Samsung Galaxy Note 4 photos leak, thinner bezel and Aluminum body

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We’ve heard some things about the Galaxy Note 4 over the last few months, and we’ve even seen the device in AnTuTu benchmarking. Now, some three weeks before its unveil, Galaxy Note 4 photos have leaked across the Web.

The new Galaxy Note 4 photos show Samsung going with a touch of aluminum, aluminum siding, which seems to be a change from the ribbed faux-metal design of the siding on the currently-reigning Galaxy Note 3. Samsung seems to be going for a plain metal siding on the new Galaxy Note 4.

 

Also of “note†(pun intended) in the Galaxy Note 4 photos is that the speaker grille is no longer enclosed, as it was on the Galaxy Note 3. Samsung seems to be after an a speaker grille design that allows for a more open sound from its speaker – which will possibly result in a better sound than before. The Galaxy Note 3 has been stellar in its audio output, but we have a feeling that Samsung wants to create more of a “boom sound†(Yes, we used an HTC feature word here!) than ever before. If these Note 4 photos are genuine, then Samsung’s bringing a little of its Galaxy Alpha design language to the Galaxy Note 4. Galaxy Alpha photos leaked in recent weeks show the same open speaker grille at the same bottom left side of the device that is now present in the Note 4 photos.

 

We don’t know, however if Samsung looks to provide dual speakers or just stick with one mono speaker as it did with the Note 3. At this point in time, we can only make out one bottom speaker, and it appears to be in the same place as the bottom speaker on the Galaxy Note 3. Samsung likes to place the speaker on the back cover of the Galaxy S5, but we have no idea why they wouldn’t place the speakers on both phones in the same position.

 

There are two other noticeable features about these Galaxy Note 4 photos. First, the back cover seems to be yet another textured plastic but it also appears to have a different look (and will likely have a different feel) than the current “plastic leather†or “pleather†design of the Galaxy Note 3. The Galaxy Note 4 design language also strays from the dimpled plastic texture of the Galaxy S5.

 

Some have called the Galaxy S5’s dimpled back cover nothing short of a “Band-Aid,†but it doesn’t appear to be a Band-Aid up close. In any case, for those who don’t want a Band-Aid design, you won’t have to worry about it in the Galaxy Note 4. Galaxy Alpha customers, however, will see it on the Galaxy Alpha, which means that the Galaxy Alpha will prove to be a “Galaxy S5 Plus†in some ways.

 

Another interesting tidbit here is that Samsung is now branding its “SAMSUNG†name on the back of the device as well as at the top of the front display – a sign that the company wants its brand to be seen and visible on any device it makes. That’s not a bad thing, but some will go the distance and say that Samsung’s trying to make the Galaxy Note 4 look like an iPhone with its back name branding.

 

Last but not least, the Galaxy Note 4 photos seen here show us that the camera and the LED flash will be separate and in distinct places on the back of the Galaxy Note 4. Perhaps Samsung’s decided to do this to provide better lighting for its photos, seeing that the company also separated the 16MP camera and the LED flash in the Galaxy S5 – and it turns out that Samsung’s also got a superior camera in the Galaxy S5 than it had in the Note 3 experience. The distinct placement of the LED and the camera mimics the photos we’ve seen of the LTE-Advanced Galaxy Alpha, the phone that’s designed to be the iPhone 6 killer this Fall.

 

Interestingly enough, the LED flash on the Galaxy S5 retained a space for the heart rate monitor, but we’re not sure Samsung will offer it on the Galaxy Note 4. If the company does (which we imagine they’ll do), then it’s likely under the LED flash on the Note 4. This is good news for those who have chubby fingers at least. In our time with the Galaxy S5, we found that the enclosed space containing the flash and heart rate monitor slot was too small for chubby-fingered individuals. If Samsung could implement the heart rate monitor on the Galaxy Note 4 in an open space without making it too small, consumers would have yet another reason to celebrate.

 

As for the back cover itself, you can celebrate once more – it’s still removable, nothing different from what we’ve come to expect with Samsung devices. This means that the 32GB Galaxy Note 4 (or the 64GB model if you get your hands on one) will still provide a microSD card slot for additional memory storage expansion.

 

There’s one other factor that may or may not influence your decision to buy the device: there seems to be no USB port cover on the Galaxy Note 4 – indicating that the Galaxy Note 4 may not come with water resistance.

 

Now, some have said in forums recently that Samsung may well be able to implement water resistance without covering up the USB port (supposedly, there’s a new method). If it is, however, what’ll happen to the USB port if water is enclosed in it? This seems to indicate that there won’t be water and dust resistance on the new device. If Samsung does emerge with water and dust resistance for the new model, we’ll rejoice, but it doesn’t appear to be that way for now.

 

This may be a pre-production model meant to show off the new device. The remaining touches may still need to be made, so don’t assume that the Note 4 won’t have water resistance. We just wanted to point this out for now so that we can at least give Samsung owners a heads-up about what the device could and couldn’t have.

 

Last but not least, the tried-and-true home button will likely provide the same fingerprint scanner we’ve seen on the Galaxy S5. Samsung’s sticking with its thin bezels as it did in the Galaxy Note 3, so that users will enjoy the large screen real estate.

Are these genuine photos of the Galaxy Note 4?

With new photos always comes the question, “Are they real? Can we trust the Galaxy Note 4 photos?†We believe so, for a few reasons. First, they match much of the design language we’ve seen in the Galaxy Note series, and the photos are very similar to what we’ve seen in the Galaxy Note 3 – with a few slight changes, which seems to be the way manufacturers work these days (slight tweaks). These slight tweaks can be seen in the SAMSUNG brand on the back of the phone, the separation of the LED flash and the camera, the more open nature of the bottom audio speaker, and the aluminum metal siding seems to be plain and not ribbed as we’ve seen on the Galaxy Note 3.

 

At the same time, however, the lack of a USB port cover has us wondering, “What’s Samsung doing with the Note 4? Will it be water and dust resistant?â€

 

It may be the case that Samsung chooses not to make the Note 4 water and dust resistant – and with good reason. If the rumors are true that the company looks to bring a Gear Solo smartwatch to market, then Samsung may very well abandon the notion of water and dust resistance on the Note 4 to encourage sales of the Gear Solo smartwatch. We know for certain that the Gear Solo will come with IP67 water resistance, if not a better IP water and dust resistance rating than the current Gear 2 and Gear 2 Neo smartwatch offerings.

 

In the end, Samsung may very well have its own reasons for not making the Note 4 water and dust resistant, and it may have something to do with water and dust resistance issues from the Galaxy S5 (or even the Galaxy S5 Active). At this point, we’ll take the optimistic route and say that Samsung’s got some way to make the Galaxy Note 4 water and dust resistant apart from the port covers found on the Galaxy S5 – although we don’t know what that would be.

 

Last but not least, the leaked photos also show the Galaxy Note 4 box in white, with the words “Galaxy Note 4†above it and a date on the phone display as “Tuesday, September 15.†This doesn’t trouble us since Samsung revealed the Note 3 last year around mid-September and didn’t make the device available at American carriers AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, and T-Mobile until the first week of October. With the company’s decision to schedule an early unveil this year, then, the box shows us photos that are a few weeks old, to say the least. Samsung already changed the date of its Galaxy Alpha unveil from August 4th (the original announcement date) to August 13th – so it’s typical for Samsung and other manufacturers to play around with dates here and there.

At the same time, we could be looking at the Note 4 release date (Sept. 15). It wouldn’t be surprising to see Samsung edge its phones on the market just a few days before Apple releases the iPhone 6.

 

We here at Inferse trust the photos and they look legitimate. We would tell you to take these photos with a gallon of salt, but they look too similar to the real deal for us to say otherwise. While we could always be wrong about these photos, we’ll tell you to believe them unless new evidence says otherwise