Samsung Galaxy S4 vs Samsung Galaxy Note II

Introduction

Sure, the Galaxy S4 may be a smartphone, and the Galaxy Note II may be more of a phablet, but that doesn't mean that consumers will necessarily make such a destinction. In reality, both handsets look very similar, with one of them having just a slightly bigger screen. With that in mind, the Galaxy S4 and Galaxy Note II find themselves dangerously close to each other, so which one should you choose? The phablet with the S Pen, or the flagship smartphone? Read on to find out!

Design

The designers at Samsung must really love the "Inspired by Nature" form factor they have been using lately, as you can see how all of their latest devices look almost the same. That is exactly the case with the Galaxy S4 and Note II, which are almost identical with the exception that the Note II is bigger. Still, we can note here that the GS4 does seem to be a bit more advanced from engineering standpoint, as it has that extremely thin bezel around the screen, which makes the device impressively narrow and easy to hold, considering its 5" display. It also makes it look more contemporary and cool.



Other than that, both handsets are made of Samsung's favorite glossy plastic, which we quite like. They may not be particularly attractive or premium-feeling, but they are comfortable to hold and use, especially the Galaxy S4, as it isn't such a monster like the Note II.


Display

The Galaxy S4 has a definite advantage in the Display category. Not only is its screen higher-res at 1080 x 1920 pixels, compared to the Note II's 720 x 1280 pixels, but it also treats us to more natural colors and better viewing angles. The screen of the Note II is not bad at all, but it's simply inferior to the GS4 in those aspects. The Galaxy S4 is also a tad brighter, which will help when viewing outdoors. Still, neither of these phones are ideal for outdoor usage, since their screens aren't very bright at all, compared to the good LCDs out there.

What this means is that the only area where the Note II excels as far as the screen is concerned is sheer size. Indeed, it's going to make certain tasks a bit more fun and convienient, but at the end of the day, the Galaxy S4 also has a very big screen, and one of superior quality at that.











Interface and Functionality

At first glance, the software that's on both devices may seem identical, but it's actually slightly more refined on the Galaxy S4, which has the very latest TouchWiz Nature UX version. It also has the latest Android version, 4.2.2, which is yet to grace the jumbo screen of the Note II, which is currently rocking 4.1.2.

The latest TouchWiz UI adds a bunch of interesting features, and while not all of them will prove to be that useful, we're certain that users will appreciate at least some of them. Some of the new goodies include a host of camera modes like Drama Shot, Cinema Shot and Sound and Shot, as well as some other stuff like Air View, Air Gesture and Smart Rotation. If you'd like to learn more about all the new TouchWiz features, just check out our Samsung Galaxy S4 Review!




Internet and Connectivity

Well, the Galaxy S4 has a higher resolution, which helps it when browsing, but there's a bit more benefit in the extra screen size of the Galaxy Note II, which will make everything bigger and thus easier to see and more enjoyable. Its inferior resolution is noticeable, but it's not really that bad. Not to mention that watching online (and offline video will also be better on the Note II.


Both handsets are LTE-enabled, though the Galaxy S4 has a slightly faster HSPA+ radio for those moments when LTE is not available. It can theoretically achieve HSPA+ download speeds of 42.2 Mbit/s, while the Note II is capped at 21.1 Mbit/s. There's also Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0 on both, but only the Galaxy S4 sports an IR blaster.

Processor and Memory

While the Note II is equipped with the trusty Exynos 4412, the Galaxy S4 comes with the newer Snapdragon 600, or in some other markets, with the amazing Exynos 5 Octa. We definitely do not notice any difference in the performance of the two devices, though benchmark results show that the GS4 has a significant advantage as far as processing power goes. If anything, the 3D games of the future will surely run better on the GS4, thanks to its newer CPU and GPU.
 

In terms of storage space, both handsets are identical as they come in 16, 32 and 64 GB flavors, and they also sport a microSD card slot.



Camera and Multimedia

Another area where the Galaxy S4 easily gains the upper hand, although not by much, is the camera. The latest TouchWiz UX comes with a bunch of new camera modes that are defintiely fun to play with, but that's not even its biggest advantage here.



The 13MP snapper of the GS4 captures a bit more detail than the 8MP camera of the Note II, and its images also have more natural, slightly warmer colors. Don't get us wrong, the Note II also has a wonderful camera, but the Galaxy S4 steps things up a bit. Pretty much the same observations are true for their 1080p video recording capabilities.

When it comes to other multimedia stuff like watching video or playing games, though, it's obvious that the Note II will have the upper hand thanks to its bigger screen.

We shouldn't also forget the S Pen of the Note II, which allows you to take hand-written notes and even draw, which is something that you simply can't do with the GS4. Still, the Note II doesn't really seem to be the ideal device for note-taking, as it's kind of small for the purpose. The Note 8.0 is much better suited for this task.



Call quality

Ironically, the Galaxy Note II proved to be the better phone of the two as its earpiece emits much clearer sound, while the microphone is also better. Call quality is one of the very few weaknesses of the Galaxy S4, and this definitely shows when we're comparing it to the Note II. We're also more pleased with the loudspeaker of the Galaxy Note II, which is more powerful and has a fuller sound than that of the GS4.



Conclusion

At the end of the day, though, there can be no doubt about it – the Samsung Galaxy S4 is the better smartphone of the two, as Samsung has enhanced a number of key areas like the screen quality, the camera, the processor and the whole user/software experience. The Galaxy Note II is definitely not far behind in any category, and it has advantages of its own, like the bigger screen and the S Pen, but if those aren't super-important for you, we'd recommend that you get the lovely Galaxy S4.

However, if you are currently sporting a Note II and are thinking about upgrading to the GS4, we can't really say that it's going to be worth the effort, except if you are tired with the enormous size of the Note II and want to switch to something much more convenient.

Samsung Galaxy S4 vs Samsung Galaxy Note II: