The new S View for the Note 3 – beware knockoffs

Genuine Samsung Galaxy S4 S-View Premium Cover Case - BlueGenuine Samsung Galaxy S4 S-View Premium Cover Case - Blue

Introducing the new S View, upgraded for the Note 3

The S View cover available for the Galaxy Note 3 has been considerably upgraded since we last saw it on the Galaxy S4. You’ll find that the window is much larger and more capable – you can now access three whole screens of useful functions.

The first screen shows you your notifications, the second useful pieces of info (e.g. time, date, weather, steps taken) and the third shortcuts to camera, action memo and music controls. That enlarged window also means there’s room for a little style as well – your default colour scheme will be determined by the colour S View cover that you have on, so if you have multiple covers they’ll swap to suit.

First party, licensed and third-party S View options for the Note 3

While these enhancements are welcome, they come at a price: Samsung now require S View covers to be connected to the phone’s internal connectors, preventing unlicensed third party cases from providing the same functionality. On the Galaxy S4, merely having a magnet in the right place was enough, but now some proper authentication needs to take place.

This means you should be wary of low-cost, no-name cases that claim to provide this functionality. If you want to be assured of quality in your Note 3 accessories, then you should first have a look at cases made under the official “Designed for Samsung Mobile” program.

The scheme includes many large case and accessory manufacturers, including OtterboxIncipioCase-Mate and Anymode. These accessories will be made according to strict Samsung specifications, and should make up some of the highest quality accessories available for the Note 3 and other Samsung devices.

All of this advice is fairly well summarised by “if it looks too good to be true, it probably is.” We’ve seen it before in the Otterbox fakes floating around on eBay, and it remains true for the Galaxy Note 3 – in general, buying a replica is just risking your phone’s safety.

There are no licensed S View covers yet for the Note 3, but we’ll be happy to bring them to you once they’re made. In the meantime, if you want to be assured of quality and full S View functionality, we recommend you buy the genuine article.

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