It additionally features new sensors, a USB 3.0 port, 3 GB of RAM, and its video camera has been upgraded to 2160p (4K) resolution and doubled framerate of 60 at 1080p, placing it among the earliest smartphones to be equipped with any of these.

[3][9][10][11] The Galaxy Note 3 is also the first smartphone to include support for USB 3.0, which enables faster data transfers and charging when connected to a compatible port.

[16] [17][11] For detecting the floating finger for Air View functionality,[11] the Galaxy Note 3 is equipped with an additional self-capacitive[18] touch screen layer.

[3][9][10][11] Like the Galaxy S4, released half a year earlier, the rear camera of the Note 3 uses the Sony Exmor RS IMX135 image sensor.

[11] The front camera has an aperture of f/2.4 and uses the same image sensor as the Galaxy S4, a Samsung CMOS S5K6B2, and similarly captures both photos and videos at 1080p (2.1 megapixels); the latter at 30 frames per second.

[22][23] Removing the stylus from its compartment or pressing its button whilst hovering over the display activates the new "Air Command" pie menu which provides shortcuts to pen-oriented features such as Action Memos (on-screen sticky notes that use handwriting recognition to detect their contents and provide relevant actions, such as looking up addresses on Google Maps and dialing phone numbers), Screen Write (an annotation tool), Pen Window (which allows users to draw pop-up windows to run certain apps inside), the search tool S Finder, and Scrapbook (which allows storing and categorizing image and text excerpts from various apps).

The device also ships with a news aggregator app known as My Magazine, accessible by swiping up from the bottom of the screen, and an updated version of S Note.

[1][3][25] The Galaxy Note 3 is the first mobile phone with the ability to open a supported range of applications into floating pop-up windows.

[27][30][31] The S-View Cover accessory is a horizontal flip case with a preview window through which the Android status bar (with battery and signal indicators, and notification icons), a clock, and the number of unread messages and missed calls can be seen.

There are also interfaces for answering incoming calls and snooze or stop a ringing alarm clock, music playback controls, title and artist name, album cover and playlist browser; the ability to create Action Memos (digital post-it notes), weather information, S Health step counter (if activated), and a basic photo camera interface[a] with the ability to browse recent photos.

[32][33] The Galaxy Note 3 comes with Android 4.3 "Jelly Bean" and Samsung's proprietary TouchWiz NatureUX 2.5 user interface and software.

[48] The update inherited functionality from the Galaxy S5, including Spherical Panorama and Virtual Tour in the camera software, Download Booster and Samsung Kids Mode.

Samsung also stated that it implemented a similar policy on Galaxy S III, Note II, S4, and S4 Mini models manufactured after July 2013.

The Verge complimented the incremental improvements to the Galaxy Note 3's hardware and software, considering it to be the company's "best attempt yet at making touch input optional on a mobile device."

Its overall design was considered to be "cohesive and well thought-out" despite Samsung's continuing use of plastic, and subtle changes such as a symmetrically-shaped stylus were also noted.

[3] TechRadar considered the Galaxy Note 3 to be an evolution in comparison to its predecessor (including its faster hardware and bigger screen), but criticized the device's design for not looking as "slick and premium" in real life as it did during the promotional video.