Everybody is waiting for the next Galaxy Note device including ourselves. There is a pretty good reasons for all the excitement that the fans are having these days. As far as we currently know, the next model in the legendary Note series is set for an early announcement and will be unveiled in August, alongside the S6 edge Plus - an odd beefier version of Samsung's current edged flagship.
Today's leak, however, might just bring us one step closer to that goal. A new live photo has popped up online along with the claim that it depicts the Galaxy Note 5. But before you get too excited, or rather endlessly disappointed, form the bulky square design - the device in the photo is for testing purposes only, otherwise known as a "mule". For anyone unfamiliar with the concept - it is a fully-functioning phone, with proper hardware, but encased in a shell to hide its design features. That way a manufacturer can safely distribute new products prior to their release to various parties for testing. Allegedly, this is exactly that - a Note 5 mule, shipped nor network testing in the Czech Republic. Now, this could very well be true, but even if it is, without any additional specs info or benchmark results from the said unit, the photo is merely a curiosity. Furthermore, the screen appears pretty low-res and brings some doubt as to whether it is the gorgeous 5.7-inch QHD Super AMOLED the Note 5 is said to use.
And, as long as we are on the topic of hardware, let's review what else we currently know about the Note. It will be powered by the in-house Exynos 7422 SoC, a reworked version of the already familiar 7420 inside the Galaxy S6, but with built-in cellular modems this time. The camera setup should consist of a 16MP primary camera with OIS and a 5MP front-facing one. Memory is set at 4GB for RAM and 32GB of onboard storage. Battery capacity should be 4,100 mAh and the exact measurements are 153.3mm x 76.1mm x 7.9mm.
The persisting rumors of an early launch for the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 are likely going to end up true, the latest report out of Korean media claims. Only, contrary to the previous intel which pointed to an August 12 date, this new info states the event is scheduled for August 13 in New York. Judging by the incessant stream of info and renders, we'd be inclined to believe that is indeed the case. The reasoning behind the haste is to get a head start on Apple's iPhone 6s/6s pair, due to be released mid-September. Hence, Samsung is ditching its established practice to announce the next-gen Note at IFA in Berlin and is pushing for an early release. Meanwhile, a crafty Polish reporter has dug up info on a key feature of both the Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 edge Plus, that's so far been a mystery, and one that sparks plenty of heated debates. So if the user agent profiles found on the website of US carrier Sprint is to be believed, the Note 5 will have expandable storage via a microSD slot, supporting microSDXC cards up to 128GB.
That should hopefully help quiet down the outburst of criticism Samsung has been getting since it stripped the Galaxy S6/S6 edge of two of the most revered features the lineup used to have - the removable battery and expandable storage. While the removable battery seems to be a thing of the Note's past, replaced by a sizable 4,100mAh built-in unit, at least the expandable storage will remain a tick on the Note 5's specsheet. What the Sprint leak also reveals are the cameras on the upcoming phablets, and the 16MP/5MP combo appears to be borrowed straight from the Galaxy S6/S6 edge. More importantly, however, both devices will come with 3GB of RAM, even though the rumors had settled on 4GB in the case of the Note 5. Exciting times are ahead of us, and we're looking forward to the official launch. You should expect the leaks to get even more specific with the approaching of the August 13 event date.