Samsung Galaxy Note 4, Charcoal Black 32GB (AT&T)

I'll put in this disclaimer: I don't like Apple. I do enjoy Samsung but I'm not a fanboy by any stretch of the imagination. All of my applications are Google-based purchases and double purchases would be silly so I've stuck with Google-based products through the ages.Looks - 5/5. This phone is gorgeous. I don't care if it bends (according to Youtube.) Mine lives in my pocket with a case around it that DOESN'T bend. The design is pleasing, technical with elegance and gorgeous with a strong sense of simplicity and utility. It is there and gets the job done and well. The metal accents definitely add a nice touch.Feel - 5/5. It's light but strong. Feed rigid, like I'm not going to break it. The screen has been exposed to some harsh environments from me and come back without a scratch (I'll be getting a screen protector anyways.)Speed - 5/5. It's fast. Very fast. In fact, so fast, that when everything was downloaded on it I was able to do my usual tasks that I did on my Note 2 in less than half the time. This was mostly due to shorter load times and faster Internet utilization.Screen - 10/5. Even if there was a dead pixel on it, there's so many on here and the pixels are so small that I would never be able to see it. The screen is gorgeous. The resolution is incredible. For reference as to how clear it is, there was an entire article in a Google Play tile (roughly 1 inch by 1 inch in physical size) and you could still see EVERY letter clearly. You'll see what I'm talking about if you get one.The screen being an AMOLED has an interest effect in bright light. In sunlight, you can still see it clearly. The glass is not reflective so much. It blows the contrast way up so you can still see it and readjusts automatically when you enter a darker area. Definitely an interesting (and probably standard) touch but my Note 2 always had issues in sunlight.Battery Life - 5/5. It lasts. And lasts. And lasts. And... well let's just say the Energizer bunny probably has one in his pocket and runs out before it does. It's a 3220mAh battery which is just a bit more than than the old Note 2, but what it does with that battery is incredible. A lot of the usage comes from the screen and processing power, and I have both on full much of the day and the battery will only use 40-50% with a full day's use, no charges in between.Oh, speaking of charging. The included charger is QUICK. I have 2.1A chargers everywhere that charge things up nice and quick, but the one that comes with the phone is unique. I've only had the ability to use the fast charger once (since I never run out of enough power to give it a good test) but it DOES charge at a rate of roughly 1 3/4%-2% per minute. It's FAST.Signal acquisition - 5/5. This is most to do with the network you are on but it also has a lot to do with the phone. I haven't had a single dropped call on Verizon and even in places where it says 1 bar, I still get excellent 4G speeds. This is critical for my type of business when doing research or scouting. It's at least 5x as fast connecting and download as my old Note 2 on Sprint. The biggest issue on most networks is initiating the tunnel to download information for a particular website or app. This phone make that connection flawlessly.Camera - 5/5. Woo doggy this thing is good. It won't replace a true DSLR but it makes small point and shoot cameras almost a thing of the past. The many features available with the standard camera app are great. I've used the Panoramic view before it and it did an incredible job cropping the picture perfectly, even with non-smooth movements.Voice Calling - 5/5. Again, partly a network thing but much to do with the phone as well. Everyone is clear. Everyone. Everything. Every time. People hear me just fine (except for one situation I will explain later.) Never an issue with voice. MUCH better than on ol' Sprint. Sorry Sprint, I love ya... but no.So now for a few of the things I don't like but I didn't feel were enough of an issue to take away a star.Bloatware is on this device. The good thing about Android though, is that you don't have to use it and it doesn't really detract much. Some can be uninstalled but truth be told I don't really care for it being there.Speaker phone has a slight issue. While the speaker in the back of the phone is perfect, crisp and clear, apparently people have an issue with hearing me on speaker phone sometimes. I believe this to be a software issue that I might have to look into, but I haven't found it yet. I just figured it worth mentioning for those who use it in factory-fresh mode.It's a worthy phone. I don't know what the Note 3 was like to compare but for a person who needs a utility phone for work and personal, this is an excellent device. I base my reviews on how the device works for my use, not comparing them to previous generations of products or other competing products. For my use, which I can dare say surpass the industry standard for requirements, the phone keeps up and then some. If you're on the fence, this phone will blow you away.

Overall this is a fabulous phone. I purchased it about a month ago because I wanted the best phone on the market and the overwhelming amount of features that this phone came with made it the top contender.ProsCamera - Oh lord the camera. This is probably hands down the most amazing thing about the phone. People have literally gasped at the pictures and videos that I have taken. The image stabilization is amazing for anyone with shaky hands and the phone comes with more picture touch up features than the average user would ever need. For video there is the option to up the FPS from 30 FPS to 60 FPS which makes watching fish swim a fun experience.IR Blaster - This is probably my second favorite thing about this phone. The app that the IR blaster uses has a few annoying things about it but it makes set up a breeze so I can't complain too much. The app also has a feature where it will show you what is on TV and then automatically change the channel to that show, way better than surfing through Direct TV's guide. Overall I will probably never use another remote again because of how easy setup isScreen Size - So the pros of this are that it makes using your phone WAY easier. Have you ever had that problem where you would just rather not use your phone because scrolling through a web browser with tiny text is annoying? Yea well so did I until this phone. I am able to use this phone one handed with my right hand only because the back button is on that side. And yes I am able to text without any difficulty with one hand. The only problems that I have with reach is if I go from the home button to the top of the screenFast Charging - Amazing. With the right amount of settings turned off you can very easily hit the advertized 50% in 30 minutes that Samsung claims, maybe a tad longer if you have a bunch of background stuff running.Battery size - Can't imagine running out of juice in a day. Worst I got to was 20% in about 15 hours of use and I was using my phone a lot that day. But fast charging almost makes this point mute because it's that fast at charging.Phone itself - So far I have had almost zero lag or freezing issues. The UI is very customizable and I've learned that if you want to change something, you probably can. The phone comes with a one handed mode which is very useful I just need to remember to use it more but It allows me to eat food and browse Facebook at the same time so I'm happy.ConsFingerprint sensor - Great idea except for one small detail, you need to swipe. This make it nearly impossible to unlock your phone with one hand, like ever. If I were able to place my finger on the sensor like the IPhone 6 Plus then I would definitely use it but the phone is just big enough were you can use most of it with one hand and just big enough where swiping your thumb is very difficult. However using two hands changes everything and I'm able to unlock my phone on the first try 99% of the timeHeart rate sensor - So this is a minor thing, mainly because I don't know how heart rate sensors are supposed to work but this one is VERY sensitive to errors. I can usually get it to work but any slight disruption in just about anything and you need to restart. When I first got the phone it took me a solid 10 - 20 minutes to get one reading so keep trying new note owners.Screen Size - I know I put this in the pro section but that's just me. I value more of a computer like experience over a mobile one so the difficulties with one handed use are overshadowed by being more productive and having better hardware ( yes that is one of the perks of larger phones ).Speaker - Dear Samsung, never put your speaker on the back of a phone, ever again. It is very easy to cut the volume of the phone down to about half if it's laying down screen up. So if you listen to music a lot get used to flipping your phone the "right" way.Notification Icon - It's always blue. My old phone was green for messages, blue for Facebook, and yellow for Snapchat. Samsung fix this for the Note 5.Overall it's a great phone and the cons I mentioned aren't that annoying to me that would warrant a four star but they might be more important to some people than others. If I didn't mention something it's probably because it's not that big of an issue. Yes the S - pen is cool but I wouldn't say buy or don't buy because of it.