We’re used to seeing Apple rumours grab attention, but it also looks as if Samsung and Google devices are also picking up as much love, too, as we begin to hear more about other top-end handsets.
First up is the Galaxy Note, which has to be among the most popular tablet-sized phones in the world. We’re seeing them in so many places, and it’s one style of device that smartphone manufacturers didn’t see coming.
From what we’re hearing, the third iteration of the Note is set to change hands and pockets everywhere with a slightly bigger screen moving from 5.5 inches in the Note 2 to as much as 5.9 inches, ever so slightly lower than the huge 6 inch Xperia Z Ultra that Sony announced a few weeks ago.
Like the Galaxy S4, you can expect Samsung to make it a Full HD 1920×1080 panel, and given the “Note” moniker, we’d say an improved version of the Galaxy pen is a likelihood also.
It’s probably safe to expect processor technology similar to what Australia received in the Samsung Galaxy S4, though with a slight update, so instead of the Snapdragon 600, we’ll probably see the 800 along with between 2 and 3GB of RAM, as well as support for 4G LTE.
Google’s next phone is also being given the rumour treatment around the web, with LG expected to be used for making the Nexus 5, following up from last year’s Nexus 4.
We’d say a larger Full HD screen is likely, possibly to coincide with the “5” in the name, as well as the latest variant of Google’s Android operating system, expected to be version 5 and named “Key Lime Pie.”
Elsewhere, there are some Apple rumours, with the suggestion that we’ll see not only a new iPhone 5S announcement September-ish, but also a budget iPhone with a colourful choice of plastic exteriors.
Moving away from metal and glass would be a serious departure for Apple, but the likely reason we’ll see a shift would have to do with the screen, and an attempt to make all current Apple phone products use the one 4 inch display both the current iPhone and iPod Touch products share.
As with all rumours, best to take these with a grain of salt. With that in mind, you can probably count on hearing about the new Samsung phone by late August, while Google’s and Apple’s rumours are likely to be shown as true or false by October.
