Samsung has announced every Galaxy Note flagship in its history at the beginning of September, during the German IFA trade show. But after four years, that’s apparently going to change, and the Galaxy Note 5 might hit stores much sooner than expected.
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Various reports claimed that Samsung is trying to lure in buyers with a brand new phablet before the next-gen iPhone 6s launches, but the Korean giant denied the rumors. Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal says that Samsung is indeed looking to eat a “slice of Apple’s pie” with an earlier than anticipated smartphone launch.
A person familiar with the matter told the Journal that Samsung will launch the Galaxy Note 5 at some point in mid-August, a few weeks earlier than expected. The Galaxy Note 5 event should take place in a U.S. city that hasn’t been decided yet.
Last year, Samsung’s Galaxy Note 4 lost the battle with the iPhone 6 Plus, which was the company’s first ever phablet. The 6 Plus helped Apple enjoy record iPhone sales while Samsung’s profits continued to decline.
Many iPhone 6 versions were sold out even before the Galaxy Note 4 reached stores, despite the fact that the Samsung handset was announced before Apple’s new iPhones. Samsung is apparently looking to avoid the competition with the iPhone this year, which is “a product whose popularity has the potential to monopolize media and consumer attention for weeks,” as the Journal puts it.
It’s not clear how many versions of the Galaxy Note 5 will be released this year, or when they’ll be available for purchase.