Samsung Galaxy Note 5: news and rumors

Update: We may have caught a glimpse of a Note 5 case, giving us insight into how Samsung's next phablet flagship could look. Plus there's talk of a massive battery.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 4 is the ultimate refinement of the phablet platform the company created with the original Galaxy Note.

A powerful display, even more power stuffed inside and new take on the phablet's design made for a handset worth of 4.5 stars even though it's controversially expensive and huge in the hand.

Since its release back in November, we've seen the Samsung Galaxy S6 come out as well with a completely rethought design and it's possible we may see those changes come to the Galaxy Note 5 as well.

Nothing is confirmed as of yet, but we can predict we'll see an iteration of the Galaxy Note 5 at IFA 2015 this September – that's Samsung's previous form for releasing it's phablet line. That's also been echoed by SamMobile's sources, though other somewhat suspect rumors point to an earlier July release, however that date was denied by the president of Samsung, Jong-Kyun Shin.

Another recent rumour pegs the launch date as late August, with Samsung allegedly talking to Taiwanese retailers about stocking the Galaxy Note 5 early in a bid to get into consumers' hands before Apple releases its new iPhone.

As with the previous rumours of an early launch, we'd recommend taking this with a pinch of salt.

News and rumors

Not much is officially known about the Galaxy Note 5 - which is also being referred to as Project Zen in some leaks - but rumors are beginning to seep out and give us a slight idea of what to expect.

For one thing we've seen images of what might be a case for the phone. The pictures were shared by the accessory maker MobileDirect and point to a design similar to the Samsung Galaxy S6, with for example the camera and flash likely to be aligned horizontally rather than vertically, based on the cut outs.

Some believe the name is set for a change this time around. Reports from the Galaxy Club in the Netherlands suggest the S6 Note name has been trademarked in South Korea suggesting the Note brand is ready to join in with the flagship S series.

As for specs, industry insiders speaking to zol.com and naver.com have claimed that the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 will have a mammoth 4100 mAh battery, as well as a USB Type-C port, a 5.89-inch QHD screen and a slim 7.9mm thick build.

Those aren't the only specs rumors we've heard. A source at the South Korean publication ETNews suggested a display manufacturer had received an order from Samsung for over 8 million flexible displays.

It's expected these will cross between the Samsung Galaxy S7 and the Galaxy Note 5 but it's an interesting prospect.

The article refers to them as flexible displays but it isn't currently clear whether it means a set up similar to that on the Galaxy S6 Edge or a full blown curved and movable display.

We'd expect to see a standard version of the Galaxy Note 5 and maybe accompanied by one with the flexible display type – much like the Note Edge did last year.

A model number for the Galaxy Note 5 has also appeared on the IMEI database under SM-N920F.

The Note 4 was referred to as the SM-N910 so it makes sense this is the next iteration, whilst a number of different sources have revealed to SamMobile that the phone is being referred to as "Project Noble" or "Project Zen" within Samsung.

SamMobile has also waded in on the Galaxy Note 5 debate with some important information from sources within the company.

According to the Samsung dedicated blog it'll either be a 2K or 4K flat Super AMOLED display on the front with an Exynos 7422 processor tucked inside.

The sources also claim the Exynos 7422 will be the company's first ever all-in-one chip with the CPU, GPU, RAM, storage and modem all together on the same slate under the hood.

Samsung is also reportedly working on an Exynos 7430 chipset but it's rumored to be an engineering sample with no real plans to release it to the public.

Another report from SamMobile reveals details about the phones processor. It's rumoured to be an Exynos 7422 and is set to be the companies first ever all-in-one chipset with everything from storage, GPU, RAM, a 64-bit octa-core CPU and the new Shannon LTE modem included.

SamMobile has also reported Samsung is working on a new concept called the Project Valley smartphone – it's a device with two screens that you can switch between using different gestures.

It's unlikely we'll see this tech directly implemented anytime soon but it gives us faith Samsung is working on a new big thing for its next generation of smartphones.

Could we see a similar feature tested on the Galaxy Note 5? It's unlikely but we've got our fingers - and everything else - crossed Sammy will take a punt on its new tech.

Rumours suggest the Galaxy Note 5 will drop microSD expandable storage in favour of the new UFS 2.0 storage found in the Galaxy S6.

MicroSD can't keep up with the speed of the ultra-fast storage found inside so it's time for the slot to go. We hope it will make the higher storage versions more affordable to make up for it.

SamMobile also claims that a Keyboard Case will launch alongside the Note 5 and interestingly that while a curved screen variant will land too it will have different specs and no S Pen stylus.

While there's no word on what the Galaxy Note 5 will be built from just yet we'd expect premium materials and there's a good chance it will be styled after the Samsung Galaxy S6, with a metal frame and a glass back.

MobileFun have started to stock a Galaxy Note 5 case further confirming some of the design elements we've already seen. It looks like the camera won't protrude as much as it does on the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge and there won't be an IR sensor on this version either.

Photos of the Galaxy Note 5 S Pen have leaked out showing the phones signature accessory in the flesh. It features a side button as it has done in the past and it looks to have a clickable top as well.

We don't know exactly what functions that'll include but a new patent suggests there are big changes ahead for the Galaxy Note 5 that will allow the S Pen to pop out of the phone on demand.

A set up with a magnet in the phone and one in the stylus will mean the stylus never falls out when you don't want it to and then the polarity can be reversed making the stylus eject out.

It's thought you'll be able to do this with a voice command, button tap or gesture. It sounds smart and effective.

What we want to see

What we want to see

1. Same display, forget 4K

Rumors suggest Samsung may be looking to adapt a 4K display into the Galaxy Note 5 – but we really don't want to see that, what we've got is good enough.

The Galaxy Note 4 comes with a 5.7-inch display with a pixel resolution of 1440 x 2560 equaling a stunning 515ppi. The battery life on the current handset isn't the worst but neither is it the best we've ever seen so let's hope Samsung doesn't opt for a battery hungry 4K display the next time around.

2. Wireless charging

One feature missing from the Galaxy Note 4 was wireless charging. Wireless charging is becoming the norm fast and with the technology getting stronger and some now putting it into furniture such as IKEA tables and chairs in the coming months it's time to get ready for it.

It's easy for Samsung to throw the tech into the Note 5, so we can charge it up on a desk without having to plug in and not worry about it dying anytime soon.

3. Better battery life

Not that battery life on the Note 4 was poor but improvement is always welcomed and a day and a half battery life on normal usage would be fantastic.

There's no guarantee the Galaxy Note 5 will be set up to hold a bigger cell but we hope it'll have a more efficient processor set up to save a little on battery life.

4. Top of the range processor

The processor on the Note 4 kicked ass but by the time a new year has rolled around it's bound to be a bit sluggish compared to what else is on the market.

Samsung has dropped away from using Qualcomm processors so it's likely we'll see a brand new top of the range Exynos chipset behind the scenes on the Galaxy Note 5.

We're not fussed if its Samsung made or of a Snapdragon flavor, we just hope Samsung manages to have the sense to put the biggest and best processor in its new phablet.

5. More S Pen functionality

The S Pen is a lovely touch to the Note series but we often find ourselves forgetting it's there after the first couple of weeks and missing out on the tasty stylus based features.

What we need is a stand out feature that makes us really pine to use the S Pen and then we'll be with it all day everyday - hopefully we'll get that on the Samsung Galaxy Note 5.

6. Improve the fingerprint scanner

Samsung nailed the fingerprint scanner on the Galaxy S6 – we've called it one of the best on the market. It's a single touch function this time around instead of the weird slide your finger down like it was on the Galaxy S5.

All Samsung needs to do now is to adapt that same technology into its Galaxy Note 5 and we'll be pretty chuffed.

7. A flexible version

Rumors have suggested Samsung is looking into flexible displays for its next batch of Note handsets.

We've got our fingers crossed it'll make the Galaxy Note 5 a flexible display by printing onto plastic instead of glass but it's more likely they'll accompany the main phone with a new sibling, much like the Galaxy Note Edge sat alongside the Note 4.

8. Larger storage versions

The Note 4 was restricted to only a 32GB version with microSD support of up to 128GB. We vote Samsung ditches the smaller options and just goes right in at the deep end and supplies a 64GB and 128GB version for each.

This way everything will work slightly quicker as we don't need to worry about transfer rates between the microSD and phone plus we get all the storage we need.

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