Samsung Galaxy Note 4

As it does on a yearly basis, Samsung put on a huge event in Berlin coinciding with the IFA trade show to announce its latest Note device, the Galaxy Note 4. This high-end handset stole the show again, improving several aspects of the S Pen-toting, big-screened flagship.

The updates this time around were primarily in hardware, with the Note 4 donning a full chassis made out of aluminum rather than the plastic exterior of old. It did retain a faux leather-like back plate, but at least lost the fake stitching around the edges. Around front, a brand new QHD (2560 x 1440) AMOLED display brings intense pixel density to the note lineup, rivaling other large-screened flagships like the LG G3.

On the inside, the Note 4 bumped up all of the meaningful specs, with either a 2.7GHz quad-core or 1.9GHz octa-core processor, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of internal storage and a new 16MP camera that boasts proper OIS for better nighttime photography. The Note 4 also gained the heart rate monitor — found on the back underneath the camera pod — just like the one found on the Galaxy S5.

The Galaxy Note 4 will naturally be available from all major carriers in the U.S., along with full international availability, from October 2014.