This Note update is kind of boring. It's a spec bump with a few nips and tucks, but there's nothing significantly different. We think the Note Edge's existence shows Samsung is searching for something new in the phablet space, but until it finds whatever that new distinguishing factor is, we're left...

The metal frame with a chamfered edge is a nice step up in quality for Samsung's devices; The Menu button is dead! Samsung replaced it with a recent apps button; No more fake stitching on the back; A removable battery and a Micro SD card

Physical home buttons and styluses don't mix; Imparting force through a plastic stick into a clicky button is extremely awkward, Samsung chose branding over usability, The stylus feels like a toy.

Do you want a big phone? If so, you should get this big phone because it is the best big phone. Windowed multitasking, split screen options, and drag and drop stylus features turn the Note 4 into a device that actually has a reason to be as big as it is.

The Note 4 is a handsome phone; After years of plastic blobs, Samsung has hit its design stride; We saw the potential of this new look in the Galaxy Alpha, but its guts just couldn't follow through; But the Note 4 can; It's a great and great-looking phone.

The Note 4's single back-mounted speaker kind of sucks; It's loud, and has a clever little rib on its grill that keeps it from being muffled by a table, but it's sound quality is tinny and just all around bad; It's no way to listen to music.

Summary: Samsung's Note line always sets the bar for Android specifications and after spending a week with the Note 4, Matthew Miller is about ready to visit his carrier store.

From an oddball that everyone was laughing at to becoming one of the most important Samsung announcement of the year - the Note series got to a place where now everyone else wants to be in too, including Apple.

5.7" 16M-color QHD Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen with curved Gorilla Glass 3, Android OS v4.4 KitKat with TouchWiz UI, LTE Cat 6 support, Quad-core 2.7GHz Krait 450 CPU, Adreno 420 GPU; Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 chipset, 3GB of RAM, 16MP OIS camera with 2160p video recording @ 30fps, 1080p @...

Rear-mounted mono speaker; microUSB 2.0 is a downgrade over microUSB 3.0 on the Note 3; The uneven gap between the metal frame and curved screen glass takes a few points away from an otherwise excellent build; No enhanced resistance to liquids or dust; Wireless charging support only with an optional...

If you can't beat them join them. Then beat them. That seems to be Apple's response to the proliferation of large-screen Android and Windows Phone handsets. After years of holding out as the only important phone manufacturer without a phablet, Apple has gone all in with a smartphone/tablet...

iPhone 6 Plus has great specs and build quality; Like a smaller more connected iPad

Galaxy Note 4 has more raw power; Samsung's phone has better display specs

Two new Galaxy Note smartphones from Samsung are about the same size as last year's Note 3. What's different: A side screen on one of them and sharper cameras on both. Samsung also unveiled new wearable devices, including a virtual-reality headset , as part of its holiday lineup.

Known for its handwriting friendliness and screens pushing near six inches, Samsung's Galaxy Note series is the progenitor of the modern stylus-centric smartphone. It's easily the go-to choice for an Android phablet.

Now that we've seen Apple do its first take on the whole big phone thing, it's time to see Samsung make its Note phablet better than ever.

Holy pigeon; that screen is freakin' amazing; looking clearer than the competition and boasting an extra boost when sunlight hits it; Amazeballs 4G speeds supporting Category 6 (first phone locally to do so; Solid performance; Support for high-resolution audio; The first time in a few years that...

Not so amazing battery life; Samsung's S Pen feels like it does less; No waterproofing like its S5 brother; Images still don't rotate in the gallery until you press a button (sigh

The Note 4 wears its size better than that of the iPhone 6 Plus . Placing the two alongside one another reveals the Note 4 is shorter, even though it has a larger screen. Samsung's smartphone may be thicker than Apple's at 9mm, but the waistline works in its favour by evening out its proportions.

1440p screen; Fast charge battery; Integrated S-Pen stylus; 16 megapixel camera; Metal chassis

Frustrating finger scanner; Uncomfortable form factor for phone calls