Even
though we are getting closer to Samsung Galaxy S4 launch, the rumor
mill didn’t forget about the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 release date,
technical specifications, or features. Since nothing special occurred in
the Android environment today, of course, except for a couple of
subjects that were already covered by us, I thought you’d want to hear
more about the Galaxy Note 3 release date, rumored technical
specifications, and what the reports are saying about the next-gen
Samsung phablet.
When the Samsung announced the first-gen Galaxy Note in September,
everybody laughed off the “ridiculously” big display of the phablet.
Probably, looking back at the failure called Dell Streak few have
though that a 5.3-inch would become a successful product. Samsung has
proved them the contrary and the Galaxy Note became the second best
selling Android smartphone in their line-up, after the Galaxy S2.
As a confirmation to the popularity of the phablet segment, the
Samsung Galaxy Note 2 sales exceed the ones of its predecessor, with
over 3 million units shipped in one month after the official debut.
Given the success of its phablet line-up, it’s obvious that Samsung
will launch the Galaxy Note 3 later this year. While Samsung Galaxy S4
is expected to drop in April and hurt iPhone 5′s sales, the Samsung
Galaxy Note 3 release date might be scheduled for late Q2 2013 or early
Q3 2013, in an attempt to bite a large chunk of iPhone 5S’ market share
pie.
Since the latest reports are showing that Apple will set the iPhone
5S release date for June, we might even see the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 in
flesh at IFA Berlin 2013, held between September 6 – 11. Or maybe
Samsung will unveil its next-gen tablet in a separate event (just like
it did with the Galaxy S3) a week before IFA Berlin, so all the media
will be focusing on their new release.
There are a lot of theories regarding the Samsung Galaxy Note 3
release date, so you can’t know which one is the right one. What I know
for sure is that the South Koreans will want the Note 3 to hit the
market as soon as possible prior to the iPhone 5S (iPhone 6, The New
iPhone, or whatever the guys at Apple will call their next
“revolutionary” smartphone) launch, in order to make the public forget
about the latest iOS smartphone and choose what will probably be
Samsung’s most powerful device.
Talking about powerful devices, reminded me of the new octo-core
Exynos 5 Octa chipset announced by Samsung at CES 2013. Based on the
big.LITTLE technology and manufactured on 28 nm architecture, the new
Exynos 5 Octa SoC has four Cortex A15 cores clocked at 1.8 GHz, and
four 1.2 GHz Cortex A7 cores.
Even though Samsung has used Mali GPUs for the last two iterations of
its Exynos processors, the new Exynos 5 Octa is helped by a
tri-core PowerVR SGX-544MP3 graphics processing unit, which can handle
twice as many triangles as the SGX-543MP4 of the iPad 3 can.
Because the GPU fitted on the Exynos 5 Octa is clocked at 533 MHz, it
outmatches iPhone 5′s and iPad 4′s units, clocked at 266 and 300 MHz,
respectively. That’s what you should expect to see inside the Samsung
Galaxy Note 3. Samsung says that its new chipset is 70% more battery
friendly than the Exynos 5 Dual SoC used for the Nexus 10 tablet.
The camera will definitely receive an upgrade to 13 megapixels. The
last two Galaxy Note generations had 8 megapixel cameras, while Sony
fitted an
amazing 13 megapixel camera on the Xperia Z, HTC One will reportedly come with an
ultrapixel camera,
while the LG Optimus G Pro has a 13 megapixel sensor. Galaxy Note 3 is
bound to bring a camera that’s at least as good as the competition’s.
Because the full HD 5-inch displays are becoming the standard in the
high-end smartphones world, the phablets will most likely come with
touch screen panels that will make the border between phablets and
tablets even thinner. The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 is expected to drop with
a 6.3-inch AMOLED panel with a resolution of 1,080 x 1,920 pixels. Of
course, it will be protected against scratches by a Corning Gorilla
Glass layer.
Sources say that both the
Samsung Galaxy S4 and
Samsung Galaxy Note 3
will come with touchless gestures interface. This function will work in
a similar way the Air View woks with the S-Pen stylus, meaning that
when you hover your finger over an item the system will display various
info about it.
Samsung will definitely not ditch the S-Pen stylus, as it has became
some sort of a signature for the Note line-up. Samsung has recently
acquired 5% in Wacom shares,
thus the Galaxy Note 3 will probably make use of the
company’s proprietary digital input technology, sporting an even better
S-Pen.
Because Samsung Galaxy Note 3 will arrive with a bigger display, the
smartphone’s case will also grow in size, so it will be capable
of accommodating an even larger battery. The Galaxy Note 2 brings a
3,100 mAh battery that is capable of getting the smartphone through one
and a half days of normal usage.
The next-gen Samsung phablet will most likely arrive with a 4,000
mAh-ish unit, which paired with the new battery-friendly Exynos 5 Octa
might be able to provide up to 2 and a half days of battery life.
Some leaks are indicating that Samsung is currently working on a wireless charger. The charger
showed up at FCC
and it was caught on camera. The first reports are indicating that the
unit is wide enough to accommodate a Galaxy Note 2, and will probably
also be compatible with the Galaxy Note 3.
The other technical specifications might not be as impressive as the
alleged display, camera and processor of Galaxy Note 3. We’re expecting
it drop with 2 GB of RAM (3 GB of RAM if Samsung is in a good day), WiFi
in all standards (maybe WiFiac according to certain sources), and other
connectivity features worthy of a high-end device: LTE, Bluetooth 3.0,
microUSB 2.0, and 3.5 mm audio jack.
Three internal storage options will be available: 16, 32, and 64 GB,
expandable using microSD cards. Exclusively out of marketing reasons,
Samsung might also launch a limited-edition 125 GB Galaxy Note 3.
Google I/O event is scheduled for mid-May and the Mountain View-based
giant will reportedly announce Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie there.
Because Galaxy S4 is rumored to debut late-March, the next-gen
flagship will not come pre-loaded with the next Android iteration. On
the other hand, Samsung will have enough time to optimize Key Lime Pie
for its phablet, thus, the Note 3 will be the company’s first smartphone
to run Android 5.0 out of the box.
Of course, Samsung will fit its proprietary TouchWiz interface on top
of Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie, and we are eager to see what the South
Koreans have prepared for us this time.
The TouchWiz Nature UX on the Galaxy Note 2 received a lot of
positive reviews, as its motion controls have really brought something
new on the segment. The Air View and the Multi View, alongside with
other features like Smart Stay, Direct Call, and Smart Alert have
persuaded many owners to stay on the stock ROM instead of installing
third-party custom ROMs like CyanogenMode, AOKP, or Paranoid Android.
Because the Galaxy Note 3 will reportedly come with a gigantic
6.3-inch display, Samsung will probably take the multitasking to a new
level. Some say that the screen will split in four separate 480 x 270
pixels screens each capable of running an individual app.
Anyway, it’s a bit too early to jump to conclusions about the rumored
Samsung Galaxy Note 3 release date or technical specifications. Anyway,
stay tuned as we will return with fresh news and leaks about Galaxy
Note 3 as they will hit the web.
In the meantime please let us know what do you expect from the
Samsung Galaxy Note 3 in the comments section below. Do you have your
own theories about the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 release date or
specifications? The comments section is all yours.
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