To start off, Samsung's move to launch early has been linked with Samsung looking for a strategic advantage over the Apple's new iPhone launches in September. To refresh, Samsung has for the past four years launched its flagship Galaxy Note phablet devices during the IFA tradeshow in Berlin, which usually happens in September each year.
(Also see: Samsung Galaxy Note 5 Launch Reportedly Advanced to Take on New iPhones)
The Samsung Galaxy Note 5, successor to the Galaxy Note 4 (see above), was reported to go on sale starting August 14 in major markets. Separately, a report claimed that the sales of its Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 Edge Plus will begin on August 21 and not August 14, which is more in line with the company's usual gap between launches and market availability.
In the meanwhile, a Dutch blog, Galaxy Club, has spotted a Samsung France listing of the pre-order time frame for the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Plus. As per the leaked screenshot, the pre-order for the Galaxy S6 Edge Plus starts from August 21 to September 3, tipping that the release date for the handset might only be early next month.
A number of leaked images of the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 have previously tipped the design of the yet-to-be-announced handset. The leaked images showed a square-shaped Galaxy Note 5 with physical home bottom below the display. Several leaks have suggested that the prototype of Galaxy Note 5 was codenamed "mule".
Both Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 Edge Plus are said to launch in different variants for different mobile carriers. The Samsung Galaxy Note 5 models SM-N920V (Verizon) and SM-N920A (AT&T) alongside Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge Plus models SM-G928V (Verizon) and SM-G928A (AT&T) were reportedly seen in FCC listings.
Some of the leaked live images of the Galaxy S6 Edge Plus start screen have suggested the name of the handset as Galaxy S6 Edge+, tipping that this might be the official moniker. Last week, Samsung Netherlands website listed the handset's name in a contest as "Samsung S6 Edge Plus" for registrations.
The Galaxy S6 Edge Plus is rumoured to be the large-screen variant of the Galaxy S6 Edge, and is also said to be the dual-edge display version of the Galaxy Note 5.
A new leak has tipped that one of the features on the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge (Review | Pictures), dubbed People Edge, has been updated for the Galaxy S6 Edge Plus. The People Edge feature allowed users to save up to five contacts on the edge of the display and also added a second similar page for users to access their favourite apps. The new report (via PhoneArena) hints that on the Galaxy S6 Edge Plus, the People Edge feature will offer six options - namely call, video chat, message, email, send a picture, and send an emoticon - on clicking a contact.
While there has been no details on the pricing details of the Galaxy Note 5; Galaxy S6 Edge Plus prices have been tipped.
Previous reports hinted that the Galaxy S6 Edge Plus would be available at a starting price of EUR 799 (approximately Rs. 56,000) for the 32GB model. It was also said that the company planned to keep the price of the new smartphone below the Galaxy S6 Edge, which was launched at EUR 849 (approximately Rs. 59,500) for the 32GB model.
Samsung's latest Galaxy Note 5 phablet is said to feature the USB 3.1 Type-C port with which users will not be worried about which way their cable is facing, and the standard allows for transfer of power, video, and audio in both directions. The feature is highly anticipated considering Google at I/O 2015 announced that Android M will support USB Type-C ports.
One of the major upgrades expected in the Galaxy Note 5 is said to be in battery department, the handset is said to feature a 4100mAh battery. The Galaxy Note 4 packs a 3220mAh battery.
Based on previous leaks, the Galaxy Note 5 is said to feature a 5.7-inch QHD (1440x2560 pixels) display with a pixel density of 515ppi; 32GB internal storage; a 16-megapixel rear camera; a 5-megapixel front-facing camera, and run Android 5.1.1 Lollipop.
Like the Galaxy S6, Samsung is said to include its latest Exynos chip made by its 14nm process in the flagship phablet instead of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 SoC. The Galaxy Note 5 is also said to be 0.6mm thinner than its predecessor, the Galaxy Note 4, at 7.9mm. Most notably, the Galaxy Note 5 is said to feature no microSD card slot, and sport a non-removable battery.
Another previous report hinted that the Galaxy Note 5 will feature 4GB of LPDDR4 RAM. This would make the smartphone Samsung's first to feature 4GB of RAM. Notably, the Asus ZenFone 2 also comes with 4GB of RAM.
The Galaxy S6 Edge Plus, on the other hand, is said to feature a 5.5-inch display with 2K resolution and a pixel density of 534ppi; an Exynos 7420 octa-core processor; 4GB of RAM; 32GB of inbuilt storage; 16-megapixel rear camera, and a 5-megapixel front camera.
Additionally, The Samsung Galaxy Note 5 will reportedly arrive alongside the Samsung Pay service, which was introduced during the launch of Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge at MWC. Needless to say, the Apple Pay competitor it expected to be supported by the Galaxy Note 5 phablet when launched.
We will have to wait till Samsung's Galaxy Unpacked 2015 event on Thursday to see what the South Korean giant has up its sleeves.
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