The Samsung Galaxy Note 2 was one of the most successful smartphones of 2012, shipping over 5 million units in just two months after being made available to the public. It’s important to consider that the Note 2 is in an entirely different field — it’s larger than your average smartphone at 5.5 inches, so it occupies a distinct niche among modern mobile gadgets. With the excellent Note 1 and the wildly successful Note 2, it’s safe to assume that Samsung is at the top of the phablet niche.
This builds anticipation for the next phablet offering, the Galaxy Note 3 (assuming that it will follow Samsung’s typical nomenclature). And while its predecessors were unveiled around the fourth quarter of their year of release, it’s rumored that the Note 3 will come out even earlier. It’s expected to launch around July-August, just in time to compete with Apple’s next flagship smartphone. From rumors circulating the web, here’s what we know so far about Samsung’s next phablet.
Bigger view
The first Note made waves when it came out with a 5.3-inch display. Many were concerned, saying that it was too big, too complicated to be of any use. But many are curious about its added weight and much larger screen real estate. After selling several million units, the public was sold on the “phablet” idea, and many other manufacturers fielded their own versions. When the Note 2 arrived, the screen was even bigger at 5.5 inches.
Now armed with faster processors and more responsive styluses, users are finally realizing the potential of phablets, not only for entertainment but also productivity. The larger display is a perfect fit for OS Jelly Bean’s split-screen feature, where users can run two apps simultaneously. This turns the Samsung phablet into the perfect business phone, with plenty of space to work on multiple projects simultaneously.
It is rumored that the Note 3 will sport a 5.9-inch display, the largest so far on a Samsung smartphone. The nearly six inches will have an HD display with a pixel density of just over 400 ppi, an aspect that clearly lags behind the Note 2’s with a density of just 267 ppi at a resolution of 720 x 1280 pixels.
More powerful processor
Even with a late 2012 release, the Note 2 still has one of the best innards on the market, packing a 1.6 GHz Cortex-A9 quad-core Exynos processor. It can bypass even the most demanding applications in the market, making it easier for users to run multiple applications simultaneously without any lag or crash. If the rumors are true, the processor under the hood of the Note 3 will be at a higher level than the Note 2.
Just like the S4, it will come in two processor variants, a quad core version and an eight core version. The quad core Note 3 will be endowed with Qualcomm’s flagship processor, Snapdragon 800, with four cores clocked at 2.3 GHz each. The eight-core Note 3 will have an Exynos Octa processor, with two quads running underneath: one clocked at 1.9 GHz and another at 1.6 GHz.
Juicier Battery
With every update in the Note line comes improvements in the battery department. The first Note had 2600 mAh, while the Note 2 came with a 3100 mAh battery. Rumors project that the Note 3 will have to go up more than a notch to keep up with the demands of a faster processor, so 3500 or even 4000 mAh will be available.
These rumors are quite interesting and possibly remote, considering they stem from comparisons with previous Note models. Still, this is an internet rumour, so it’s important to take it with a grain of salt and just hope for the best reveal day.
