Galaxy Note 3 is currently the best smartphone in the market. Even though Apple has launched the new iPhone 5S but experts feel that it won’t be able to disturb the sales of Note 3. The HTC One Max and Nokia Lumia 1520 are the two phablets that have features that can make them compete with the Note 3. Many are also waiting for the Nexus 5 to arrive which is going to replace the older Nexus 4.
In the previous year, Samsung Galaxy Note 2 was released in October and LG Nexus 4 came out around the same time with Android 4.2 Jelly Bean OS. Both the Korean tech giants competed with each other. However, the phablet from Samsung was a superior smartphone compared to the Nexus 4. Both remained to be the best smartphones of 2013.
Now, Samsung has already announced the Galaxy Note 3 which is going to release in October in US. Yesterday was the last day of Google Nexus 4 which clearly indicates that Google is planning to launch new Nexus 5 in the near future. It is still not clear which brand among LG and Motorola will be manufacturing the Nexus 5. Let us compare both the phones with each other to know how the battle will ensue once the Google Nexus 5 is rolled out.
Display
The Galaxy Note 3 is blessed with a massive full HD 5.7inch display screen. As of now, we do not know what would be the size of the display on Nexus 5. What we do know is that like Note 3, the Nexus 5 display will support 1080 pixels resolution. The Nexus 4 is equipped with a large 4.7inch display. Some experts feel that this time around, the next Nexus smartphone will sport a 5inch or 5.2icnh display.
Design
The exterior of the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 is built with plastic and comes with faux leather at the rear which is something new to see on Galaxy line of smartphones from Samsung. Samsung has done well in make the device thinner and lighter than before. It is 8.3mm slim and weighs 168g.
The design of the Nexus 5 is going to be somewhat similar to that of new Nexus 7 tablet. According to the leaks, the exterior will be housed with smooth plastic and it will sport a large Nexus logo. The logo will be same like the one present on new Nexus 7 tablet. So, like the Note 3, the Nexus 5 will feature plastic body. We are not sure about its dimensions but is should be thinner and lighter than the older Nexus 4.
Storage
For United States, the Korean tech giant is only offering 32GB storage variant of Galaxy Note 3. The Nexus 4 was available in two storage variants, namely 8GB and 16GB. Going by this, we feel that the Nexus 5 will also be made available in two storage variants. Some analysts think that this time around, Google will not offer 8GB version but will rather roll out 16GB and 32GB version of the device.
Notable Differences
S-Pen feature which is exclusively available on the Galaxy Note 3 allows users to draw and write on the display of the device. It is coupled with some useful software as well. Well, the Nexus 5 will not come with a stylus.
The back cover of the Note 3 is removable which makes it quite easy to replace the battery with a new battery in case the battery dies or malfunctions. According to FCC filings, the Nexus 5 will come with non-removable back cover which will not allow users to remove the battery.
The external storage on the Galaxy Note 3 allows you add up to 64GB of microSD card. Until now, Google has not offered external microSD card slot on its Nexus smartphones, so it is quite expected that the Nexus 5 will not offer external storage but will rather come with massive cloud storage space.
Software
Galaxy Note 3 was fortunate to come out with the latest Android 4.3 Jelly Bean update. Also, it has got TouchWiz UI laid over the Android OS. However, Google has always been known to roll out new Android OS update with new Nexus devices. The Android 4.4 KitKat update has been announced but it is yet to release. It is likely that the Nexus 5 will come with all new Android 4.4 KitKat.
Pricing
Galaxy Note 3 is going to be priced at 299USD on contract thanks to the massive display and loads of features it brings. Since Google has not announced the Nexus 5 yet, the details on the price are not yet known. However, because it will come with LTE support, the price of the handset may go up to 399USD for 16GB variant and 450USD for 32GB variant. Both the devices will be shipped unlocked.