Note 3 Now or Note 4 Later...

[rushless]

I currently have an S4 32GB, but want the extra display space, since notice web and gaming are better experiences with the Note 3. Was considering the G3, but the Qhd/801 combination is too much of a compromise for me: dimness, battery life / throttling with heavy use.

Question now is would the Note 3 be good, or better to wait for the Note 4? Current perspective:

+ Note 3 performs great and 1080p appears to be a better fit for current display tech and 28nm chipsets. Next year should be the year for Qhd with 20nm chips.

+ Note 3 is easy to root with Towelroot, so can freeze bloat and re-enable sd card writes (KitKat evil). I do NOT want to bother modding beyond that.

- Note 3 signal reception issues since the most recent update. Common issue? Been fixed if it is?

- Note 4 could be special and MAYBE the 805 has enough battery management tricks to offset some of the Qhd power draw. Plus the display will likely be more power efficient than the G3's.

- Note 4 might be locked down and not have root, take long time, or be very complex if can be rooted. Note 3 is simple NOW and I need a device with sdcard writes enabled for third party apps. This is more important to me than freezing bloat with TB.

I would normally just decide to wait, but am concerned VZW will update to kill rooting on the Note 3. I could see being happy with the Note three for two years- assuming no signal reception issues.

 

[fletch33]

Note 4 would be my choice without thinking twice. it always gets better and i expect too see better camera, waterproofing (big for me) better screen, etc.....

also it has been noted the Android L (coming soon) had corrected the write to SD from KK.

i do appreciate root for sure but i notice i go less and less with needing it and my list shrinks as Android moves ahead. i freeze all the unremovable stuff i dont use on N3 that cant be removed with Stock but honestly i dont have an internal SD space issue so its not for clearing space. i would do it for space as a challenge but i have plenty so who cares anymore.

as far as freezing the stuff i dont want that is forced on me i find that most of it i can disable anyway in stock and on my Tab Pro 10.1 just for curiosity i left it completely stock with only disabling a few annoying things like TripAdvisor and i have not seen a performance or battery difference from when i first got it and did all that removing etc.. i usually do

so i vote Note 4

 

[rushless]

If L allows card writes, I would definitely wait. Not seen that mentioned in spite of that being the number one pushback issue from users with Kitkat.

 

[fletch33]

If L allows card writes, I would definitely wait. Not seen that mentioned in spite of that being the number one pushback issue from users with Kitkat.

here ya go

 

[rushless]

Yep and here is a summary:

Better Storage Framework:

In KitKat, Google introduced a few radical changes to the way storage in general and, in particular, SD Cards worked. Developers complained about the restrictive new storage framework, which broke SD Card support for a bunch of apps and overall was just more limited and not as robust. The good news is that the storage framework is getting a few enhancements in Android L which should take care of this problem for developers, granting full read/write access to directories and subdirectories, and allowing developers to group together file operations. This potentially adds more solid SD card support and may very well fix the current annoyances that developers have with the OS. Seeing as Android will be officially supporting devices with SD Cards in the future, it’s expected to see more and more robust support as the framework keeps getting better.

Looks like Android has reversed their Apple-like course. I am still ticked that ART uses 25% more storage space, but everything is give and take.

 

[airmaxx23]

Note 4 would be my choice without thinking twice. it always gets better and i expect too see better camera, waterproofing (big for me) better screen, etc.....

also it has been noted the Android L (coming soon) had corrected the write to SD from KK.

i do appreciate root for sure but i notice i go less and less with needing it and my list shrinks as Android moves ahead. i freeze all the unremovable stuff i dont use on N3 that cant be removed with Stock but honestly i dont have an internal SD space issue so its not for clearing space. i would do it for space as a challenge but i have plenty so who cares anymore.

as far as freezing the stuff i dont want that is forced on me i find that most of it i can disable anyway in stock and on my Tab Pro 10.1 just for curiosity i left it completely stock with only disabling a few annoying things like TripAdvisor and i have not seen a performance or battery difference from when i first got it and did all that removing etc.. i usually do

so i vote Note 4

Not to be nitpicky but if the Note 4 is like the S5 it will be water resistant, not waterproof. I won't be getting the Note 4 until I see that it can be rooted, there are just too many advantages to having a rooted device over a non-rooted device. 2¢

 

[changt34x]

I'd say all of your pros/cons are spot on. Just be aware that the S4 and Note 2 are generally considered Samsung's pinnacle at producing radios. I replaced my Note 3 due to signal issues, and while the replacement is a lot better, it is nowhere near as good as my Note 2 (which I went back to using during the replacement process). Several places where I thought Verizon just didn't have signal in fact turned out to be due to the phone. When I have -90dbm 3G on the Note 2, it equates to -115dbm of unusable 1X on the Note 3. You may live in a good signal environment (unlike me), but just be aware of what you may be getting into.

The S5 also has poor signal, from my experience and from others' posts, so I won't hold my breath for the Note 4.

 

[kinstre11]

Personally I would wait till the Note 4 is announced. It should be in September. There are many rumors about the Note 4, but so far no officially confirmed features. Android L may not come with release but would instead be an update, much like this past year with kitkat as Google may not allow another company to officially release a phone with the new Android before they do. If releases follow last year's pattern the new Nexus (or possible new Google flagship phone) would release about a month after the N4. Not to mention the rumors about the Nexus 6 with a 6 inch screen. Rumors about the Note 4 include possible form factor changes including a version with curved glass. The N4 may be overshadowed by the expected fall release of Samsung's future flagship Samsung F.
As for the N3 it is a powerful device and with root there is plenty of added potential. From everything I've read about the radios, the newer N3's actually have better signal than the original releases, however there is certainly no consensus in the community other than that most report poor signal & dl speed. We may see yet see a significant improvement in this department over the next year as Verizon continues to roll out XLTE across the country. The other benefit for N3 is our developers. While I'm sure once the N4 is released it won't be very long before root is gained and developers start to get to work, ATM we have a few dedicated devs that are looking to keep the N3 alive and feeling new for a good time to come. With an S5 port, maybe an N4 port in the future, and the upcoming Alliance rom, if you ever get to the point where you want something fresh and decide to go custom there would likely be support for at least a year after the release of N4 (maybe I'm wrong, but from talk from the devs I don't think I am).
No matter what you decide, I know that for me if I jumped the gun and a month or two later the next BIG thing came out I would probably kick myself, especially considering the price tag on our phones. Good luck deciding (or waiting lol).

 

[ronaldheld]

September is not that far away. Wait for the official N4 announcement and decide then.

 

[KennyG123]

There is a thread in the stickies to discuss upgrading and other devices
Thanks
FNSM