Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Release Date Nears: No 4K Video Recording On U.S. Models?

The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 is bringing some big features to the market, and one such feature is 4K Ultra HD video recording capability, which will be featured on select models upon release of the Note 3.

The 4K Ultra HD video standard often refers to a display resolution that has approximately 4,000 horizontal pixels, which is a significant jump from the 1080p video recording that consumers have become accustomed to seeing on Full HD mobile devices. While 1080p is considered high quality by mobile standards, 4K could take handsets to another level. Enabled with 4K, the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 would have a crystal clear resolution of 3840 x 2160 (2160p) or 8.3-megapixels, and would bring the coveted 4K TV viewing experience to a handset.

During the Sept. 4 unveiling of the Galaxy Note 3, Samsung announced that only some models of the Note 3 would feature 4K video recording while others would feature 1080p video recording. In addition, we will see a Galaxy Note 3 model featuring the 1.9GHz Samsung Exynos 5 Octa 5420 3G processor and a model featuring the 2.3GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 LTE processor. Pundits soon discovered that it would be Snapdragon 800 models, which would include 4K recording on the Galaxy Note 3.

As detailed on Qualcomm’s website, the Snapdragon 800 processor is compatible with both 1080p and 4K external displays. U.S. models of the notably receive the Snapdragon 800 processor due to its LTE capability; however, it appears that U.S. models will feature 1080p video instead of 4K video. Again, the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 profile on Qualcomm’s website lists 1080p HD as its video recording standard and also list U.S. carriers under its “buy now” option. Additionally, specs listed on Galaxy Note 3 splash pages for AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile all indicate 1080p video for their respective Note 3 models.

This indicates that the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 model featuring 4K video recording may be seen only in limited markets. So far, many other countries which will receive the Note 3 Snapdragon 800 model will also feature 1080p video instead of 4K video, including India, Australia and Greece among many others.

Since the Galaxy Note 3 was announced, examples of its 4K recording and video playback have surfaced demonstrating what the Ultra HD video standard can do. Notably, the first video was shot in the Philippines, which suggests the Southeast Asian country may be among those, which will receive the 4K video capable Galaxy Note 3. U.S. Samsung Galaxy Note 3 models will receive such improved specs as USB 3.0, increased internal memory to 32GB and 64GB options, increased RAM to 3GB, and Android 4.3 Jelly Bean, among others. As per tradition, the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 will be the first non-Nexus device to run the recently released Google operating system.

Are you disappointed that U.S. models of the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 may not receive 4K Ultra HD video recording? Let us know in the comments below.

Update: IBTimes has spoken to a Sprint retail representative who says that the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 should in fact have 4K video, despite the recording standard not being listed among the specs on retailer pages. It appears we will simply have to wait and see what the Galaxy Note 3 can do once it's released.

Update: We have noted that currently only the Verizon splash page for the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 lists UHD (4K) video recording among the specs for the Note 3.

Follow me on Twitter @FionnaatIBT.