Samsung Galaxy Note 3 vs Samsung Galaxy Note 2 Specs Fight: Is it worth to upgrade?

Dromag - The Galaxy Note 3 is the latest addition to Samsung’s smartphone line-up as it comes to succeed the Galaxy Note 2, one of the best selling smartphones developed by the Korean company.

Both the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 and the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 are high-end smartphones aiming at the same customers segment and even though they were launched one year apart, they are two powerful handset which will please even the most demanding users.

How will the Galaxy Note 4 vs Galaxy Note 2 battle will be ruled? Just like it happened in our previous Versus articles there will be ten rounds, each bringing one point for the winner. As you’ve already guessed, the smartphone that scores most points is declared the winner of the battle.

In the ten rounds of the battle we will compare the performance of the two Samsung phablets when it comes to Display, Dimensions, Processor, Memory, Design, Operating System, Connectivity, Camera, Battery, and Price.

Display

The display is the main selling point of the phablets, as the devices are targeted by the users who are in search of a generous screen which brings an enhanced web browsing, watching videos, and gaming.
Galaxy Note 2 comes with a 5.5-inch Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 720 x 1280 pixels and a pixel density of 267 ppi. On the other hand the Note 3 brings a slightly bigger display, a 5.7-inch unit with Super AMOLED panel and 1080 x 1920 pixels resolution. courtesy of the higher resolution the Note 3 brings an impressive pixel density of 368 ppi.

The latest Samsung phablet brings a larger display with higher resolution, so the point allocated to the display round goes to the Note 3.

Dimensions

The Sammy phablet launched in 2012 measures 151.1 x 80.5 x 9.4 mm while weighing 183 grams. Even though the Note 3 has a bigger display is about the same size as its predecessor, while being thinner and lighter than it. Note 3 is 151.2 mm tall, 79.2 mm wide, and 8.3 mm thin, having a weight of only 168 grams.
Since the Note 3 is both slimmer and lighter than the Note 2, the 5.7 incher wins the second round of the battle.

Processor

There are new technologies integrated in mobile phones each year and some of them are related to the processing tasks.

Launched in 2012 the Note 2 sports Samsung’s proprietary Esynos 4412 Quad SoC based on four 1.6 GHz Cortex A9 cores (32 nm) and Mali 400MP GPU.

There are two Galaxy Note 3 variants each sporting a different chipset. The N9000 packs an octo-core Exynos 5420 chispet with quad-core 1.9 GHz Cortex A15 CPU + quad-core 1.3 GHz Cortex A9 CPU and Mali T628 GPU. The LTE-enabled N9005 features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 SoC with four Krait 400 cores cocked at 2.3 GHz and Adreno 330 GPU. Both the Exynos 5420 and Snapdragon 800 are manufactured on 28 nm technology.

The Note 3′s processors are definitely more powerful than the ones of is predecessor, that’s why the 2013 phablet scores another point.

Memory

There are a lot of apps, movies, and songs available in Google Play Store and you will need a lot of internal storage to have them on your device. Also, Android comes with real multitasking, therefore the amount of RAM is equally important.

Note 3 has two internal storage options, 32 or 64 GB and it comes with support for microSD cards up to 64 GB. The Note 2 has a microSD card slot too (up to 64 GB supported), but it has three internal storage variants 16/32/64 GB.

While the internal storage is equally matched (both devices can have up to 128 GB of storage) the Note 3 is the first smartphone in the world to come with 3 GB of RAM and the Note 3 has “only” 2 GB of RAM. For this reason, the Multi View multitasking experience provided by the Note 3 will be richer, helping the smartphone win another round in the battle.

Design

There’s only one major flow in the design of Samsung’s smartphones: the use of plastic materials.
The Galaxy Note 2 follows the Inspired by Nature design philosophy introduced by the Galaxy S3, with rounded corners and case finishing reminding of various rocks (They’re minerals! Jesus, Marie). The Note 2 looks more or less like a Galaxy S3 on steroids.

Samsung wanted to show the world that their smartphones can have a premium construction too and the Note 3 is the first of a new wave. The new phablet manufactured by the Korean company invites you to feel the faux-leather back, while moving towards a sharper design with less rounded corners and an aluminium finishing for the bezel around the body, borrowed from the Galaxy S4.

I’m not saying the Galaxy Note 2 is an ugly smartphone, but it’s not as beautiful as the Galaxy Note 3. That’s another point for the new Samsung handset.

Operating System

We are dealing with two smartphones running Android Jelly Bean customized with TouchWiz Nature UX. You’de be tempted to say that it’s nothing to compare here. Oh, how wrong you are.

The Note 2 was announced in 2012 running Android 4.1.1, but you can now upgrade it to Android 4.1.2. Running TuchWiz Nature UX on top of Jelly Bean, the Note 2 was Samsung’s first smartphone to introduce features live Multi Window, Air View (it worked only with the S Pen, though), or Quick Command. It also comes with a lot of S Pen-optimized applications like Popup Note, Easy Clip, Photo Note, Paper Artist, or handwriting support.

On the other hand, the Galaxy Note 3 brings all the above and a lot more. Running Android 4.3 out of the box, it borrows most of Galaxy S4′s innovative features (Smart Scroll, Smart Pause, Air View – with finger support, S Health, Air Gesture, etc.), while introducing a new batch of S Pen-optimized features like Action Memo, Scrapbook, Pen Window, Samsung KNOX, or S Finder. The new smartphone also updated the S Note, Easy Clip, and support for Direct Pen Input, the S Pen now working with the capacitive buttons below the display.

Of course, the Galaxy Note 2 might receive most of the Note 3 features once the Android 4.3 is rolled out, but until then Samsung’s latest phablet steals another point.

Connectivity

The 4G LTE has finally became mainstream on the developed markets and you can barely find a mid-range to high-end smartphone without it and the Note 3 and Note 2 make no exception.

Samsung Galaxy Note 2 brings HSPA, 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n, dual-band, DLNA, Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi hotspot, NFC, Bluetooth 4.0 with A2DP, LE, EDR, and microUSB 2.0.

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 brings HSPA, 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, DLNA, Wi-Fi Direct, Wi-Fi hotspot, NFC, Bluetooth 4.0 with A2DP, LE, EDR, IR blaster, and microUSB 2.0.

Have you spotted the differences yet? Yes, you’re right, support for Wi-Fi ac and the infra red port for the Note 3. Anyway these two features are not enough to bring another point for the N9000, so this round is a tie.

Camera

Statistics say that 86.3% of the smatphone owners use them to take photos, while another study says that you can make up statistics on the spot and make people believe you. That’s exactly what I did, but we will talk about the camera anyway.

Note 3 has a 13 MP primary camera with autofocus, LED flash, Dual Shot, simultaneous HD video and image recording, geo-tagging, touch focus, face and smile detection, image stabilization, panorama, HDR, and 4K video recording. It can also record slow motion 1080p@60p videos.

Its predecessor has an 8 MP sensor mounted on the back with autofocus, LED flash, simultaneous HD video and image recording, geo-tagging, touch focus, face and smile detection, image stabilization which records 1080p@30fps videos.

It’s obvious that the Note 3 has the better camera, so it scores another point.

Battery

One of the other main advantages of the phablets over smartphones is the higher battery life
The second generation Note has a Li-Ion 3100 mAh battery and our tests have shown that it can easily stay awake for more than a day and a half of moderate to intense usage. Note 3′s battery is only 100 mAh bigger when compared to Note 2′s but the more battery efficient processors should be able to conserve enough energy to give the handset over 2 days of battery life.

Note 3 wins the battery round, too. This battle is pretty one-sided.

Price

I know everybody likes a cheap smartphone, so we’ll keep it simple in this round: the cheaper smartphone wins.

The phablet launched by Samsung a week ago will hit the major US carriers at a price of $299 with a two year agreement. The Note 2 which is almost one year old now costs between $149 (US Cellular and Verizon) to $249 (Sprint), of course, if you agree to sign a two-year contract. The point goes to the Note 2.

Conclusions

The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 vs Samsung Galaxy Note 2 battle is over and it’s time to see which of the two smartphones has won the battle.

The Galaxy Note 2 has only scored 1 point after winning the Price round and it was equally matched with its successor when it came to Connectivity.

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 has won not less than 8 rounds: Display, Dimensions, Processor, Memory, Design, Operating System, Camera, and Battery. It’s lighter and thinner than its predecessor, has a full HD display, more RAM, faster CPU, and it looks way better. I guess it deserves to win the battle.

Even though Samsung will bring most of Note 3′s features on the Note 2 with the Android 4.3 update, you shouldn’t forget that the Koreans upgraded almost every aspect of the Note 2, from Display to RAM and Processor to Camera. So is it worth to upgrade? Most definitely yes.

Source : http://www.android.gs/