to the previous generation in terms of body size, so the feeling of one hand holding is not very different. It is almost impossible for ordinary Asians to operate with one hand freely. In addition, due to the addition of the metal middle frame, the Galaxy Note4 will give a very strong feeling when held.
Finally, let's compare the size of Galaxy Note4 and other mobile phones:
Galaxy Note4 (5.7 inches) and Galaxy Note3 (5.7 inches), the former is longer and the width is basically the same.
For Galaxy Note4 and its "arch rival" iPhone 6 Plus (5.5 inches), Apple has made 5.5 inches into 5.7 inches, which is longer and narrower than Galaxy Note4.
Compared with the Big Mac Xplay3S (6-inch), the Galaxy Note4 finally appears smaller.
The middle frame of Galaxy Note4 is a little similar to the style of Xplay3S. Both of them are white painted on the metal middle frame. However, Samsung is more sophisticated in detail processing, and the frame feels more delicate (upper Galaxy Note4, lower Xplay3S).
Galaxy Note4 and the previous generation flagship Galaxy S5 (5.1 inches), it can be seen that the frame of S5 is wider than Note4 due to the waterproof and dust-proof design.
Galaxy Note4 and Samsung's new "small screen" flagship Galaxy Alpha (4.7 inches) have many similarities in design.
The frame processing also comes down in one continuous line. The difference is that the Galaxy Alpha does not paint on the frame, but directly uses the sandblasting process for the metal middle frame. The advantage is that the hidden danger of paint falling is avoided, and the disadvantage is that the metal partition layer is obvious (left Galaxy Note4, right Galaxy Alpha).
Screen display
Galaxy Note4 uses a brand new screen. The 5.7-inch 2560 * 1440 specification has never appeared in previous products. The PPI of this screen has also reached 515, and it is not a problem even if the Pentile arrangement of Super AMOLED is over 500. In addition, this screen has made great progress in color tuning compared with the past. The following is our live show, which uses the iPhone 6 Plus (5.5 inch 1080P, IPS) and Galaxy S5 Broadband LTE-A (5.1 inch 1440P, Super AMOLED) as the comparison objects. During the test, both Note4 and S5 are in movie mode:
Comparison of portrait photos.
Original drawing.
Animation picture comparison.
Original drawing.
From the above comparison, it can be clearly seen that Galaxy Note4 is no longer a problem in displaying white. It will not appear the yellowing phenomenon commonly seen on Super AMOLED in the past, while the color performance continues the strong performance of Galaxy S5 Broadband LTE-A.
In terms of brightness, Galaxy Note4 continues the characteristics of Galaxy S5. If strong light is detected under automatic brightness, the brightness will be automatically adjusted to a high level. Since our test environment is indoor, we can only use the mobile phone's fill light to simulate "strong light". The measured maximum brightness of Galaxy Note4 is about 450cd/㎡.
In the case of manually adjusting the brightness, only 300 cd/㎡ is available. Therefore, users of Galaxy Note4 are advised to turn on the automatic brightness mode outdoors.
UI and Features
The Galaxy Note4 still uses Samsung's TouchWiz. The icon design is exactly the same as that of the Galaxy S5. The only changes are that the icon is relatively smaller, some wallpapers are added and the style of plug-ins is changed. Therefore, users who have used the Galaxy S5 will be easy to use.
Click the screenshot of the folder, and you can see that the spacing between icons is large.
The lock screen interface is similar to the Galaxy S5, but the weather clock is centered.
The pull-down menu is also identical to the Galaxy S5.
The secondary menu adopts a layout of 5 * 5, with small icons
The setting menu has been greatly changed. First, the color matching has been changed to white. In the shortcut settings, it is still displayed in the form of nine squares. The specific setting options below are displayed in a list, which is clearer than the Galaxy S5.
Galaxy Note4's system is based on Android 4.4.4, with kernel version 3.10.9.
Support ART mode.
The tone mode in the display settings has been changed to three modes: cinema, photo and basic mode. The basic color looks most natural and comfortable.
The Hong Kong Galaxy Note4 supports the FDD-LTE network and can normally use Unicom 4G in the mainland.
Multi task management is presented in the form of cards. You can clear tasks with one click.
Due to its large size, Galaxy Note4 has also added some optimizations for large screens, such as our common "small screen mode". The way to call out is to quickly slide in from the left and right sides of the screen and then retract, which will enter the single hand mode.
At the same time, a side key panel is also added to realize the function of side virtual keys, so that the three keys below the fuselage are not required for single hand operation.
The floating window and split screen function of Galaxy Note4 are also more convenient than before. The current application needs to be converted to the floating window mode. Just slide diagonally in the upper left or right corner of the screen. The above is a schematic diagram of opening three floating windows. The floating window only supports its own applications and a few third-party applications.
Minimize the floating window, and it will become a circular icon, which can be moved and scaled at will.
The floating window can also be displayed in the form of split screen.
The dial panel also adopts white as the main tone.
SMS interface.
Press and hold the power key to pop up the menu.
The main color of the system has changed from dark green to white, which is not good for SuperAMOLED.
With the addition of new sensors and functions, Galaxy Note4's S Health has more functions than other mobile phones.
The newly added blood oxygen saturation test will also display the current heart rate status while measuring.
Using the UV sensor on the back, we can measure the outdoor UV intensity. When measuring, we only need to aim the sensor at the sun.
S Pen is also a big selling point of Galaxy Note4. Compared with Galaxy Note3, this generation has many improvements. For example, S Pen in Note4 has reached 2048 pressure, while Note3 has only 1024 pressure. Pull out S Pen, and the pop-up command shortcut menu will pop up.
The image editing function allows users to take screenshots in any shape.
Screenshot writing function, you can scribble freely on the screenshot.
Intelligent multi screenshots can automatically recognize characters within a specific range of screenshots and convert them into text, which is very convenient.
performance
Galaxy Note4 has two SoC versions, Snapdragon 805 2.7GHz and Exynos 5433 1.9GHz. Today we test the latter. The Exynos 5433 on Galaxy Note4 consists of four Cortex-A57 and four Cortex-A53 cores The LITTLE architecture is the second SoC with a 20nm process (the first is also the Exynos 5430 from Samsung, which is used on some Galaxy Alpha). Exynos 5433 is also the first SoC to use the Cortex-A57 kernel. Both Cortex-A57 and Cortex-A53 support 64 bits. Before Note4 was launched, foreign media said that Exynos 5433 can only run in 32-bit mode. Whether this is correct or not, we will not know until Samsung updates Android L for Galaxy Note4. Exynos 5433 is equipped with Mali-T760 graphics processor. The number of cores is unknown. This is also the most high-end GPU of ARM. In addition, Galaxy Note4 also uses advanced specifications such as 3G Ram and eMMC5.0. What is its performance? Let's "run a minute" together:
First, let's take a look at the basic situation. The four core Cortex-A53 has a frequency from 400MHz to 1300MHz, and the four core Cortex-A57 has a frequency from 700MHz to 1900MHz. Exynos 5433 does not show the "cleverness" that HMP should have, and has always maintained the state of full open eight cores, a "living and dying together" situation. Fortunately, the A57 core can control power consumption to a certain extent at a lower frequency during daily use.
Screenshot of CPU-Z, Cortex-A57 version is r1p0 。
In the startup RAM state, the idle RAM is only about 1.46G. On the one hand, TouchWiz takes up a large amount of memory. On the other hand, the Hong Kong version has many built-in applications, such as Dropbox, Facebook, YouTube, etc., and can't be uninstalled normally without root.
The port version Galaxy Note4 has a built-in 32G Rom (the lowest is 32G, and the Bank of China doesn't cry...), with a usable capacity of about 24.6GB, which is within the normal range.
First of all, of course, we are most familiar with Anthare. We used the latest version of 5.1 to test, and the total score broke the 50000 mark, which is quite eye-catching. Especially in the RAM and CPU performance tests, the Krait and Cortex-A15 cores we have tested in the past were largely abandoned.
The 3D drawing score exceeds 15000. It's really good to achieve this score at 2K resolution, but it's still lower than Snapdragon 805 (Snapdragon 805 can also exceed 17000 points at 2K resolution).
Geekbench 3 and Exynos 5433 show strong strength, and both single core and multi-core achievements are among the best in Android.
Among them, AES, TWOFISH, SHA1, SHA2, which are encryption and decryption related tests, have greatly improved compared with previous processors, which is also a benefit of ARMv8.
Pi 10 million bit test, Exynos 5433 completed the calculation in less than 21 seconds, which is quite amazing. This is also the highest mobile phone we have tested, and it also successfully surpassed the MT6595 with "Remax"
The RAR compression test measures the performance of the CPU L2 cache. Exynos 5433 performs well in this test, approaching 1700KB/s.
The web page Javascript performance test Sunspider, because the A57 core did not play its normal strength during the Chrome beta test, we used our own browser for the test, and the results were also quite satisfactory. The test score was 381.9ms (the lower the better), which is close to the iPhone 6 Plus in terms of value. Of course, this test is greatly influenced by the browser, and this is only for reference.
A1 SD Bench 2.3.0， From the performance of reading 224MB/s and writing 133MB/s, Galaxy Note4 undoubtedly uses eMMC5.0, and the comprehensive strength of reading and writing performance is definitely the first echelon in mobile phones. The result of RAM copy test is shocking. It is only over 3000MB/s, less than one third of Xiaomi 4. Maybe we should attribute this to "wrong posture"
Finally, let's take a look at the GPU performance that everyone pays more attention to. In the GFXBench 3 test, the off screen performance of Galaxy Note4, Manhattan and Tyrannosaurus Rex are 17.3 and 37.7 frames respectively, which is much better than Galaxy Alpha, but still inferior to Snapdragon 805 and A8. In the opening performance, the gap between Galaxy Note4 and Galaxy S5 Broadband LTE-A using Snapdragon 805 is only one frame, so their theoretical performance of graphics in the game should be equal.
Compared with Exynos 5430, the low-level test has been greatly improved, but it still feels weak.
In the 3DMark test, the performance of Galaxy Note4 is not eye-catching, but the frame number of physical test (CPU performance test) is relatively high
We also observed the frequency of the GPU during the test. When running 3DMark, the frequency of the GPU was 600MHz, and the voltage of the GPU reached 1V.
Of course, just scoring is not enough. Let's also test the game. Because the Galaxy Note4 of Exynos 5433 cannot obtain Root permission, the detailed frame number of the game cannot be displayed well for the time being.
In modern war 4, we found that the GPU frequency of Galaxy Note 4 was only maintained at 350MHz, and the GPU voltage was 875mV. Although the GPU frequency is very low, the overall smoothness of the game is good.
In Wild Speed Racing 8, the GPU in most scenes is only 350MHz, the game is basically smooth, and sometimes it gets stuck.
In some cases, it will rise to 420MHz at 900mV, but there is still a big gap between it and 600MHz under the running point state.
We also found a modified version of the real racing car 3, which can check the running situation of the game in real time by using the built-in frame number detection. We used the first runway of the game, and the real-time frames of Galaxy Note4 were basically below 40 frames, so the performance was not very good.
In Modern War 5, the GPU is even as low as 266MHz. This frequency is a bit conservative, and sometimes the game will get stuck.
While running the game, the frequency of Cortex-A53 is basically always at the highest frequency of 1.3GHz, while the frequency of Cortex-A57 is fluctuating.
In general, the performance of the Exynos 5433 of Galaxy Note4 is very satisfactory, especially in terms of CPU. Although the GPU is slightly inferior to the Snapdragon 805 and A8, it should not be a problem for games with 2K resolution, But for now, this Exynos 5433 has not played its due strength in the game. In most cases, the GPU is in a "half blood" state. We can only expect the emergence of a third-party kernel that can lock the GPU frequency. A more detailed comparison and list of Galaxy Note4 performance will be further analyzed in the formal evaluation.
photograph
The camera view interface of Galaxy Note4 is basically the same as that of Galaxy S5. Since the sensor is 16:9, the camera view is full screen.
The setup menu has been slightly changed.
Click Detailed Settings. The options here are basically the same as those of the Galaxy S5.
Support 4K and 2K video recording.
Galaxy Note4 uses a 16 million pixel rear camera with a Sony IMX240 sensor, 16:9 native, and F/2.2 aperture. It seems that the parameters are no different from Galaxy S5 Broadband LTE-A, but this time Note4 has added OIS optical anti shake, which is the first time Samsung Galaxy series has added this technology. How about the photo taking effect? We join the Galaxy S5 Broadband LTE-A, which also uses IMX240, for sample comparison:
Daylight imaging (click to view the large picture):
Galaxy Note4， The sharpness is excellent and the color is bright.
Galaxy S5 Broadband LTE-A， Sharpness performance is better than Note 4, and the color is relatively flat
Zoom in and compare the details. Both of them perform well. 16 million pixels bring strong analytical power to these two phones. By contrast, the effect of Galaxy S5 Broadband LTE-A is more like that of sharpening, while Note 4 is more natural.
Galaxy Note4， The sharpness is excellent, the white balance is also good, and the exposure is slightly higher.
Galaxy S5 Broadband LTE-A， The wooden cards are obviously purple, and the sharpness is not as good as Note 4.
Enlarge the contrast and make a judgment. It seems that the Note 4 on daylight imaging should be more stable.
Galaxy Note4 also supports real-time HDR, and the imaging speed is very fast. The above is the comparison between turning off HDR (the first one) and turning on HDR (the second one).
Finally, let's take a photo with a strong taste to show the excellent analytical power of Galaxy Note4:
By 100% magnification of the details, it can be seen that the analytical power of Note4 is really outstanding.
Night imaging:
Galaxy Note4， The light in this scene is extremely poor. Note 4 will automatically switch to the night view mode when it is dark, and the overall picture brightness can be guaranteed. In this case, the details should not be too much
Shooting in the normal mode of Galaxy S5 Broadband LTE-A... I don't think it's necessary to say how tragic it is.
Galaxy Note4， The light in this scene is slightly better than that just now, and the performance of Note4 is also much better. The brightness and details of the picture are guaranteed.
The Galaxy S5 Broadband LTE-A is in normal mode, with serious noise and low image brightness.
The "Image Stabilization" mode of Galaxy S5 Broadband LTE-A has much less noise and slightly higher brightness, but it is still far from Note4. In fact, Note4 also turns on this "picture stabilization" mode in the night scene to achieve a longer exposure time with optical anti shake, and the final optimized result is much better than S5.
summary
From this test, the Galaxy Note4 has shown impressive performance in design, performance and photography. There are still many points to be said about this Android flagship machine. We will introduce them one by one in the next detailed evaluation.
