Earlier today, a supposed leak of the new upcoming Galaxy Note 4 was exclusively sent to Android Authority from an anonymous source. The image looks very similar to the Galaxy Alpha and the earlier leaked images received by GSM Arena.
One thing that can be observed from the images of the Note 4, is that it will most likely not be water-resistant/dust-tight (IP certified). This can be seen by the earpiece that is on the Note 4, and comparing it to other Samsung devices such as the S4 and the S5.
Below, you can see that the earpieces on the S5 and S4 look completely different. The Note 4 closely resembles the S4, which has no IP rating. Samsung upgraded its earpiece design when it made the S5 IP 67 rated, rendering it dust-tight and water-resistant. As you can see, they are two different constructions. The S4 was known for getting dust in through the earpiece in front of the proximity sensor.
The Galaxy Note 4 is expected to come with a metal chassis for the first time, and our best look for comparison is the Galaxy Alpha, which is already announced. In the picture below, you can see they share a lot of similarities including design, camera/sensor placement, and the earpiece. The render of the Note 4 has an earpiece that looks exactly like its Alpha counterpart, which does not come with an IP rating.
In the earlier image leaks of the Galaxy Note 4 from GSM Arena, a watertight cover can not be seen over the microUSB 3.0 port. This also implies that it will not be IP 67 rated.
This of course, is all speculation and we will not know for sure until the Note 4 is debuted on September 3rd at IFA 2014. We are going with that it won’t be water-resistant unless Samsung has come up with a new design that doesn’t need protective covers over the charging port. If any new details come up regarding the Note 4 we’ll have you covered on Twitter and Facebook.
