Samsung Galaxy Note 5: Everything You Need To Know

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With Samsung preparing for its Unpacked event to be held on August 13, fans of Android devices are wondering what the corporation will have to reveal about the Galaxy Note 5. This major phablet release will play a central role in the fortunes of Samsung during the remainder of 2015, and the specs of this device in particular will be extremely interesting.

Samsung has notably packed previous iterations of the Galaxy Note series with some of the most impressive specifications in the mobile marketplace. And the last generation Galaxy Note 4 was particularly well received by both the critical community and customers, in what was otherwise a difficult 12-month period for the Korean company.

This is a critical device release for Samsung as it attempts to fend off more affordable manufacturers of Android-based devices in East Asia. So what can we expect from the Galaxy Note 5? Here is a summary of many of the suspected specifications of this phablet.

Galaxy Note 5’s release date

Samsung has previously announced Galaxy Note releases at the IFA trade show in September. But the schedule that the Korean electronics giant is following has changed significantly this year, with Samsung attempting to push the Galaxy Note 5 out to market before Apple’s iPhone series.

Thus, as mentioned previously, Samsung is strongly expected to announce the Galaxy Note 5 at its Unpacked event on August 13. If this doesn’t materialize then it is a racing certainty that the Galaxy Note 5 will be available in stores before the iPhone 7, which suggests a very early September release, or possibly late August.

Design

Numerous leaks have already emerged regarding the design of the Galaxy Note 5, and this has ensured that we already have a very good idea what to expect from the design of this phablet. Essentially, the Galaxy Note 5 will strongly resemble a larger version of the Galaxy S6 that was released earlier this year. This would point to a largely metal and glass construction, and a curved rear of the device, negating the possibility of a removable battery or the inclusion of micro-SD.

It’s been suggested that a USB Type-C port could be included, but leaks and renders that have emanated on the web suggest that Samsung will be playing it relatively safe with this device release.

Display

Samsung has become associated with producing high-quality displays in recent years, with its curved screen technology a particular trademark of the corporation. But the inclusion of curved screens in its devices isn’t the only aspect of display technology for which the corporation has been lauded. Samsung became the largest seller of televisions in 2008, and this has played a major role in the association between quality displays and the Korean company.

With this in mind, it has been suggested that Samsung could possibly produce a Galaxy Note 5 with 4K resolution. This would certainly be a big step forward for the corporation, but it would also be a logical one. 4K technology is expected to become mainstream in the coming years, and some services such as Netflix already provide some 4K content.

If Samsung is going to increase the screen resolution when it releases the Galaxy Note 5, a 4K display is almost a necessity. The outstanding 2,560 x 1,440 Super AMOLED screen on the Note 4 ensured that any improvement in this department will be challenging for Samsung, so it is even possible that it will stick with the quad HD display from the previous iteration of the Galaxy Note series.

Camera

There is some debate regarding the camera that Samsung will include in the Galaxy Note 5, with some analysts expecting it to be extremely similar to the one that was included in the Galaxy S6. This would mean a 16-megapixel unit, but other reports have suggested that Samsung will increase the capabilities of the lens included in the Galaxy Note 5 to as much as 21-megapixels.

There is also the potential for Samsung to improve elements such as the focus, flash and optical image stabilization when it releases the Galaxy Note 5. Some leaks have also pointed to a massively powerful front-facing camera, with selfie capturers particularly in mind. This could be as much as 8-megapixels in resolution.

Battery

It has been suggested in some quarters that the Galaxy Note 5 may surprisingly shrink the battery compared to the Galaxy Note 4. This has certainly disappointed some fans of Android devices, but it is thought that power saving functionality included in the operating system would compensate for this smaller cell. Thus, a 3,000mAh battery has been tipped in some quarters, as Samsung possibly aims for a slightly more compact and slim Galaxy Note 5 design this time out.

Operating System

It is largely expected that the Galaxy Note 5 will be running Android 5.1.1, and a leaked specs sheet from AnTuTu has confirmed this impression. As Samsung continues the process of reducing the bloatware included in the Galaxy Note series, it is also notable that Samsung’s TouchWiz UI will run on top of the OS. This should deliver the sort of customization that has come to be associated with the Android platform.

Processor

When Samsung made the switch to its proprietary Exynos processors in the Galaxy S6, it was largely assumed that this would be a blanket decision across numerous devices. However, some links related to the Galaxy Note 5 have suggested that Samsung could instead stick with its previous region-specific policy. This would mean some units of the Galaxy Note 5 utilizing its own branding of processor, most likely in its native East Asia, with the Western marketplace being presented with a Galaxy Note 5 running off the familiar Qualcomm Snapdragon.

Analysts continue to debate the likelihood of this, as the Snapdragon 810 has been plagued with overheating issues, hence Samsung’s decision with the Galaxy S6. But it has been widely reported that the corporation has been developing a more favourable relationship with Qualcomm since it ditched the Snapdragon in the S6, suggesting that the processor manufacturer could be encouraged back into the fold for the Galaxy Note 5 device.

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