Samsung Galaxy Note 5, S6 Edge+ to Launch on August

Samsung's upcoming Galaxy Note phablet is said to launch in mid-August, alongside its rumored dual-edge variant.

Digitimes reports citing sources at Taiwanese telecom carriers that Samsung will reveal the Galaxy Note 5 on August 12 at an event in New York and will kick off sales of the smartphone in major markets on August 14. Notably, the new report is in line with an earlier report that claimed Samsung would bring forward the launch of its Galaxy Note 5 ahead of Apple's next iPhones, expected to launch in September.

The report notes, "The mid-August launch will likely put the new Note smartphone model on the market ahead of arch-rival Apple Inc's next iPhones."

Considering that Samsung usually launches its new Galaxy Note-series smartphone in September every year, an advanced launch for the new handset clearly will be an attempt to take on the sales of new iPhones, which is not likely to begin before September-end or early October.

Separately, a report by Sammobile corroborates the August 12 launch date for the Galaxy Note 5, and adds the much-rumored Galaxy S6 Plus with dual-edge display will launch alongside as the Galaxy S6 Edge+. Sammobile also says the smartphones will be released in markets on August 21 and not August 14, which is more in line with the company's usual gap between launches and market availability. Samsung Pay is also tipped to launch alongside in the US.

Previous versions of the Galaxy Note-series, the Galaxy Note 3 (Review | Pictures) and Galaxy Note 4 (Review | Pictures) were launched in September.

Some of the preliminary leaked specifications of the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 claim that it will sport a 5.7-inch to 5.89-inch display; measure just 7.9mm thick (compared to Galaxy Note 4's 8.5mm); Exynos 7422, and a 4100mAh battery.

An earlier report even claimed that the Galaxy Note 5 would feature a USB 3.1 Type-C port. If the report about Samsung's inclusion of a USB 3.1 Type-C port in its next Note phablet comes out to be true, the smartphone will be able to transfer files with up to 10Gbps speeds while also featuring updated Power Delivery spec which will allow the device to negotiate for up to 100W of power.