Less than a month ago, Samsung released a smaller and a somewhat cheaper version of the popular Galaxy Note 3 – the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo. The Neo is more modest when it comes to specs, with a 5.5in screen, 2 GB of RAM and an 8-megapixel camera, but it does have a new chipset with six cores.
On the outside, the Note 3 Neo bears resemblance to its predecessor.
Design
The Neo is slightly shorter and thinner than the Note 3, but even if you put the two next to each other, it would be hard to spot the differences. The Neo even looks like its predecessor – it has the same faux-leather back cover that is removable and the recognizable stitching along its edges. When you remove the back, you get access to the battery and microSD slot, where you can add more storage. The S Pen stylus lies in its compartment in the lower right corner of the phone. Even though it’s officially smaller, you won’t be able to operate the Galaxy Note 3 Neo single-handedly.
Display
Samsung’s newest phablet has a 5.5in HD display with a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels, resulting in 267ppi pixel density. It’s 0.2in smaller than the Galaxy Note 3, which boasts a 5.7in screen with a Full HD display and 386ppi pixel density. The picture on the Neo may not be as crisp and precise as the Note 3′s, but it is still a pretty good screen. The colours, contrast and viewing angles are fantastic, and you can adjust the saturation to your liking.
Performance and memory
The Neo comes with a hexacore Exynos processor, i.e. a dual-core Cortex A15 processor clocked at 1.7GHz and a quad-core Cortex A7 clocked at 1.3GHz. It might sound impressive, but the reality is that it’s slower than the 2.3GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800/the 1.9GHz Exynos 5 Octa processor found in the Note 3. The Neo offers a smooth performance, without lags, but if you want to play more demanding games, then you might run into some issues. Graphics processors are better than the Note 2′s, but weaker than the Note 3′s. The Neo runs on Android 4.3 Jelly Bean and not 4.4 KitKat like the Note 3, but given the fact that the resolution is smaller, this shouldn’t present a huge problem.
The Galaxy Note 3 Neo has 2GB of RAM (the Note 3 has an amazing 3GB) and 16GB of internal storage which you can expand with a microSD card (up to 64GB).
Which phablet would you purchase?
Camera
The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo has a 8-megapixel camera with a LED flash on its back that can shoot photos of up to 3264 x 2448 pixels and 1080p videos. On the other hand, the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 has a 13-megapixel camera capable of capturing 4128 x 3096 photos and 4K videos. The photos are extremely detailed, the colours accurate and bright, and it definitely puts the Neo 3′s 8-megapixel camera into one of the best out there. The Galaxy Note 3 Neo comes with an array of interesting features, settings and options, just like its older sibling.
The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo might not be as fabulous as the Note 3, but it’s still a great phone that doesn’t sacrifice too much when it comes to specs. A German online retailer has listed the price of both the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo LTE+ and its quad-core HSPA+ sibling: 529 EUR and 499 EUR respectively.
