Spigen are a well known smartphone case manufacturer and have a habit of releasing case designs for a brand new handset a short time before the device itself is revealed. However, because Spigen do not have the real device or perhaps more likely, are unable to show the device off, they demonstrate their new cases using a render of the device. From this, eagle eyed smartphone fans can draw conclusions about the underlying device in question: sometimes the renders are accurate and at other times, less so. Today, I bring you the news that Spigen have released details about their new line of cases designed for the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 phablet and the renders have given us a few clues as to the device, although these are more or less confirmation of existing tidbits of information we have already seen from other sources.
Samsung have two flagship smartphone type products: there’s the more-mainstream Galaxy S series, which offers a blend of high performance components with a market normal size for a flagship device. The Galaxy S devices are typically released in the first half of the year, in the spring. Then, after summer, Samsung has typically released the Galaxy Note device, which is labelled a “phablet” in today’s smartphone market. By phablet, this means that the device is that much larger than a normal smartphone such that it approaches a tablet by size. The original Galaxy Note used a 5.2-inch display, which has steadily increased in size over the years. The Galaxy Note series has tended to use polished components compared with that year’s earlier Galaxy S device; for 2015, we are anticipating that the Note 5 will use a Samsung Exynos 7422 processor (a close relative of the Galaxy S6’s Exynos 7420 System-on-Chip) but with 4 GB or RAM, compared with the S6’s 3 GB.
As for Spigen’s renders, the detailing that we can see includes that the S Pen will be at the bottom right of the device, where it can be retrieved by using an index finger. The rear camera module is squared off and sits next to what looks like a single flash and other sensor unit, although we would not expect these details to be rendered all too accurately. On the front of the device, Spigen’s renders show how the front facing sensors might be placed on the real smartphone. Again, the placement of front sensors is something that Spigen might be excused for not getting as accurate as the real device. However, it does not look like we will be waiting too long as Samsung have announced the next Unpacked event for mid-August and it seems a reasonable expectation that the Note 5 will be revealed then. As for Spigen’s cases, there’s a variety of different designs available ranging from $15 up to $35 depending on the model selected. These cases have a shipping date of the 30 September, although this may not be related to when the Note 5 itself will be revealed.
