Samsung is busy running the launch event for their range of products announced at IFA in Germany earlier this month. As we thought, the Galaxy Note 4, Note Edge and Gear VR are all coming to Australia in the next couple of months, but if you’re looking for pricing from carriers you’ll have to wait just a little longer.
Galaxy Note 4
Starting off with the phone that finally caused Apple to copy them, Samsung has launched the 4th generation Galaxy Note, advising the phone will be made available from Samsung Experience Stores and other retailers from the 29th of October. The outright price of the phone will be $949, with pre-orders going live on the 15th of October. No carrier information has been made available at this stage.
Feature wise, the Galaxy Note 4 comes with the QHD (2560×1440) resolution display that will look simply stunning with a beautifully colour accurate 5.7″ Super AMOLED panel. The ultra large and high resolution display will come in handy when using the multi-window and resizeable windows that Samsung is introducing on the Note 4.
Samsung is also pushing the Fast Charging feature of the Note 4, which Samsung say will charge the phone from dead flat to 50% in just half-an-hour. It also comes with an Ultra Power Saving mode which will allow you to use the phone for longer.
The Note 4 contains a 16MP camera, which Samsung says will be capable of reproducing brighter and clearer images than any previous Galaxy Note. The camera features Smart Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS) so we can expect to see some wonderful low-light photography coming out of Note owners in the near future. Samsung has also included a 3.7MP front-facing camera on the Note 4, with a f/1.9 aperture it will also offer wonderfully bright shots, in additon the Note 4 front-facing camera will offer 120° wide angle shots to take ‘groufies’.
The Note 4 comes with the new and improved S Pen which will offer a number of improvements, including a ‘more authentic pen experience’, which Samsung claim emulates the brush effect of actually writing on paper. The S Pen will be used to control even more Air Command functions that Samsung is bringing to the Note 4 experience with new resizeable windows and Smart Select feature.
Galaxy Note Edge
Samsung has also announced that Australia will be one of the select few countries that they will be bringing the Galaxy Note Edge to. The phone will be launching slightly later than the Note 4, with an expected release date of November 5th. The phone will be made available through Samsung Experience stores and other retailers for a price which will give pause to even the most ardent phablet fan, with Samsung pricing the Note Edge at an astronomical $1249.
The Note Edge of course offers a 5.6″ QHD resolution screen, with an additional 160 pixels added to the side to give a resolution of 2560 x 1440 + 160. The side panel is being used by Samsung to offer users a new way to access frequently used apps, alerts and functions. It’s uniquely suited to people who prefer to use a cover on their phone with interactions available even with the cover closed.
Notifications will appear on the edge of the screen while other applications and functions are in use, for example when watching video. Samsung has announced an SDK will be made available for developers to take advantage of the additional screen/notification area on the Note Edge, to hopefully give owners new and interesting experiences on the phone.
Gear VR
Samsung has also announced their Virtual Reality headset which has been designed in partnership with the makers of the Oculus Rift – the current, acknowledged leader in virtual reality technology – will be coming to Australia. The headset will be arriving in Samsung Experience stores and other retailers in November. The headset will be quite nicely priced at $249, but that’s sans the $949 Note 4 you’ll need to use the headset.
Samsung has arranged for access to the online Oculus store which will allow Gear VR owners access to a selection of optimised VR content to download. This will include content such as 360 degree video, games and what Samsung describes as ‘educational/experiential content’.
Gear Circle
Samsung hasn’t forgotten the accessories either, the Gear Circle is a is a Bluetooth headset which clasps around the neck and can vibrate to indicate incoming calls and notifications. The headset can be used to receive and make calls, as well as issue voice commands – oh, and it’s a Bluetooth headset so you can listen to music or podcasts too.
The Gear Circle will be arriving in Samsung Experience Stores and other retailers in November with a RRP of $179.
Gear S
We’ve largely ignored Samsung’s most recent entry to the Smartwatch game, the Gear S. The reason being that the watch will run their own home-brewed operating system Tizen. The Gear S is a self-contained watch with a curved 2″ Super AMOLED Display and a slot for a SIM card that allows you to use the watch as a phone, as well as data terminal.
The watch features a host of functions that make the watch quite attractive to fitness fanatics, with a Heart Rate Monitor, GPS and Bluetooth headset functions included. The watch will hook into S-Health apps on Samsung phones to make a complete fitness companion.
The watch is also outfitted with other funtions which will appeal to the every day user such as Wi-Fi. With IP67 Dust and Water resistance and a range of swappable bands it’s not a bad watch. If you’re interested, the Gear S will be coming to Australia in November and will be available at Samsung Experience stores and retailers for $449.
We’ll be getting lots more information over the next month from carriers, it’s widely expected that we’ll see the Note 4 on all four carriers, with rumour suggesting the Note Edge will also be made available on at least three of the four major national carriers.
Starting off with the phone that finally caused Apple to copy them referring to the Note 4????? Where do they come up with this. Before anyone jumps on their high horse I own a Galaxy S3 and looking towards the Note 4 Edge.
I wouldn’t mind getting hold of the Gear S but with a price tag of 449.00 it will make me think twice about it, and yes the note 4 needs to be available now not a month or more away.
Seriously Samsung? End of October….
this is why the iPhone 6 Plus will outsell you at your own market.
You announce something, then take 2 months to release it.
Wow….from a specs perspective its ridiculous when you compare Note 4 to 6+ in terms of price. You definitely get more bang for your buck with Note but it prob wont get kudos it deserves. Disappointing though when you consider all the noise Samsung has made with ads and yet launch is only in late Oct. Yet apple can announce, release and deal with record numbers in such a short timeframe and in somewhat an okay fashion. Also sad that Samsung is limiting the VRs potential but limiting iy to their line of products. Really looks like it has potential… Read more »
Heaps disappointed by the Circles price. That is very expensive. I think Samsung is becoming a tad arrogant when it comes to pricing their products. It will be interesting to see how they price these internationally. Ebay might be my friend again.
I think time will be your best friend, give it a month or two and prices will be down a lot.
it seems the note edge has the same price tag as the iphone 6 plus 128gb but note edge is still better
Ouch, though I guess prices will go down later on, as with lots of phones. But, yeah, the Edge is expensive, it’s priced like the iPhones !
Wish the VR would work with the Note 3 though