Samsung Galaxy Note 5 rumor round-up: specs and release date

2K or 4K – the ultra-high resolution divide

One of the most persistent and interesting rumors suggests that the Galaxy Note 5 will become the first commercially available ultra-high resolution (4K) smartphone. For something that sounds fairly far-fetched, considering most of the industry is still hesitant to jump from 1080p screens into the crystal-clear pond of Quad-HD, there's actually quite a bit of substance behind this rumor. Consider this – as early as last year, Samsung has been presenting its display production pipeline to analysts, and has non-ambiguously stated that it has 4K mobile display panels in the works that will be production-ready by 2015.

There are even some purported technological details available - said panels' are Super AMOLED and their resolution is a jaw-dropping 2160 x 3840 pixels. The pixels are arranged in a diamond pattern, similar to the PenTile arrangement witnessed in the Galaxy Note 4's critically acclaimed display. Moreover, the screens' precise diagonals were implied as well – coming up at 5.9 inches for the regular Note 5 and 5.78 inches for the highly probable Note 5 edge variant. Given the resolution and screen diagonals, the Note 5's pixel density adds up to 748ppi for the regular version and 762ppi for the variant with edges. These are mind-boggling values in both cases, and arguably present more pixels than you will ever need inside a 6-inch panel. However, this stupendously high pixel count will do wonders for experiencing ultra-high resolution video and VR content on the Galaxy Note 5. An extremely impressive display like this will also let graphic designers showcase their work in all its detailed brilliance.

Now that we've gotten you all high and worked up with excitement, let's pour the proverbial ice bucket on you before somebody calls the fire department! The latest slab of info demotes the 4K resolution version to an engineering prototype that's being tested alongside a 2K device. Given that ensuring a great enough yield of 4K AMOLED screens – not to mention curved screens – could prove challenging for Samsung, we won't put our hopes up for a full-on onslaught of 4K Note devices this year. Perhaps Sammy could introduce a limited run of 4K phablets, either at launch or down the road. Really, there are many ways Sammy could work around a shortage of 4K screens if it has the technology and puts its mind to bringing it to the market. But just in the event it doesn't, we reckon an eventual 2K (1440x2560) resolution Galaxy Note 5 is more than enough to please any smartphone enthusiast.

UPDATE: Those renders of a Samsung Galaxy Note 5 edge may look pretty exciting, but such a model isn't in the pipeline, according to rumors. Instead, we'll get a Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+.  

Processing grunt

Reportedly, the Galaxy Note 5 is being tested with an Exynos 7422 chipset hulking within. What makes this one special is that it will combine all components into a single chip. Utilizing its own ePoP (embedded package on package) production method, Samsung was able to fit 3GB 4GB of RAM and 32GB of storage into a 225 square mm chip (we think it went into the GS6, but we don't have official confirmation). Basically, this lets them stack complete systems on top of each other, decreasing the total semiconductor area and opening up space for other good stuff, such as wireless charging.

In the Exynos 7422, Samsung may stack together the CPU, GPU, DRAM, storage, and its homebrew LTE modem in a single package. This is very ambitious, needless to say – but it's also the exact reason Apple choose Samsung and nobody else to produce the Apple Watch SoC. So we believe Sammy can pull this off pronto. In regards of RAM memory, people close to the matters are sure that the Note 5 will come with 4 gigabytes of LPDDR4 RAM on board. We already suspected that Samsung will go all-in in this department, given that the 4GB RAM frontier has been already crossed by a handful of devices.

Modern processor aside, the Note 5 is expected to rock Samsung's UFS 2.0 flash storage, which became famous for its outrageous data reading and writing speeds. If there's one place where smartphone manufacturers everywhere didn't stand a chance catching up with Samsung, it's this baby. Judging from the alleged Note 5 schematics that have shown up so far, and with rumors about the looks and specs of the phablet and its S6 edge Plus sidekick, it seems that there won't be a place for a memory card slot in the design anymore. That's not all the argumentation, though, as the new fast UFS 2.0 flash storage that Samsung slapped into the S6, uses a memory controller that is incompatible with the regular eMMC 5.0 standard that microSD cards use in other phones. Thus, provided that the Note 5 uses UFS 2.0 as well, Samsung will either have to put two separate memory controllers in there, or simply eschew a microSD slot altogether, equipping the basic Note 5 version with at least 32 GB of storage to compensate

Smile for the camera

The Note 5 might get a 16MP main camera with optical image stabilization, along with a 5-megapixel front cam. In fact, proof has emerged that the upcoming Note 5 flagship might sport the same excellent front-facing cam of the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge. A support page for the Galaxy S6 selfie camera has an intriguing piece of code buried in its HTML file. It lists the selfie-taker of the S6 and S6 edge as also compatible with two other phones, only marked as N925 and N920F. If you recall, these are internal codenames for the Galaxy Note 5 variants, indicating that Samsung could use the same 5 MP front camera on its newest phablet, too, which we would only be pleased if it does.

Release date

There is no shortage of sources claiming that the Galaxy Note 5 is due for an earlier than usual release. Although Samsung Mobile CEO J.K. Shin personally denied the rumors of a July launch, he didn't outright deny the possibility of the Note 5 launching into the stratosphere before the annual IFA expo in Berlin. Held early September, the conference has been the Galaxy Note's traditional launchpad since the original 5.3-inch phablet was unveiled in 2011.

However, reports from two independent sources claim that Samsung will unveil both the Galaxy Note 5 and the Samsung Galaxy S6 edge+ on August 12, 2015. When it comes to the actual release date, however, it coud be anywhere between August 14 and August 21 for the Note 5 and the Galaxy S6 edge+.

At this point, it must be noted that, if we're to assume that the two handsets will be unveiled on August 12, August 21 is the more plausible launch date of the two. Samsung never brought its flagships to the market as early as in a couple of days since the official unveiling. Europe, on the other hand, could follow a more typical Note 5 launch schedule, with arrival in late September or early October.