Samsung Galaxy Note 3 review

Smarter, longer, faster, something else-er... this is an evolution and a half

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 review
The next step in the Note family?

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The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 offers up a bit of a treat when it comes video recording, as it supports 4K quality footage at 30fps.

This makes the Note 3 one of very few smartphones to offering this UltraHD recording level, and it's all down to the Snapdragon 800 processor housed inside.

That means it can output video at 3840 x 2160 - although you'll only be able to truly enjoy it if you have a 4K monitor or TV. Saying that, it still looks great on whatever screen you watch it back on.

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 review

If you fancy saving some storage space you can always opt to record in 1080p, full HD at 60fps instead.

Whether you opt for 4K or 1080p the Galaxy Note 3 produces relatively smooth, colourful footage, although if there's a lot going on in the scene it will struggle to work out where to focus.

You can always tap the screen to override the auto-focus here, and if you do so a button labelled "AF" will appear on the display allowing you to return to auto-focus if you so wish.

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 review

A nice feature we enjoyed using while recording was the ability to take pictures, as the camera shutter key stays on screen even when you've started rolling.

If you want to use the LED on the rear of the Note 3 as a light while recording you'll need to turn it on before hitting record, as there's no way to toggle the light when filming.

As with the camera you can implement the 4x digital zoom while recording, but footage quality will take quite a hit so we'd advise against using this.

Thanks to that 4K recording quality the Galaxy Note 3 is capable of capturing some of the best video of any smartphone, so any budding film producers out there will want to check this out.

John McCann
Global Managing Editor

John joined TechRadar over a decade ago as Staff Writer for Phones, and over the years has built up a vast knowledge of the tech industry. He's interviewed CEOs from some of the world's biggest tech firms, visited their HQs and has appeared on live TV and radio, including Sky News, BBC News, BBC World News, Al Jazeera, LBC and BBC Radio 4. Originally specializing in phones, tablets and wearables, John is now TechRadar's resident automotive expert, reviewing the latest and greatest EVs and PHEVs on the market. John also looks after the day-to-day running of the site.