Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo review: Neoclassic

Synthetic benchmarks

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo is the first device we meet running on the hexa-core Exynos 5260 chipset. It has two Cortex-A15 @ 1.7GHz and four Cortex-A7 @ 1.3GHz at disposal. Unlike previous Exynos chipsets, the one here supports HMP, which means that it can run all six cores simultaneously. The Note 3 Neo is running Android 4.3 Jelly Bean rather than 4.4 KitKat, which may hurt it a bit, but on the other hand, since it has a lower-res 720p screen, so the Mali-T624 will have an easier job. We'll see how that works out in the end.

As usual we start with the CPU. The Galaxy Note 3 Neo single-core performance isn't as impressive as we would have hoped for, but the relatively low clockscpeed is probably to blame here.

Benchmark Pi

Lower is better

• LG G Flex
  99
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3
  99
• LG G2
  99
• Sony Xperia Z1 Compact
  104
• Sony Xperia Z1
  115
• Sony Xperia Z Ultra
  115
• HTC One Max
  131
• Samsung Galaxy S4 (Octa)
  132
• Samsung Galaxy S4 (S600)
  132
• LG Nexus 5
  146
• HTC One
  151
• Samsung Galaxy S4 mini
  166
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo
  183
• HTC One mini
  293
• Sony Xperia C
  374
• LG Nexus 4
  431

Geekbench 3 factors in all the cores and adds the memory speed to the equation. Here the Galaxy Note 3 Neo was equal to the Snapdragon 600 devices and just behind the LG G2.

Geekbench 3

Higher is better

• Sony Xperia Z1 Compact
  2968
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3
  2937
• Sony Xperia Z Ultra
  2670
• Sony Xperia Z1
  2638
• Apple iPhone 5s
  2561
• LG Nexus 5
  2453
• LG G Flex
  2254
• LG G2
  2243
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo
  2172
• HTC One
  1972
• Samsung Galaxy S4 (S600)
  1869
• LG Nexus 4
  1288
• Sony Xperia C
  1079
• HTC One mini
  887

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo does amazing on the AnTuTu 4 test scoring one of the best results we've seen, while the Quadrant's result is similar to what the S600 smartphones get.

Quadrant

Higher is better

• Sony Xperia Z1 Compact
  21618
• LG G Flex
  20521
• Sony Xperia Z1
  20388
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3
  20052
• LG G2
  19815
• Sony Xperia Z Ultra
  18177
• Samsung Galaxy S4 (Octa)
  12446
• Samsung Galaxy S4 (S600)
  12376
• HTC One
  11746
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo
  11404
• LG Nexus 5
  8844
• Oppo N1
  8099
• Samsung Galaxy S4 mini
  7153
• HTC One mini
  6048

AnTuTu 4

Higher is better

• LG G Flex
  35831
• LG G2
  35444
• Sony Xperia Z1 Compact
  34527
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo
  32162
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3
  31109
• Sony Xperia Z1
  30850
• Sony Xperia Z Ultra
  29185
• Samsung Galaxy S4
  27613
• HTC One
  26389
• LG Nexus 5
  25097

3D graphics should really be a strength for the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo with its beefy GPU and 720p screen (that's less than half the pixels of a 1080p screen). In off-screen performance, the Note 3 Neo is in line with the Android S600-based phones.

GLBenchmark 2.7 T-Rex (1080p off-screen)

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy Note 3
  26
• LG Nexus 5
  23
• Sony Xperia Z1
  23
• Sony Xperia Z Ultra
  23
• Apple iPhone 5s
  23
• Sony Xperia Z1 Compact
  22
• LG G Flex
  22
• LG G2
  22
• Samsung Galaxy S4 (S600)
  17.1
• Samsung Galaxy S4 (Octa)
  17.1
• Samsung Galaxy S4 Active
  16
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo
  15
• HTC One max
  14
• Samsung Galaxy S4 mini
  6.4
• HTC One mini
  5.6

GLBenchmark 3.0 Manhattan (1080p off-screen)

Higher is better

• Samsung Galaxy Note 3
  9.7
• Sony Xperia Z1 Compact
  9
• LG Nexus 5
  8.5
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo
  3.7

In on-screen performance, the Note 3 Neo does a lot better, helped by the lower resolution of its display. It even managed to surpass the Note 3 result on the Unreal engine that powers Epic Citadel, which is quite the achievement.

GLBenchmark 2.7 T-Rex (on-screen)

Higher is better

• Apple iPhone 5s
  37
• Sony Xperia Z1 Compact
  34
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3
  26
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo
  25
• LG G2
  22
• Apple iPad Air
  21
• LG Optimus G
  11

Epic Citadel

Higher is better

• Sony Xperia Z
  55.6
• Samsung Galaxy Mega 6.3
  55.5
• LG Optimus G Pro
  54.2
• Asus Padfone 2
  53.4
• LG Nexus 5
  49.1
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo
  49
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3
  47.7
• Alcatel One Touch Hero
  43.5
• Samsung Galaxy S4 (S600)
  37.2
• Motorola Moto G
  34
• Huawei Ascend Mate
  33.2

Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo shows stellar performance when it comes to web benchmarks. The JavaScript (SunSpider) and overall browsing performance (BrowserMark 2) is top notch, beating every other smartphone we've tested so far but the iPhone 5s.

SunSpider

Lower is better

• Apple iPhone 5s
  403
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo
  567.9
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3
  587
• Apple iPhone 5
  694
• Apple iPhone 5c
  704
• Sony Xperia Z Ultra
  750
• LG Nexus 5
  827
• Sony Xperia Z1
  845
• Sony Xperia Z1 Compact
  855
• LG G2
  908
• Samsung Galaxy S4 (S600)
  1046
• HTC One
  1174
• HTC One mini
  1375

BrowserMark 2

Higher is better

• Apple iPhone 5s
  3549
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo
  3172
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3
  3041
• Apple iPhone 5
  2825
• Apple iPhone 5c
  2799
• Oppo N1
  2769
• LG Nexus 5
  2745
• LG G2
  2718
• Sony Xperia Z1 Compact
  2600
• Samsung Galaxy S4 (S600)
  2438
• Sony Xperia Z Ultra
  2419
• Sony Xperia Z1
  2398
• Samsung Galaxy S4 mini
  2314
• HTC One
  2262
• HTC One mini
  2164

The Note 3 Neo scored a tad less on the stand-alone benchmark Vellamo, where it occupied the sixth spot but nevertheless still a great result.

Vellamo

Higher is better

• Sony Xperia Z1 Compact
  2996
• Sony Xperia Z Ultra
  2944
• LG G2
  2908
• Sony Xperia Z1
  2904
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3
  2853
• Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo
  2439
• Samsung Galaxy Note II
  2418
• HTC One
  2382
• HTC One mini
  2252
• Samsung Galaxy S4 (S600)
  2060
• Samsung Galaxy S4 (Octa)
  2056
• Samsung Galaxy S4 mini
  2019

The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo has shown great potential in performance and even though it isn't the greatest performer we've met, it's still has a lot power under the hood and with the 720p easing the stress on the GPU, it's smooth sailing for the majority of time. And the web browser experience is really impressive.

S Voice and Google Now

The Galaxy Note 3 Neo comes with a couple of virtual assistants, one of which is the company's own S Voice. That one can be used to initiate a call, dictate text, play music, open an app, change a setting, make a memo (including voice memo), add a reminder, schedule an event, set an alarm or timer, check the weather, do a search on the internet, look for local listings (e.g. nearby restaurants) and even tell you a joke.

S Voice

S Voice does duplicate parts of Google Now, but being less search focused it tries to do more on the actual phone and it has some added features. Some of these are available outside of S Voice too, so you can set the Galaxy Note 3 Neo to answer a call, snooze an alarm, take a photo and what not by voice commands even when S Voice isn't running.

Google Now integrates with your Google account and can access your daily routine, internet searches, email, etc. and give you information relevant to your interests and daily needs.

It provides traffic information to your work or home, knows those scores of sports teams you follow, gives you the weather forecast for your city and can even tell you who Kevin Spacey is. Reminders are also available in Google Now since one of the most recent updates.

Google Now