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Cape Town - Samsung confirmed on Thursday that the Note has replaced the Galaxy S as the flagship of the range.
The company launched its latest phablet along with a range of other devices for South Africa and Africa.
"It's one [question] that we face on a frequent basis. The S range is very much our premium smartphone for the mass consumer market. The typical Note user is very much at the forefront of technology," Justin Hume, Samsung SA director of product and marketing, told Fin24.
Unlike the typical cellphone user, Hume said that Note customers were more demanding of their smartphones.
"He doesn’t simply make use of a mobile device to make calls, text. He really requires it from a productivity perspective."
Price
As with previous offers, Samsung has doubled down on and now offers customers 2GB of Wi-Fi data through AlwaysOn hotspots and the Note 4 is also offered with a two year damage repair guarantee.
At least 1 000 smartphone screens have been repaired under the Samsung new device repair offer so far.
The new device is not cheap: On the Smart M contract from Vodacom it will cost R599, while MTN offers it on a My MTNChoice 100 R549 per month. Samsung said the retail price is R11 499.
South Africans have reacted to the price of the Note 4, with some taking to Twitter to express themselves to Fin24.
@Duncan025 @News24 worth every penny
— Nguni Princess (@Nmashaba) October 16, 2014It should be higher actually RT@geesum: Not bad. "@Duncan025: R11 499 for #GALAXYNote4
— Kagiso (@Kgee_1) October 16, 2014@Duncan025 @News24 #Samsung is getting like apple. Not interested in supporting old models. Just want you to upgrade. Bad marketing
— Kevin Lowings (@KevinLowings) October 16, 2014In addition to the Note 4 Samsung also launched the Gear S - an update to the wearable Gear smart watch. Unlike previous versions, it is packed with sensors like GPS, Wi-Fi, a barometer, as well as 3G connectivity.
The Gear S can be used to make calls and respond to text messages without a phone in close proximity.
Black Eyed Peas star-turned-businessman Will.i.am on Thursday also released a range of wearable devices, including a SIM-enabled smart watch that is able to make calls and send texts.
The Gear S looks large on the wrist with its curved 5cm (2 inch) display, but the compromise appears necessary so that the digital qwerty keypad is big enough to type.
The Gear S is able to work independent of a mobile phone. (Duncan Alfreds, Fin24)
Samsung officials said that they would like to repeat a package deal offer with the Note 4 and the Gear S.
"Yes, we will be doing that, but its dependant on the network operators and their package policies that they put to it. Certainly we do see those two products going together," said Craige Fleischer, Director of Mobile Communications at Samsung Electronics SA.
The Galaxy Note Edge will also makes its appearance in SA. The device is the first with a curved edge display which could be used to display notifications or multimedia controls in concert with the main display.
The Galaxy Note Edge has a secondary screen that works with the main display. (Duncan Alfreds, Fin24)
The display size is similar to the Note 4 and the Edge also sports an S Pen which Samsung says it has refined over the previous version.
Check out this video of a Samsung ambassador demonstrating her favourite features of the Note 4:
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