Only one company can compete with Apple, and that’s Samsung. It does so with phones offering a ton of value. The strategy, though, has really matured. Samsung no longer gives you everything you didn’t ask for. All of its unique features and technologies are implemented with actual consumer behavior in mind. Over the years, that’s allowed Samsung to create an ecosystem of its own. If you look at a timeline of its phones, you’ll see how the company got to where it is today.
Check out our list of the best Samsung phones of all-time.
#5: Samsung Galaxy Note 4 — 2014
For a very long time, Samsung didn’t seem to care about the materials used for its phones. Its predecessors boasted plastic and rubber, which are far from premium. But that was standard for flagships at the time. Consumers wanted something premium-feeling like the iPhone yet even up until 2014 Samsung didn’t mind going for the cheaper alternative. Finally, with the Galaxy Note 4, Samsung started taking an interest in the look and feel of its high-end devices.
The Galaxy Note 4 arrived with a faux leather back, and the frame was constructed of aluminum. A presence of metal gave Samsung’s secondary flagship the premium vibe we always wanted.
It featured a 5.7-inch Quad HD (2560×1440) Super AMOLED display, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 805 with 3GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage, a 16MP rear camera, a 3.7 front camera, a 3220mAh battery, a fingerprint scanner, and Android 4.4.4 KitKat upgradeable to Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow.
Just months after the phone’s release, we’d see the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge. Those two raised the bar with glass backs and metal frames. If the Galaxy Note 4 didn’t go over so well, maybe Samsung would’ve gone with something totally different for its 2015 flagship duo. Also, it the Galaxy Note 4’s sibling, the Galaxy Note Edge, that ushered in the era of curved displays. Samsung introduced it on a more mainstream phone with the Galaxy S6 Edge, and then made it common for flagships starting in 2017.
We have to thank the Galaxy Note 4 and Galaxy Note Edge for Samsung’s progression in design.
