Galaxy S4 vs. Galaxy Note 2: Specs and Features Comparison
The Samsung Galaxy S4 smartphone was released earlier this year and has garnered quite the buzz for many of the innovations it has brought to the flagship line. However, the Galaxy Note 2 still packs a good enough punch to keep up with this year's competition.
In some places, the phablet device is retailing for next to nothing on contract. So is it really worth it for smartphone buyers to shell out over $200 for the Galaxy S4 and Galaxy Note 3? Or is the free Note 2 on some carriers the better bang for your buck? Here is a brief comparison of the 2013 flagship and one of last year's top phablets.
Design
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The Galaxy Note 2 basically features the same design as the Galaxy S3, making it a little behind in terms of aesthetics. Samsung made a small improvement with the S4 as it now features a metal band around the edges and is much less rounded than its predecessor. It certainly looks sharper and outclasses the phablet.
Speed
The Galaxy Note 2 comes equipped with a quad-core ARM Cortex-A9 processor with 2GB RAM. The Galaxy S4 has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 quad-core processor with an Adreno 320 graphics processor. It also packs 2GB of RAM. Both of these devices are extremely quick and efficient for performing various tasks. They are almost equally matched in this department. The Galaxy S4 might have a tiny advantage thanks to newer hardware.
Camera
The Galaxy S4 comes with a 13-megapixel camera while the Galaxy Note 2 sports an 8-megapixel rear shooter. The newer device has more pixels, however that is not always an advantage as the hardware found on the camera makes more of a difference when it comes to pictures. 13 megapixels is definitely an advantage for the Galaxy S4, but it is not necessarily a selling point as there are much finer smartphone cameras on the market.
Display
The Galaxy S4 features a 5-inch display with 1080 x 1920 resolution at 441ppi, making it a full HD display. The Galaxy Note 2 comes with a 5.5-inch screen with 720 x 1280 resolution at 265ppi. The higher quality screen on the Galaxy S4 is certainly appealing, but the Galaxy Note 2 display still looks great for gaming and watching videos.
Conclusion
The Galaxy S4 is certainly more advanced in many ways such as the new sensors it has for users' eyes and hands, but the Galaxy Note 2 is still a quality device. The S4 will run buyers anywhere from $149 to $199 on a new two year contract. The Note 2 will become free on even more carriers as the Note 3 begins to officially roll out. If you're looking to have the hottest and latest and the price doesn't hurt your pocket, than the Galaxy S4 is definitely the way to go, but if you just want a quality device for the lowest price possible, than you should definitely look into the Note 2.
