First Impression: Samsung Galaxy Note 4 & Gear S

Samsung Electronics on Tuesday launched the Galaxy Note 4 phablet and the Gear S smartwatch in New Delhi for Rs 58,300 and 28,900, respectively. The Note 4 will hit the market on Friday, when the Apple iPhone 6 also goes on sale, while there is no word yet on when you could buy the Gear S in India. On the Galaxy Note Edge, which has a curved screen on the right edge, that was unveiled in the US recently, the company only said it would come to India soon. Though the press statement mentioned the Gear Circle neckband earphones, it wasn't showcased at the press conference.

Samsung has pitched the improved stylus, the S Pen, and the 16MP camera as the selling points for the Note 4. We tried using the S Pen at various angles and with varying pressure on the nib and, true to their claim, it does work flawlessly as a real pen. The S Pen has two writing modes, the fountain and the calligraphy, that let you write on the phone as you would on a sheet of paper. The Smart Select feature lets you collate stuff of various kinds (a photo, a video, a document, etc.) with the S Pen and make a new document in the S Note notepad.

The Note 4 uses the 805 series Snapdragon processor.

The Note 4's 16MP camera shot pictures with good amount of detailing.

The company has introduced a Wide Selfie feature. The Note 4 also has an option of back covers in two colours studded with Swarovski crystals.

A sensor that checks your heartbeat, apart from other features such as pedometre available through the S Health app, at the back below the camera on the Note 4 also doubles up as the mouse.

The selling point of the Gear S, Samsung says, is it now takes a SIM and functions independently of the phone, too. The smartwatch also has the S Health app with most of the functions available on the Note 4. In the three times I tried the heartbeat function with the large dial of the Gear S on my thin wrist I got a result only once. The sensor needs some work.

The Gear S has an IP67 certification, which means it is fully dust-resistant and can be submerged in clean water (without salt or chlorine) up to a depth of a metre.

The Gear S also comes with straps in various colours studded with Swarovski crystals.


Samsung launches Galaxy Note 4