Like other Galaxy-branded devices, the Note 10.1 2014 borrows just about every software feature from the Note 3, including S Memo, S Beam, EasyMode, Multi Window, Smart Stay, Smart Scroll, S Translate, Easy Mode, Air View, and Air Gestures.

Also like Samsung's Note 3, the Note 10.1 2014 emphasizes using the S Pen via the S Pen Air Command. To us, this is the centerpiece of what sets the Note line apart from other tablets on the market. The Air Command interface is a huge improvement over last year's implementation, like on the Galaxy Note 3, as it allows Air Command functionality to continue working throughout the OS, separate from TouchWiz.

As a result, if you decide to use a third-party launcher like Nova or Action Launcher, you can continue to take advantage of Air Command. In the past, a lot of S Pen functionality was bound to the TouchWiz interface. Now, you're able to retain full usage of the S Pen, no matter how you customize your Android launcher.
Handwriting Recognition
We don't usually write notes by hand on tablets, but we're always impressed by the handwriting recognition in the Note suite of applications.

From taking down an email address or phone number to recording a few mental reminders, if you need your notes transcribed into digital form, the software typically handles the task well. Considering we're lifelong keyboard users and may have some of the worst handwriting in the world, that's quite a feat.
Multitasking
Multi Window support is another feature that no other OEM has really managed to match. It's especially useful on the Note 10.1 2014, given increased screen real estate afforded by the device's ample QHD resolution.

Compared to previous iterations that were slow, unresponsive, or just plain bad, this year's version is a much better representation of what is typically thought of as desktop functionality. Combined with other important improvements, such as data transfer between applications and unique input options that only the S Pen can provide, Samsung's offering is nicely differentiated.
My Magazine
The last notable user experience change is in Samsung's My Magazine. Accessed by swiping up from the bottom of the home screen, My Magazine somewhat previews what Samsung was cooking up for its professional line of Note Pro and Tab Pro tablets.

In what is basically a baked-in Flipboard news aggregator, you get the latest news in the topics of your choice. It's kind of like the Blinkfeed offering that HTC has on its One line of smartphones.
While people will either love or hate the Samsung TouchWiz UI, we don't see the company ditching it any time soon (even if some enthusiasts believe otherwise due to the deal signed with Google). Samsung has too much to lose by completely dropping the TouchWiz branding; it's now familiar to millions of users. And, of course, there are the ever-present rumors of TouchWiz being used by Samsung to get people accustomed to future Tizen-based devices.
As with other Galaxy products, the usefulness of the Note 10.1 2014's baked-in features are questionable. But, at the end of the day, they're likely a boon to many longtime Samsung customers.
- Samsung's S Pen Attack On The Full-Size Tablet Market
- Look And Feel
- Camera, Display, And Speakers
- TouchWiz: Samsung's Take On Android
- Samsung's Galaxy Note Enhancements
- Benchmark Suite And Test System Specs
- Results: CPU Core Benchmarks
- Results: GPU Core Benchmarks
- Results: Web Benchmarks
- Brightness, Black Level, Contrast Ratio, And Gamma
- Results: Battery Life
- Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014) Wi-Fi Or LTE?
Your bar graph "MobileXPRT 2013" seems to be in error.
For example, the text says, "Note 10.1 (2014 Edition) Wi-Fi leads with 300 points . . ."
but the bar is the shortest and indicates less than 150 points.
Samsung's Exynos-based Note 10.1 (2014 Edition) Wi-Fi holds its own against the Tegra Note 7, while the LTE version of the Note 10.1 (2014 Edition) again falls significantly behind its Snapdragon 800-powered Wi-Fi counterpart.
And this happens all throughout. The LTE is a Snapdragon, the Wifi is an Exynos. Keep repeating that to yourself as you re-write the descriptions and it will make this easier to read.
Your bar graph "MobileXPRT 2013" seems to be in error. For example, the text says, "Note 10.1 (2014 Edition) Wi-Fi leads with 300 points . . ." but the bar is the shortest and indicates less than 150 points.
This benchmark's sub-tests produce scores in seconds (lower is better), and the overall score is given as a typical higher-is-better score, so the lowest bar indicates the fastest completion. Sorry about the confusion, I'll look into other ways to represent this test.
Samsung's Exynos-based Note 10.1 (2014 Edition) Wi-Fi holds its own against the Tegra Note 7, while the LTE version of the Note 10.1 (2014 Edition) again falls significantly behind its Snapdragon 800-powered Wi-Fi counterpart.
And this happens all throughout. The LTE is a Snapdragon, the Wifi is an Exynos. Keep repeating that to yourself as you re-write the descriptions and it will make this easier to read.
Good catch, thanks! Fixed.
Actually, you'd think this has been phased out, but it's the current 10-inch Galaxy "Note" product, meaning it has the S Pen. The Galaxy "Tab" S does not - still unclear to me what makes the "S" stand out. I believe Samsung is literally attempting to offer an alternative product to every single other device in existence - complete mobile domination. I lost count of their current "Galaxy" line at 11 products, and that was awhile back.
The duo of Note 10.1 (2014)'s came in very handy both as comparison data in other articles and as testbeds for compiling our benchmark suite. Unfortunately, the article had to be pushed back several times, but the huge hardware difference between products carrying the same name was always something we wanted to illustrate, initially for the chipset-vs-chipset angle, but later for the optimization aspect as well. We're currently working through a small backlog of mobility articles, but each will be more timely than the last. My apologies.
It is a good review for apples to apples on the Samsung hardware options.
Would you suggest that this is "as-good-as-it-gets" for the few who prefer pen-based tablets? Any foresight in other pen based tablets?
Ninjawithagun,
Tablets are not modular like a pc... whilst it may have been good for the author the resolution issue with these benchmarks, an apples to apples comparison of the individual components would NOT help the user decide which unit as a whole is the fastest as indeed, they are NOT modular.
Ninjawithagun,
Tablets are not modular like a pc... whilst it may have been good for the author the resolution issue with these benchmarks, an apples to apples comparison of the individual components would NOT help the user decide which unit as a whole is the fastest as indeed, they are NOT modular.
Not true. Most (not all) tablets are in fact modular in that the CPU and GPU operate independently of one another. Case in point, the Apple A7 uses a dual-core 64-bit SOC processor and PowerVR G6430 graphics chip. The Samsung uses the Exynos 5 Octa processor with a Mali-T628 MP6 graphics chip. Your definition of modular is fundamentally flawed in that you think it pertains to physical ability for individual items to removed/replaced. Modular infers to the actual architecture of the system in that several different parts from different manufactures are integrated together to function as a whole unit.
Ninjawithagun,
Tablets are not modular like a pc... whilst it may have been good for the author the resolution issue with these benchmarks, an apples to apples comparison of the individual components would NOT help the user decide which unit as a whole is the fastest as indeed, they are NOT modular.
Not true. Most (not all) tablets are in fact modular in that the CPU and GPU operate independently of one another. Case in point, the Apple A7 uses a dual-core 64-bit SOC processor and PowerVR G6430 graphics chip. The Samsung uses the Exynos 5 Octa processor with a Mali-T628 MP6 graphics chip. Your definition of modular is fundamentally flawed in that you think it pertains to physical ability for individual items to removed/replaced. Modular infers to the actual architecture of the system in that several different parts from different manufactures are integrated together to function as a whole unit.
This does not argue to the point. Here's a fact and the crux of the matter... An apples to apples comparison of gpu's and processors does NOT tell the user how apps will perform on tablet x when constrained by their other components be it amount of ram, screen res, gpu, cpu etc.
i.e. benchmarks are not "fundamentally flawed" (nor is my understanding and use of the term modular)
FYI, the KitKat update makes the SD card practically useless. Rooting these tablets is frustrating at best, and the KNOX system is the most terrible idea Samsung ever came up with.
Looking back, I should have gotten a Nexus.
FYI, the KitKat update makes the SD card practically useless.
How can it be useless having 128 gb for music and videos/pictures? Maybe you can afford spotify and paying 15 dollars every month for an upgraded dropbox account, but many people don't, or even if they do, they do not have a reliable LTE signal 24/7.