On September 4, Samsung released the latest flagship product Galaxy Note 3. In addition to the larger screen, Galaxy Note 3 also added new features such as USB 3.0 and 3G Ram. Like Galaxy S4, Note 3 also uses two versions of SoC. This time, we are evaluating the SM-N900 Note 3 (dual quad core). This is the first time that the Exynos 5420 has appeared in front of you. I believe you will be very interested in its performance.
SM-N900 is used in this evaluation, while other versions of Galaxy Note 3 such as Bank of China SM-N9002, SM-N9006, SM-N9008, SM-N9009 and international LTE SM-N9005 are used Of.
From the configuration point of view, a larger full HD screen has been our expected upgrade, and the Galaxy Note 3's biggest advantage over ordinary mobile phones is its latest SoC - Exynos 5420, the first USB3.0 and 3G Ram on mobile phones. Of course, the iconic S Pen of the Note series is also one of the highlights.
appearance
The style of the front of the fuselage gives up the sleekness represented by Galaxy S3 and Galaxy S4, and is more like the return of Galaxy S2 and Galaxy Note
As the Galaxy Note 3 uses a narrow border design, the body width is even narrower than that of the 5.5 inch Galaxy Note II, and it is not too much pressure to hold the small knitting hand ▼
The design on the top is known to be made by Samsung even without looking at the logo ▼
The bottom still has the symbolic entity Home key, while the menu and the return touch keys are on both sides of the Home key ▼
Galaxy Note3 uses the full HD Super AMOLED, and the screen is still beautiful ▼
The design of the back of Note 3's fuselage is controversial. It is actually a kind of leather plastic pattern, but it is actually plastic material ▼
S pen ▼ can be pulled out from the lower right corner of the fuselage
There is a 13 million pixel stack camera on the top, aperture F2.2, and parameters are exactly the same as Galaxy S4 ▼
The border material of Galaxy Note 3 is still plastic like that of Galaxy S4, but some stripes are added to increase the friction to a certain extent, and the volume key ▼ is still on the left
On the right side is the switch key. In addition, there is a slot beside it. You can use it to open the back cover ▼
Another tradition of Galaxy series, removable cover+replaceable battery, has certainly been inherited ▼
Information on the back of the fuselage, model SM-N900, capacity 16G ▼
This time, the card slot design is quite special. SIM card and tf card are stacked together, which makes people doubt its service life ▼
There are still infrared sensors, noise reducing microphones and 3.5mm headphone connectors ▼ on the top
At the bottom is a speaker, microUSB 3.0 interface and main microphone, which is also the first mobile phone to use USB 3.0 technology ▼
The screen of Note 3 has reached 5.7 inches, but it is not much larger than that of Note 2. Of course, the Note 3 is much larger than the Galaxy S4, a five inch mobile phone.
Left Note 2, right Note 3 ▼
Left GS4 LTE-A, right Note3 ▼
Screen effect
The Galaxy Note 3 has undoubtedly increased the screen to 5.7 inches with a resolution of 1920 * 1080. Of course, the material is Samsung's long-term Super AMOLED. Because the screen of Note 3 still uses Pentile arrangement, even if the PPI is up to 386, you will still find that the font edge is not smooth when you look closely at the screen, and you do not need to worry about this problem under normal use. The following is the sub-pixel arrangement comparison of Note 3 and Note 2 under macro distance ▼
Screen Color
We know that Super AMOLED has always been famous for its colorful colors, and we have seen great progress in color accuracy on the Galaxy S4. How about the performance of Note 3 this time? As a reference, we used Xperia Z Ultra, Galaxy S4, etc. as a comparison. Xperia Z Ultra uses the IPS screen, while Galaxy S4 and Note 3 are Super AMOLED. In order to maintain a better color level, Galaxy S4 and Note 3 both use "movie mode" in display settings.
Solid color contrast (left Galaxy S4, middle Note 3, right Xperia Z Ultra)
Note 3 is very bright, but the red color is a bit orange.
Solid color contrast (left Galaxy S4, middle Note 3, right Xperia Z Ultra)
Note 3 is the most bright green.
Solid color contrast (left Galaxy S4, middle Note 3, right Xperia Z Ultra)
Solid color contrast (left Galaxy S4, middle Note 3, right Xperia Z Ultra)
The Galaxy S4 is slightly green, and the Note 3 is slightly red. However, compared with the general Super AMOLED screen, the white color of the two displays is relatively good.
Solid color contrast (left Galaxy S4, middle Note 3, right Xperia Z Ultra)
There is no need to say more about the two "high-end black" on the left.
Bright color contrast (upper Xperia Z Ultra, middle Note 3, lower Galaxy S4)
The flowers of Xperia Z Ultra are close to the original picture, but the water surface is seriously green. The water surface performance of Note 3 and GS4 is relatively good.
Original drawing ▼
Display the red system contrast (upper Xperia Z Ultra, middle Note 3, lower Galaxy S4) ▼ Note 3 in this picture is the closest to the original picture. The details of Xperia Z Ultra petals are insufficient, and GS4 has serious color deviation.
Original drawing ▼
Display green system contrast (upper Xperia Z Ultra, middle Note 3, lower Galaxy S4) ▼ This picture Xperia Z Ultra is relatively close to the original picture, and Note 3 is somewhat white.
Original drawing ▼
Super AMOLED always performs well in the visual angle, so we don't need to do more tests here ▼
UI
From the perspective of the overall UI style, Note 3 and Galaxy S 4 are very consistent. However, Note 3 is already based on Android 4.3 and has added many exclusive functions.
Galaxy Note 3 uses the latest TouchWiz, based on Android 4.3, and the wallpaper is more colorful ▼
Initiator editing interface ▼
Unlock interface ▼
The drop-down bar is also the same as Galaxy S4 ▼
The setting interface has been changed to some extent. The option setting is different from that of Galaxy S4, which is obviously inappropriate. The user finally got used to the layout of GS4's setting menu, and now it has been changed again, increasing the learning cost ▼
System information ▼
Android 4.3▼
TouchWiz based on Android 4.3 has changed in some details. For example, in the secondary menu, the previous TouchWiz system can hide specific application icons in the secondary menu. This option ▼ is not available in Note 3
We can put the applications that do not need to be used frequently into the folder in the secondary menu ▼
Features
Due to the large screen size, Samsung has given Note 3 many unique functions. In addition to the S Pen of the Note series logo, Note 3 also has multiple window mode, floating window mode, small screen mode and other functions optimized for large screens.
First, when S Pen is drawn out, a shortcut disk will appear, providing various options ▼
Cut and paste, you can share some screenshots ▼
Screenshot graffiti, this function also has ▼ on Note II
The multi window mode has existed in the period of Note 2. This time, the function has been further enhanced to implement the "double open" program. For example, we can open two ChatOn, browser or file manager ▼ at the same time
Suspended window mode
The hover window mode is a new function provided by Note 3, which is called out through S Pen. However, the hover window has a disadvantage. It does not support many applications, and only its own applications and WeChat can support it. Of course, third-party ROMs may remove this limitation ▼
Small screen mode
We have learned about the small screen mode on vivo Xplay. Samsung almost copied this function, but it has more functions than Xplay. The function keys at the bottom are Menu, Home, Back and Volume. At the same time, the small screen can adjust the window size at will ▼
The most extreme and boring play method: small screen+multi window+floating window mode ▼
performance
The Galaxy Note 3 we tested uses Samsung's latest "4+4" core Exynos 5420, which uses the 28nm HKMG process. It is based on the big of Cortex-A15 and Cortex-A7 LITTLE architecture, where A15 frequency is 1.9GHz and A7 frequency is 1.3GHz. Like the Tegra 4 on Shield, it is the most high-frequency A15 architecture processor on the market. In addition to the strong CPU, the Note 3 GPU also uses ARM's high-end product Mali-T628mp6. This GPU is also the first time to appear on a mobile phone.
Let's take a look at the boot Ram. Under Samsung's "memory destruction technology", a total of 2.66G Ram is available at about 1.6G, which is acceptable ▼
The available ROM is 11.75G, which is much better than the 8G of Galaxy S4 in the early days, but it is still not enough (poor little editor can only hold the 16G Hong Kong Branch and watch the low price 32G European version flood the market...) ▼
Theoretical score
Anrabbit evaluation 4.0.3
This is a routine score run. The score of N900 is also an excellent level. However, the CPU also experienced a certain frequency reduction phenomenon when running rabbits. The CPU score in the test is not high. The GPU performs well, and the 3D drawing has exceeded 10000 ▼
Vellamo
This is a web testing software launched by Qualcomm, which mainly tests the HTML5 performance of mobile phones. Xiaomi 3 mobile version performs well, which is obtained in HTML5 test two thousand seven hundred and sixty-nine High scores of, Reference: Xiaomi 3 (2824), E330S (2442), I9500 (2071) 。 In addition, N900 scored very high in the Metal test, exceeding 1300 ▼
Pi
Pi mainly tests the floating point operation function of the CPU, while the A15 and Snapdragon 800 processors perform well in this test, while the N900 performs well in this test, breaking the 30 second mark, second only to the 2.3GHz Snapdragon 800 ▼
CPU general performance test
Sunspider 1.0.1 (using Chrome Beta V30)
This webpage Javascript test is also often used in mobile phone evaluation, which tests the CPU's single thread computing ability. The Cortex-A15 core always has an absolute advantage in this test. The performance of Exynos 5420 can be described as ferocious. It is close to the 500ms mark. But this performance is still not as good as that of the "full blood" 1.9GHz quad core A15 NVIDIA Shield（495ms）。 Reference: I9500 (612ms) and E330s (710ms) ▼
Google Octane V1 (tested with Chrome Beta V30)
Similar to Sunspider, it is also a web page javascript test. The performance of Exynos 5420 is still eye-catching, and the score is the highest among all devices we have tested, up to 5562 points, surpassing Xiaomi 3's 5363 points ▼
GBA simulator
Using the built-in Benchmark of GBA.emu (1.5.12), the test object is a 14KB bios.zip. This test can more accurately reflect the CPU's computing power. Xiaomi 3 mobile version performs very well in this test, 163 frames have been reached, reference: Xiaomi 3 (163.7 frames), E330s (152 frames), I9500 (142 frames) ▼
Video software decoding
Video software decoding is also an important test item to measure the general performance of CPU. This test item tests the multithreading performance of CPU, which is different from video hard solution. It is a method to test the general computing ability of CPU, and multi-core processors will be used. The following tests use BSPlayer 1.9.153 version, and the video used is 1080P ref16 FPS60 MP4 video
By default, the average number of frames is not high because the frequency is unstable , only 43 frames ▼
After using SetCPU for frequency locking, the number of frames increases greatly, 50 frames on average , the soft solution ability is quite strong, it seems that the video used by the small editor will not be enough ▼
Challenge the limit, soft solve 3840 * 2160 ref3 FPS24 mp4 video at 4k level, The average number of frames is only 12 For example, Exynos 5420 still has no solution to this kind of video. Of course, this is completely beyond the scope of normal use requirements ▼
CPU frequency reduction
The high-frequency Cortex-A15 has always had a problem of high temperature frequency reduction. When users need high performance, the processor will give you a touching frequency reduction, which is not pleasant. In particular, the Exynos 5410 on the Galaxy S4 is not very high in its own frequency. If it encounters frequency reduction, it will directly reach 1GHz~1.2GHz. At this time, the impact on the performance is relatively large, and the performance of individual products is also quite different. This time, the Exynos 5420 frequency has improved to a certain extent, and the Note 3 will also have a relatively large cooling area, so I believe that the frequency reduction problem will be greatly improved.
We still use the soft solution video test to see how Note 3 performs in terms of frequency reduction. We use CPU Spy, System Information Pro and other tools to observe the changes in CPU frequency. First, by default, in the one and a half minute video, Note 3 performs fairly well, with 44 seconds at 1.9GHz and 20 seconds at 1.3GHz. Observe the real-time frequency. By default, the CPU frequency fluctuates between high and low frequencies, so the average frame count will be affected ▼
When we forcibly lock the CPU at 1.9GHz through the SetCPU and then test it, another situation arises. This time, the time at the highest frequency of 1.9GHz is much shorter, while most of the time is at the higher frequency of 1.7GHz. This performance is also satisfactory ▼
After playing the game for ten minutes, the CPU frequency stabilized at 1.3GHz ▼
From the above tests, the Exynos 5420 frequency reduction phenomenon is better than that of the Exynos 5410. Of course, we can't rule out the benefits brought by the large heat dissipation space of Note 3 itself. As for the frequency regulation mechanism of the kernel, I think there is still much room for improvement. Maybe we can improve this problem through some third-party kernels.
GPU graphics performance
The GPU used with Exynos 5420 is Mali-T628mp6, which is the second SoC using Mali-T6XX series after Exynos 5250. Samsung also claims that the graphics performance of the Exynos 5420 can reach twice that of the Exynos 5410. We also use a series of actual measurements to see how the GPU reaches this time. Of course, the GPU theory test "King of Three Days" was the first to appear:
GFXBench 2.7.2
The N900 performs very well. In the test of version 2.7, it is second only to the E330s, and is similar to other Snapdragon 800 phones. The version 2.5 has set a new high for mobile phones, and is even stronger than the Snapdragon 800 phones ▼
3DMark（Unlimited）
Graphic score and Snapdragon 800 There are gaps, but the physics score is very good with the 1.9GHz Cortex-A15 ▼
BaseMark X
It is weaker than Snapdragon 800, but stronger than Tegra 4 ▼
Due to compatibility problems, the text cannot be displayed when using Anthare 3D test, so this test is temporarily absent.
Graph performance comparison chart ▼
From the comparison chart, except for 3DMark, Mali-T628mp6's performance is similar to that of other high-end SoCs, especially in 3DMark Physics and BFXBench 2.5, leading the competitors
game
In the theoretical test, we can see that the number of test frames of Mali-T628mp6 is quite excellent. Of course, there is a gap between Mali-T628mp6 and Adreno 330 on the E330s. What will happen in the actual game? We know that the GPUs of the Mali series have always been optimized well in the game, and I believe everyone will look forward to the performance of Note 3.
Wild Racing 7 (Shanghai Track)
Although Wild Racing 8 has been launched, the game is too new, and the optimization for the new GPU is also insufficient, and many versions lock 30 frames. To test the GPU performance, the Shanghai track of Wild Racing 7 is a good choice ▼
The N900 performs well, It can reach 40 frames on average Although there is still a gap between this score and that of the Snapdragon 800, it has surpassed Tegra 4 and Exynos 5410.
Modern Warfare 4 1.1.0
Modern Warfare 4 is also a regular customer of game evaluation, and it also has high requirements for the GPU of mobile phones. The performance of the N900 is excellent, reaching More than 50 frames on average Good result ▼
Real car 3 1.0.47 (the first track in the whole game)
In this test, the frames of N900 performed well, running the first track of the game The average number of frames is 47 , at the same level as I9500 and E330S ▼
Top speed car 17 1.5.01 (the first runway in the game)
Top Speed 17 is also a game item frequently used in the evaluation. Here, we use the "empty" running method (put the game to run by itself, and take a screenshot after running a lap), The average number of frames is 50 ▼
Wild drag racing 8 1.0.4 (Tokyo runway)
The "divine oil" version of the Samsung store is downloaded. Although the game options are low special effects, entering the game is high special effects. Because of the lock frame of the game Average at 30 frames Nearby ▼
From the above game frame number test, Mali-T628mp6 still shows strong game performance when the game is not targeted for optimization. Under 1080P, it is almost tied with Snapdragon 800, which also shows that in the game, we can not only look at the theoretical performance, but also optimization is very important.
USB3.0
Note 3 is the first 3G Ram+USB3.0 mobile phone. 3G Ram doesn't need more introduction. The more memory, the better for all users. What benefits does USB3.0 bring to mobile phones? When the USB3.0 data cable is plugged in, you can change the connection mode between the mobile phone and the computer ▼
The following is our test of transmission through a 562MB brush package:
Transfer from computer to mobile phone (USB3.0): 11.7 seconds
Transfer from computer to mobile phone (USB2.0): 17.3 seconds
Gap: 5.6 seconds
Transfer from mobile phone to computer (USB3.0): 5.8 seconds
Transfer from mobile phone to computer (USB2.0): 16.2 seconds
Gap: 10.4 seconds
It can be seen that USB3.0 has obvious advantages in speed, especially the reading speed is more than twice as fast as USB2.0.
Video decoding
At present, high-end SoC has excellent performance in hardware decoding, especially Tegra 4 and Snapdragon 800, which can support hardware decoding of 4K video. This playback ability is believed to be sufficient for most users. Let's also take a look at the performance of Exynos 5420. BSPlayer and MXLayer are used in the test
Video list:
720P group
FLV AOM OP, 1280 × 720, H.263
MP4 Jay Chou's Double Cut Staff, 1280 × 720, H.264 High Profile L5.1， Bit rate 17M
AVI The Circle of Realm trailer, 1280 × 720, Xvid
WMV Microsoft WMVHD official video, 1280 × 720, VC-1, MP@HL
RMVB Dark God Theater, 1280 × 720, RV40
FLV Lord of the Rings, 1280 × 720, HEVC, 1000kbps
1080P group
MP4 Clannad OP ，1920×1080， H.264 High Profile L5. ref16
MKV Conan Theater Edition 15 trailer, 1920 × 1080, H.264 Main Profile L4.0， Audio coding AC-3
WMV Microsoft WMVHD official video, 1440 × 1080, VC-1, MP@HL
MKV Fate stay night [Realta Nua]，1920x1080p，Hi10P，23.976fps
FLV Lord of the Rings, 1920 × 1080, HEVC, 1200kbps
MP4 2160×1440，ref3，fps=30
MP4 3840×2160，ref3，fps=24
The results are as follows:
From the actual playback, the N900's hard solution ability is completely consistent with the I9500 we tested earlier, and there is still a gap between it and the Snapdragon 800 (E330s in the figure), Tegra 4 and other devices, but this performance has been very satisfactory.
photograph
The camera on Note 3 is still the 13 million pixel Sony stack type of Galaxy S4, with aperture F/2.2. Samsung has always been outstanding in optimizing the 13 million pixel stack type sensor, so what about the performance of Note 3 this time? For comparison, we also used Apple's latest flagship iPhone 5S as the comparison object. Here are some comparative photos:
Heliography
N900 (click to view the original picture) ▼
IPhone 5S (click to view the original picture) ▼
Although the details of both are excellent, the iPhone 5S has more colorful flowers, high contrast, and stronger light and dark contrast.
Indoor imaging
N900 (click to view the original picture) ▼
IPhone 5S (click to view the original picture) ▼
Under the same ISO200, the actual performance of the two scenarios is also very close, and the N900 does not show the advantages in details when it is basically difficult to distinguish.
N900 (click to view the original picture) ▼
IPhone 5S (click to view the original picture) ▼
Due to the low ISO, the image brightness of the iPhone 5S is slightly lower, but the overall image feels more realistic than the N900.
Twilight imaging
N900 (click to view the original picture) ▼
IPhone 5S (click to view the original picture) ▼
Although the ISO is lower, the image brightness of the iPhone 5S is higher than that of the N900, but the details of the image are not as good as that of the N900.
Nightscape
N900 automatic mode (click to view the original picture) ▼
There are many noise points, the brightness is slightly insufficient, and the details are good.
N900 anti shake mode (click to view the original picture) ▼
Noise is reduced a lot, smearing marks are heavy, and some details are lost. After anti shake is turned on, we can't see the shutter, ISO and other information.
N900 HDR mode (click to view the original picture) ▼
The noise is slightly improved, the picture brightness is improved, and the details are lost. After HDR is turned on, we can't view the shutter, ISO and other information.
On the whole, the Note 3 automatic mode, anti shake mode and HDR mode have their own advantages and disadvantages. In daily use, we need to choose different shooting modes according to the situation to achieve better results.
IPhone 5S (click to view the original picture) ▼
Due to the low ISO, the picture is dim, and the noise control and details of the picture can only be described as ordinary. The noise is between the automatic mode and the anti shake mode of the N900.
Anti glare
N900 anti shake mode (click to view the original picture) ▼
Pay attention to the street lights and the light signs in the shopping malls. There is a certain glare phenomenon.
IPhone 5S (click to view the original picture) ▼
It is obvious that the iPhone 5S is much better at controlling glare.
N900 other samples
The performance in the daytime is still very strong, and the sharpness is very high. 13 million high pixels bring more picture details ▼
This is the sample with anti shake mode turned on. The actual shooting effect seems that the details are pretty good, but the color is obviously red ▼
From the above samples, Note 3 continues the excellent performance of Galaxy S4 in daylight imaging, which can meet the shooting needs of most users. In the low light state, there is still much room for improvement, such as serious noise, red screen and other problems in the above shooting scene. Of course, this is also subject to the characteristics of Sony's 13 million pixel stack sensor, which may only be relatively improved through software optimization. Compared with the iPhone 5S, Note 3 can still gain some advantages in many scenes with its 13 million pixel sensor, but its glare and color control still need to be improved.
Finally, put two pieces of sister paper and take a selfie with N9005 (Galaxy Note 3 LTE International Edition), which is purely for reference. I asked myself that I could not take such a selfie
It is worth mentioning that the dual quad core version of Note 3 does not support 4K video recording (4K playback is also not supported in the above test) ▼
Endurance
Note 3 uses a 3200mAh battery. Compared with a 5.7-inch battery, this battery capacity is just right. How will the N900 perform with a 28nm "4+4 core" processor?
testing environment
Screen brightness: manual 50%
Volume: 6/15
Game: NBA2K14 runs automatically Semih.
WiFi Internet access: Weibo, Chrome, Baidu Post Bar Semih.
Music playing: close the screen to play music in FLAC format, close the sound effect, and play music an hour
3G Internet access: Weibo, Chrome, Baidu Post Bar Semih.
GSM call: off screen handset call Semih.
Hard solution video: with video player to play mp4 video Semih.
The result is as follows ▼
With 3200mAh large capacity battery and big With the cooperation of LITTLE, the overall endurance performance of N900 is excellent. After three and a half hours of intensive use, 65% of the electricity is left. Under normal circumstances, it is not a problem to use for one and a half days.
fever
On the I9500, we have learned the powerful "firepower" of the quad core A15. When the game is running, the body temperature reaches 50 degrees. Similarly, the Snapdragon 800 mobile phone is not very good at heat control. For ordinary mobile phones, Note 3 has a larger heat dissipation area, so it has a slight advantage in heat generation control. What about the N900?
After running Modern War 4 for 20 minutes, the maximum temperature of the front side is 45 ℃, and the back side is 43 ℃. In general, this kind of heat is acceptable. At least it is much better than some small sized Snapdragon 800 and I9500 phones. ▼
After 20 minutes of 3G Internet access, the maximum temperature on the front is only 34 degrees Celsius, and the maximum temperature on the back is 32 degrees Celsius ▼
summary
As the third generation of the Note series, Note 3 has greatly improved its configuration and performance, and the new TouchWiz and the upgraded S Pen have also played a certain role in promoting the mobile phone experience. On the screen of Note 3, the overall performance is in line with expectations. Although Pentile arrangement is used, the fineness of the screen is still satisfactory. It is also more accurate than the Galaxy S4 in color restoration. The 13 million stack camera still continues the strength of the Galaxy S4, especially in the sunlight. The N900 of Exynos 5420 version was used in this test, which can be said to have set a new high in CPU performance in mobile phones, and showed the top processing performance in all tests. In terms of graphics performance, Mali-T628mp6 itself has a strong specification, which is slightly weaker than Adreno 330 of Snapdragon 800 in theoretical test. In the actual game test, Mali-T628mp6 performs quite well, and can still approach Adreno 330 in terms of frame number under the condition of insufficient optimization. Samsung didn't surprise us much on the UI, but it was quite innovative in some additional functions, such as split screen display, floating window, etc. In terms of endurance and hot performance, the N900 is also satisfactory. As for the overall evaluation of Note 3, I think it is not too much to say that it is the most worthy high-end Android phone as long as I can accept its size.
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