Samsung Electronics already confirmed that the upcoming Galaxy Note 8 flagship will be officially unveiled on August 23 at its new Unpacked event, but now a recent report from industry sources in South Korea may have disclosed the smartphone’s actual market launch date. According to the newly uncovered information, the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 will hit the shelves in South Korea on September 15, following a pre-order period of two weeks.
The news comes from sources from an unnamed mobile network provider in South Korea cited by ETNews, who claim that there’s “almost zero chance” for the September 15 launch date to change. The sources also added that the smartphone’s first day of market availability will precede a pre-order period that will last between 10 and 14 days. This would virtually place the release of the Galaxy Note 8 in a similar launch window as the LG V30, which is arguably a direct competitor to the device even though it lacks a stylus. The LG V30 will reportedly be announced on the 31st of August and go on sale sometime in September. One detail to keep in mind is that generally speaking, South Korean launch dates usually come before releases in the western hemisphere, so U.S. carrier variants may land in the country a bit later than September 15. In addition, the pre-order policies may differ between network providers in South Korea and the United States.
As to what the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 will have in store for prospective buyers, the flagship is expected to carry the company’s premium mobile portfolio into 2018, being expected to accommodate a 6.3-inch Super AMOLED Infinity Display with a resolution of 2960 by 1440 pixels, the Exynos 8895 chipset in most markets, and the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 system-on-chip in the United States. The flagship is said to carry 6GB of RAM, 64GB or 128GB of internal memory expandable via a microSD card slot, an iris and fingerprint scanner, 8-megapixel front-facing sensor, and two 12-megapixel lenses. Recent reports indicated that the Galaxy Note 8 will be one of Samsung’s most expensive smartphones to date, with its price tag supposedly being set to surpass $1,100 in certain European markets, though it remains to be seen whether Samsung and its wireless carrier partners incentivize consumers to buy the device with some pre-order benefits.