There have been rumours surrounding the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 for quite some time now – the most talked-about subject being ‘How big is the screen?’ – and the release is now almost upon us. Here’s Geek Squad’s round up of what we have managed to find out about this hugely anticipated smartphone handset.
Screen
The new Samsung Note 3 is reported to have a 5.9 inch display. This is significantly bigger than its 5.3 inch and 5.5 inch predecessors. Undoubtedly, the resolution will be at least 1080p . There have been reports that the screen may even support the new 4k resolution of 3,840 x 2,160 pixels, but this may be a little far-fetched until this standard becomes more main stream. It’s also likely to be powered by Samsung’s own Super AMOLED technology.
hardware
As one of Samsung’s flagship mobile handsets, you can expect the Note 3 to be quite powerful. At this point we are not sure if the processor will be Samsung’s own ludicrously powerful Exynos 5 Octa-core processor or the new Snapdragon 800 processor. If you couple that with generous 3GB RAM, this is set to be the most powerful smartphone unveiled this year. To take advantage of the sheer amount of power, the handset will also come in either 32BG or 64GB variants, with the ability to expand even further via a micro SD card.
Camera
There will be a 13-megapixel camera included on the handset to take advantage of the new S Orb technology. S Orb is Samsung’s own version of 360-degree panorama. It was initially rumoured that S Orb would be included with the Samsung S4 handsets, but the technology simply was not ready. It works by the user snapping pictures in every direction and then merging them into a street view-like capture. Samsung were also hoping to bring OIS and shutter functions to the Note 3; however, this technology appears unlikely to be ready for the phone’s launch date.
DESIGN & FEATURES
The general build quality will remain the same as the original Note and Note 2 and it will be available in black, white and pink. The operating system will be the latest version of Android Jelly Bean, 4.3; however, you can expect this to be upgraded to Android Key Lime Pie, 5.0, by Christmas. The Note 3 will also offer 24bit/192khz music playback support, which will be a welcome addition for music lovers. Expect the handset to be 4G ready out of the box and come with a similar stylus to that found on the Note and Note 2.
Release date and price
The Galaxy Note 3 release date will be announced at the IFA 2013 – one of Europe’s biggest tech shows – on September 4th in Berlin. It’s likely the release date will be 29th September 2013 here in the UK. At the moment, there is no official price point for the Note 3. However, we can estimate that it will probably retail at around £500-£600, if you take into account the current pricing of the Note 2 against its rivals.
So, there you have it - the Geek Squad lowdown on everything we know about the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 so far. But although that may be all for now, be sure to keep coming back to the Geek Squad Knowledge Vault for all the latest info as we get it - with expert reviews and Agent verdicts coming up in the near future.