Samsung launches Galaxy Note 4 just before iPhone 6 Plus hits India

Samsung has finally launched the Galaxy Note 4 big-screened smartphone in India at INR58,300 (US$953). The Galaxy Note 4 arrives early to compete with Apple’s first large screen contender – the iPhone 6 Plus. Both phones lock horns this week since the iPhone 6 Plus, starting INR62,500 (US$1,016), arrives on October 17. Samsung will offer the Galaxy Note with new S Pen stylus in bronze gold, charcoal black, and frost white.

For India, the Galaxy Note 4 will come preloaded with support for 14 regional Indian languages, including Hindi, Punjabi, and Bengali.

Here are the Note 4 specifications:

• 5.7-inch 2.5D Super AMOLED display with 2560×1440 resolution
• Quad-core 2.5 Ghz Qualcomm Snapdragon 805 mobile chipset
• 3 GB RAM, 32GB built-in storage, memory slot
• TouchWiz Essence UX on Android 4.4.4 KitKat
• 16MP rear camera, 3.7MP front camera
• 4G LTE, 3G, 2G network support
• Bluetooth 4.1 LE, NFC, Infrared port
• Double pressure sensitivity clad S Pen
• UV, heart rate monitor, SpO2, fingerprint sensors
• 3220 mAh battery
• 153.5 mm x 78.6 mm x 8.5 mm
• 176 grams

Both Samsung and Apple will get into a battle on the specifications front. The iPhone 6 Plus also has a 5.5-inch display but falls behind in pixel density compared to Galaxy Note 4. Apart from that, the iPhone 6 Plus has included the Optical Image Stabilization which will compete with Galaxy Note 4’s 16MP camera comprising of a Sony IMX240 image sensor.

Samsung has partnered with Vodafone to offer 1GB of free data per month for two months for early adopters in India.

Apple and Samsung will throw down in a tough fight during the Indian festive season of Diwali, for which holiday shopping sales begin this week.