Thinking of buying the Samsung Galaxy Note 4? We’ve got something that might give you pause. The phablet has already gone on sale in South Korea and some people who bought the device there aren’t happy at all.
There are reports of what looks like a manufacturing defect to the layman: a gap between the bezel and the screen, wide enough to fit in a standard business card. Naturally, this has caused a furor in tech circles. After all, Samsung is coming fresh off of a string of ads mocking Apple’s build quality.
In a statement that has caused a fair bit of confusion, Samsung have implied the gap is a ‘feature’, rather than a defect. Addressing the reports, a Samsung spokesman said:
“The reported issue does not impact the functionality or quality of the Galaxy Note 4. We assure our customers that all Galaxy Note 4 units meet our strict manufacturing and quality control standards.”
The gap is even explained in the phone manual, which says, “A small gap appears around the outside of the device case. This gap is a necessary manufacturing feature and some minor rocking or vibration of parts may occur. Over time, friction between parts may cause this gap to expand slightly.”
Despite the assurances, we aren’t convinced. A widening gap is not something we’d want on our phone, regardless of whether it’s intentional or not. Any gap on a smartphone is prime estate for accumulation of dust and dirt, as anyone who has ever used a phone can attest. Cracks or gaps can also develop bleeding light issues, which are a nightmare to deal with.
The Samsung Galaxy Alpha has a similar metal-banded design to the Note 4 and it doesn’t have any gap between screen and bezel, which has our spidey sense tingling. If such a gap between the bezel and screen were beneficial, it should be present in other phone which it certainly isn’t.
So if you are thinking of getting the Note 4, we’d suggest you wait. The phone is going to be tested by a lot of reviewers and people as it goes on sale around the world and it should make it clearer whether the gap is something that should factor into your buying decision. It’ll cost more than $700 so better be safe than sorry.
Check below some pictures coming from South Korea:
Apple was real quick in returning the #bendgate favour. Check below artwork released by Apple:
