Samsung Galaxy Note 3 vs. Galaxy S4

Samsung's scorched earth mobile strategy has its share of critics. But if you're going to harp on Samsung for trying anything, everything, and all the spaces in between, you also have to acknowledge that the company has two major flagship smartphones that can each command the full attention of the tech world. How many smartphone makers can you say that about? Let's compare the latest versions of those two premier phones, the Galaxy Note 3 and the Galaxy S4.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• View all

Size

The Galaxy S4 is pretty big for a smartphone, but it still doesn't hold a candle to Samsung's hulking phablet, the Note 3. The Note is about ten percent taller, 13 percent wider, and five percent thicker.

Weight

No minor difference here either, as the Note 3 is a full 29 percent heavier than the GS4.

Build

This was our biggest surprise from the Note 3 event. Samsung ditched its much-derided glossy plastic, found on the GS4 and most other recent Galaxy devices, and replaced it with a faux leather backing. It's still made of plastic, but now it's soft and leather-bound notebook-themed.
We'll have to wait for more extended time with the Note to draw any real conclusions here, but, at the very least, we tip our hats to Samsung for trying something new in the build department.

Display

This is the biggest perk of carrying around a lumbering phablet like the Note 3. It gives you 29 percent more screen real estate than the (already big) display on the GS4. The latest phablet is pushing the boundaries between phone and tablet more than ever.
Resolution is identical. Though that has the smaller screen on the GS4 coming out a bit sharper, they're both likely well past the point where you'll be even remotely disappointed. Sharp text, crisp images, happy eyeballs.

Processor

No need to worry about performance on either of these phones. Both the LTE and 3G versions of each have some of the fastest mobile processors of 2013.

RAM

The 2 GB of RAM on the GS4 is a very solid amount, even over four months after the phone's launch. The 3 GB in the Note 3 is forging new ground.

Storage

The base model of the Note 3 doubles the base 16 GB in the Galaxy S4. Samsung's TouchWiz software, layered on top of Android on both phones, can really eat into that 16 GB, though, so that extra space could be a nice advantage for the Note.

Battery

The Note 3's battery holds 23 percent more juice. We were impressed with the Note 2's uptimes, but we'll have to wait to get the low-down on the Note 3's actual battery life.

Cameras

Megapixel counts are identical in both phones. The only true measure of phones' cameras, though, are sample shots. We'll have to wait a little while to put these two side-by-side.

Wireless

Both phones sport LTE radios, though they also both ship in versions that max out on HSPA+. That split coincides with the different processors we showed you above.

Software

The Note 3 runs Android 4.3, but the GS4 is supposedly going to be updated to that latest edition of Jelly Bean in October.
Both phones run Samsung's TouchWiz software, which grows more and more bloated by the minute. Okay, maybe that's a bit harsh, but depending where you're coming from, you might find TouchWiz's feature list to mean more bang for your buck, or just overwhelming and unnecessary. On the GS4, we'd lean towards the latter. If the Note 3 is anything like the Note 2, though, we'd lean a bit towards the former.

Stylus

... that's because the little plastic stylus known as the "S Pen" becomes something much more when TouchWiz's goodies are added to the mix. The pen not only gives you a finer level of precision, but TouchWiz has all sorts of note-related features up its sleeve. We're talking handwriting recognition, content scrapbooks, multiple apps on the screen at once, and anotated screenshots.
From where we stand now, the S Pen tricks (and TouchWiz tricks as a whole) are all a bit overwhelming. But you'll hear much more from Gizmag about the new Note's S Pen features in the coming weeks, after we put it through the paces.

Wrap-up

It's way too early to wholeheartedly recommend one of these mobile gizmos over the other. We've spent months with the GS4, but have only been briefly acquainted with the Note 3.
At this point, though, it looks like Samsung improved its phablet in all the right ways. Its screen is bigger and sharper, the device itself is a bit more compact, and its guts are full of the fastest mobile components you can buy in 2013. TouchWiz always walks that line between more of a good thing and gimmicky feature creep, so that verdict will have to wait. Ditto for battery life, camera quality, and how that soft backing feels over long stretches of time.
So stay tuned. In the meantime, though, you can whet your Note 3 whistle by checking out our post-event hands-on, with it and the Galaxy Gear smartwatch.

iOS 7: How To Get It And What To Expect

The long-awaited release of iOS 7 has come upon us at last: the new version of iOS was made available to the wide public by Apple on Wednesday, September 18th. What followed after that was hours of frustration of many customers, all because of annoying errors during the download, which meant that they had to start all over again several times. After the presentation of new iPhones on September 10th, this is the next Apple novelty that is supposed to bring smiles to the anticipating faces of Apple fans, but it is still too early to judge whether or not the actual product will live up to their high expectations.

How to set up iOS 7 on my device?

First and foremost, check if your device is compatible with the new operating system at all. Here's the list of devices that are actually supported:

If your device is iOS 7-compatible, then you get to choose from one of two methods of getting the new iOS, whichever feels more comfortable for you. The first one only requires the mobile device itself; the second one involves a USB cable, a computer, and the latest version of iTunes.

Method 1: Over the air

Note that many users experience errors using this method.
If you have a reliable Wi-Fi connection, you can upgrade your device by simply navigating to Settings > General > Software Update. Click the Download and Install button for iOS 7.0 as seen on the picture below.

Once the download is completed, click Install Now. After the installation, your device will restart and you'll be walked through the rest of installation process, which is very simple and straightforward.

Method 2: Upgrade via iTunes

Okay, you have a computer with iTunes in front of you, a USB cable for your iDevice, and the device itself and you're probably wondering what is the next step. Well, first, make sure your iTunes is updated to version 11.1; and if it's not, update it:
Mac users: Click the Apple Menu icon, followed by Software Update
Windows users: Use Help menu in iTunes and click Check for Updates
Now you simply need to connect your device to the computer via the USB cable. Once you've done that, iTunes will automatically open up. If you're using the autosync feature, then your device will be backed up by iTunes; if not, you can always do it yourself: click on your device in the upper-right corner of the iTunes interface and choose Back Up Now in the middle area named Backups.

After you're done backing up, click Check for Update/Updates as seen in the picture above to upgrade to iOS 7. A new pop up window will appear providing you with two options: Download Only (if you wish to install it later) or Download and Update. When you make your choice, you will be able to monitor the progress bar at the top of iTunes and finish the installation. You'll be walked through the rest of the process, which is extremely easy and is basically just setting up the basic settings (iCloud, Location Services, iMessage etc.)

A quick look at what iOS 7 can offer

The new iOS has brought some really great features, although some of them have been met with no small amount of skepticism. Let's have a quick look.

Design

Apple developers have reinvented the whole color theme used in iPhone, it now looks much brighter and somehow deeper. Some animations have been replaced with new ones, the most notable of which is the fade-in effect when unlocking the screen. Oh, and now you don't have to aim for the unlock bar and slide it, you can use the whole screen instead (nice!).

Control Center

That's where iOS 7 really brings something new to its users: Control Center puts most frequently used settings front and center for your comfort and, what's even better, it's available from any screen. The notifications pull-down bar has also undergone some changes: there's now three tabs that will show you alerts, messages, and calls you have missed as well as your schedule for today.

Photos and Camera

Some major work has been done by Apple in organizing your photos (the Photos app): with iOS 7, you get them organized according to actual locations where those were taken and not only their chronology. There are even preset Insragam-like filters that you can quickly apply to your photos, and a burst-caption mode that allows you to take continuous shots to pick the best one later on.

Safari browser and AirDrop

The unified search and address bar has finally come to Safari, which many were hoping to see in many previous versions of iOS. The new browser by Opera, Coast, that recently came out, had it from the very start; it's an obvious time saver, so why not implement it by default. The inclusion of a peer-to-peer sharing service, called AirDrop, is also a major boon for a lot of people.

Overall

I did upgrade my iPhone 5 to iOS 7 and so far I am pleased. I've only been using it for half a day, though, so there might be some painful surprises on the way. Still, it seems like Apple hasn't lost its flair for making shiny things that are pleasant to play with.