Everybody thinks Samsung's Galaxy Note 5 will launch in August

Samsung Galaxy Note 5

According to industry sources, Samsung will hold an event in New York on August 13 to announce the Galaxy Note 5 and the Galaxy S6 Edge Plus – with the former tipped to be rushed out a month earlier than planned.

Samsung's desire to push the Note 5 out of the door early is apparently a bid to steal some of Apple's thunder in the run up to the expected launch of the iPhone 6S in September, according to Business Korea.

Samsung usually launches Galaxy Note devices at the IFA event in September, so if it really is planning to unveil the Note 5 as early as August, it would be quite a departure for the company.

We've previously heard from other sources that Samsung is gearing up to launch the Galaxy Note 5 on August 12, and while this is one day earlier than the date we've heard today, it does seem to add credence to the claims that Samsung will be announcing something around those dates.

Apple anxiety

Samsung's position as the global leader in the smartphone market is being put at risk by the Cupertino company, which is why industry insiders are suggesting that it is keen to release the Note 5 early in a bid to capture potential Apple customers.

Previous rumours have suggested that the Galaxy Note 5 will come with a 5.7-inch QHD Super AMOLED display, a Exynos 7422 processor, 4GB of RAM and a 16 megapixel camera with optical image stabilisation.

If the rumour of an August 13 unveiling is correct (we've not heard anything from Samsung, but earlier rumours of an August 12 event makes an early launch more likely), then we might not have long to wait to see how Samsung plans to deal with Apple's imminent new phablet.

Matt Hanson
Managing Editor, Core Tech

Matt is TechRadar's Managing Editor for Core Tech, looking after computing and mobile technology. Having written for a number of publications such as PC Plus, PC Format, T3 and Linux Format, there's no aspect of technology that Matt isn't passionate about, especially computing and PC gaming. Ever since he got an Amiga A500+ for Christmas in 1991, he's loved using (and playing on) computers, and will talk endlessly about how The Secret of Monkey Island is the best game ever made.