Samsung announces an even-faster Galaxy Note 4

The Samsung Galaxy Note 4 is already a speedy phone, but there's a new version that can download over LTE even faster than before. The current version of the Galaxy Note 4 includes LTE-A with dual-band carrier aggregation — the ability to combine two frequency bands (carrier, in this case, is frequency on which the tower is broadcasting) — for downloads up to 150Mbps. The new version, however, bundles together three bands for downloads that can reach up to 300Mbps.

Of course, actually getting downloads that fast requires that your phone be connected to a tower supporting tri-band carrier aggregation as well as having ideal conditions (i.e. you're standing right in front of the tower) and the line delivering bandwidth to the tower also being capable of such speeds. Carrier aggregation also reduces the number of available bands for users, so you'll want to be hooking up when there are fewer people around.

All of this falls under the umbrella of "Category 6" LTE service, and the tri-band Note 4 will also support LTE-A Category 9 with up to 450Mbps download speeds, but that's not expected until later in 2015 (and will see the same restrictions as noted above for Cat 6).

Apart from the enhanced radios, the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 LTE-A seems to be more or less the same Galaxy Note 4 we reviewed in October. There's no word on which processor the phone runs on, or when or where we can expect it to be released, and how much you'll have to pay for the privilege of owning a phone capable of such blisteringly-fast downloads.

Samsung Galaxy Note 4 LTE-A Product Specifications:

Network	3xCA (LTE): 20 / 20 / 20 MHz or 40MHz
Display	5.7” Quad HD Super AMOLED (2560 x 1440)
OS	Android 4.4 (KitKat)
Camera	Rear Facing: 16 Mega pixel Auto Focus camera with Smart OISFront Facing: 3.7 Mega pixel camera with f1.9
Camera	Rear Facing Camera : HDR (Rich tone), Selective Focus, Rear-cam Selfie, Beauty face, Virtual Tour Shot, Shot & More, Dual Camera,Front Facing Camera : Selfie, Wide Selfie
Video	Codec: H.264, MPEG-4, H.263, VC-1, WMV7, WMV8, Sorenson Spark, MP43, VP8Recording & Playback: up to UHD
Audio	Codec: MP3, AAC/AAC＋/eAAC＋, WMA, AMR-NB/WB, Vorbis, FLAC(＊)(＊) Ultra High Quality Audio (~192KHz, 24 bit) support
S Pen Optimized Features	Air Command (Action Memo, Smart Select, Image Clip, Screen Write)S Note, Snap Note, Direct Pen Input
Additional Features	Multi Window
	Ultra Power Saving Mode
	Voice Recorder (Normal Mode, Interview Mode, Meeting Mode, Voice Memo)
	Download Booster
	S Health 3.5
	Dynamic Lock Screen
	Briefing
Google Mobile Services	Chrome, Drive, Photos, Gmail, Google, Google+, Google Settings, Hangouts, Maps, Play Books, Play Games, Play Newsstand, Play Movie & TV, Play Music, Play Store, Voice Search, YouTube
Connectivity	WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (HT80) MIMO PCIeGPS / GLONASS / BaiduNFC, Bluetooth® v 4.1 (BLE,ANT+) IR LED (Remote Control), USB2.0, MHL 3.0
Sensor	Gesture, Accelerometer, Geo-magnetic, Gyroscope, RGB,IR-LEDProximity, Barometer, Hall Sensor, Finger Scanner, UV, Heart Rate Monitoring, SpO2 (Dependent on market)
Memory	32 GB Internal memory ＋ micro SD slot (up to 64GB)3GB RAM
Dimension	153.5 x 78.6 x 8.5mm, 176g
Battery	Standard battery, Li-ion 3,220mAh, Fast Charging (Adaptive Fast Charging & QC2.0)