Like many companies, Samsung has an annual product release cycle, which means it's normally pretty easy to guess when we can expect to see a new smartphone announced.
The Galaxy S series takes the beginning of the year, while the Note series tends to fall within the last quarter of the year, so now is the time when the rumour mill start to turn.
As we are still a good few months away from the next Galaxy Note, speculation is still thin on the ground, but we will update this feature as and when new details appear.
Read on to find out everything you need to know about the Galaxy Note 5, or at least everything we have heard so far.
Samsung Galaxy Note 5 release date
The Samsung Galaxy Note series typically launches during IFA, a consumer electronics trade show that takes place in Berlin at the beginning of September.
A handset has recently appeared on the IMEI database thought to be the Galaxy Note 5. It came under the code name Noble with the product name SM-N920F, which is similar to the current Galaxy Note 4 that goes by SM-N910.
There was also the codename Zen that appeared, which was at first considered to be a new variant of the Galaxy S6. Rumours have since suggested that the Zen device was referring to the Note 5 Edge. Samsung has reportedly changed the Zen codename to Project Zero 2.
There has been no official word from Samsung of course, but we would guess the Note 5 and any variant of it will appear around September time again. IFA will run from 4-9 September this year, so expect an announcement before the show kicks off on 2 September. If that is the case, it's likely that a new phablet, or phablets, won't hit stores until October.
Samsung Galaxy Note 5 display
Rumour has it that Samsung is working on a 5.9-inch 4K Ultra HD Super AMOLED panel that could be used in the Galaxy Note 5. It is said to be unveiled in August, which would fit in with the Note release time scale, although if accurate, this would put it into Nexus 6 and Huawei P8 Max-size territory.
Phone Arena claims it was told the display panel will have a 3840 x 2160 resolution and would deliver a pixel density of 746ppi. Mass production will also begin in August, allegedly.
Samsung previously said it would offer Quad HD devices in 2014, which it did with the Note 4 and UHD handsets in 2015, so a 4K display on the Note 5 is plausible.
Phone Arena also claims a dual-edge Note 5 could appear with a 5.78-inch display. There has also been a patent granted to Samsung for a device with curved displays on both sides, which could perhaps be referring to the Zen device, although that is just speculation for now.
Samsung Galaxy Note 5 design
Samsung opted for a metal and glass design for its recently launched Galaxy S6 and some are suggesting the Note 5 will follow the same direction in terms of design.
Phone Arena published some Note 5 renders that were created with the Galaxy S6 as the inspiration. Of course, they are just renders, but they give an idea of what the Note 5 could look like if it takes the same path as the S6. The renders present a 7.9mm-slim handset. More recently, however, we've seen leaked CAD files. Said to be from a reliable source,they suggest that the Note 5 will be close in design to the SGS6.
One thing we can be certain of is that the Note 5 will come with the S Pen stylus the Note series is known for.
However, there's some speculation that a new version of the Note Edge won't be getting the S Pen. We suspect a double-curved display, like the SGS6 edge.
Samsung Galaxy Note 5 camera
The Galaxy Note 4 features a 16-megapixel, OIS-enhanced primary shooter, but Gizbot has claimed the Galaxy Note 5 will take things up a notch with a 18-megapixel rear camera and 5-megapixel front camera. However, Valuewalk is reporting that the camera could be 21 megapixels in resolution, paired with a 6-megapixel front-facing camera.
Incremental increases in resolution don't yield better results, and with Samsung enjoying the successes of the SGS6 cameras, we'd be surprised if there was any change in this department.
Samsung Galaxy Note 5 specs
There haven't been many solid rumours floating around when it comes to the specs, butPhone Arena has suggested up to 128GB of internal storage, USB Type-C port and a fingerprint scanner. However the recent CAD leak clearly shows a Micro-USB in place.
The site also speculated that a 4100mAh battery capacity would appear on the Note 5, while others have claimed a 3900mAh capacity would be powering the handset.
In terms of processor, Gizbot and Valuewalk.com have both suggested the octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor, supported by 4GB of RAM. However, GSM Arena has said the Galaxy Note 5 could take the same route as the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge by moving the processor in house.
It has been speculated that an Exynos 7420 chipset will be under the hood instead of Qualcomm's latest, for instance. Some rumours have even dabbled with the Exynos 7422 paired with a chip that combined RAM and storage into one component, and there has also been talk of the Exynos 7430, which is still in development, so we would expect the latter is unlikely for the Note 5.
Indeed, the Exynos 7422 is the one that pops up in speculation the most.
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A more recent rumour also suggest that leaked schematics show a design that doesn't feature room for a microSD card slot, suggesting that all storage will be housed on the device and it will be unable to expand.
Samsung Galaxy Note 5 pricing
The original Galaxy Note cost £599 including VAT when it launched, while The Galaxy Note 2 cost £550 including VAT. And both the Galaxy Note 3 and Galaxy Note 4 cost £599 including VAT when they launched.
With that in mind, the Galaxy Note 5 should cost between £550 and £599 including VAT when it launches. It's difficult to say where the Zen device will sit as the Note 4 edge and Galaxy S6 edge were more expensive, but they offered the same flagship specs as the normal variants. If the Zen model takes a hit on the specs, but offers a curve display, it might sit at the same price as the Galaxy Note 5.
HTC's last two flagships released with nearly indentical designs, but now, for the first time in a couple of years, it's getting ready to break away from tradition and launch a new smartphone line.
