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.