September was once a busy month, but the next few weeks will prove to be busy – putting the insanity of the tech world a few weeks earlier than the annual norm.
Late last night, Chinese manufacturer revealed its OnePlus 2 smartphone, and today, Motorola will take to the stage to unveil its Moto X and Moto G. Now, with all the buzz surrounding these companies, Samsung is back in the midst of things, shaking up the hype for its upcoming Galaxy Note 5 smartphone.
The Wall Street Journal reported some weeks ago that Samsung would bring the Galaxy Note 5 to market early in order to beat Apple to an early product release this fall. Whether or not the statement is true doesn’t change the fact that Samsung has now confirmed the early release date via its own blog, Samsung Tomorrow.
The blog post shows a picture of what looks like “curved ripples,” followed by the date, “8/13/15,” and then a time of 11:00 EDT, with the doors to open at the New York City’s Lincoln Center at 10:00 EDT – just an hour before showtime.
While rumors have abounded about Samsung’s early release, we now have the news straight from the horse’s mouth. What should we expect from Samsung at its Galaxy Unpacked 2015 event?
What makes this year’s August 13th announcement date so strange is that it’s some weeks off from Samsung’s usual Fall announcement, which happens at IFA in Berlin, Germany each year. This year, Samsung’s early announcement is new and different, of course, but Samsung’s got a new device or two to shake up the announcement.
The Galaxy Note 5 is confirmed to be on board (this is nothing new), but Samsung’s also planning what has been rumored to be two devices: a Galaxy S6 edge+ and a Galaxy S6 Mini device of some kind. The Galaxy S6 edge+ will be a larger-screened version of the current 5.1-inch Galaxy S6 edge, coming in with a display size at 5.7 inches (which overlaps with the display size of the Galaxy Note lineup). The Galaxy S6 edge+ is said to have a 3,000mAh battery on board, but no S Pen will be included. It appears that Samsung’s new edge device is meant to calm consumers who have complained to no end about the S6 edge’s 2,550mAh battery that has performed poorly for a number of buyers.
The Galaxy S6 edge+ is meant to attract more consumers who wouldn’t otherwise pay attention to the Note 5 announcement – but the productivity phablet will still be the star of the show. The Galaxy Note 5 is said to feature the same 5.7-inch, Quad HD display as last year’s Galaxy Note 4, but with a huge 4,100mAh battery instead of the 3,220mAh battery in the Note 4. The battery size has been increased to appease consumers because of the sealed battery inside the Note 5.
Unfortunately or fortunately, depending on your perspective, the Note 5 will feature a sealed back with no removable battery and no microSD card slot for expandable storage. The reason for the design change has everything to do with Samsung’s new redesign: similar to the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge, Samsung intends to use its aluminum 6013 metal and surround it with Corning’s Gorilla Glass 4 on both the front and back of the device. It is said that Samsung may up the base storage model of the Note from 32GB to 64GB, seeing that the company did the same thing with the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge models this year (from 16GB to 32GB).
There could also be a Galaxy S6 Mini, as has been stated above, at the announcement. While Galaxy S6 Mini photos have made their way across the Web, there has been no conclusive link between the supposed device and the Galaxy Unpacked 2015 announcement. In other words, take the rumors of this third device with a grain of salt. The poster Samsung provides for the announcement with the “curved ripples” gives away a hint that no one could ignore: there will be some “curves” or “edges” revealed at the event. Could we see a round, Gear A smartwatch in addition to the S6 edge+? With Samsung, anything’s possible.
For those who want to tune in that cannot make it to New York City, Samsung will provide a live viewing of the announcement via its YouTube page (Samsung Mobile) and via its Samsung Tomorrow blog.
Are you ready for the next big thing?
