Apple's rival Samsung seems poised to steal a march on the Cupertino-based smartphone maker by advancing the release of its Galaxy Note 5 in August, ahead of the expected iPhone 6S release a month later.
A Wall Street Journal report on Friday says Samsung is planning to release its Galaxy Note 5 next month, pushing forward the release date from its usual September schedule.
This way, the Korean tech company will have first-mover advantage of early sales, which the company needs after its sales took a plunge during April to June.
For Samsung, the Galaxy Note line has been the most profitable and popular in its entire smartphone portfolio.
Going by the WSJ report, Samsung will be disrupting its long tradition of releasing a new Galaxy Note phablet in September.
Last year, the odds were not in Samsung's favour as the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus stole the thunder. The Galaxy Note 4 was launched before iPhone 6 and 6 Plus but went on sale weeks after the new iPhones.
The speculated early release augurs well for Samsung, as an early launch would mean the new phablet will be available in stores by September.
On the other hand, Apple is confident the next iPhones will add to the success of its current iPhones.
A recent report indicated that the company has asked its manufacturers to produce up to 90 million units of next iPhones, its largest initial production run to date.
There have been leaks outlining the Galaxy Note 5 specs. The handset is expected to carry a 5.7-inch Quad HD Super AMOLED display, a powerful Exynos 7422 processor and come in four colour choices of black, silver, gold and white.
The handset is likely to continue the use of metal and glass back and come with sealed batteries without any openings for microSD card.
Overall, it is going to be an interesting clash between the world's two big smartphone companies, giving consumers the freedom to choose between the new releases without having to wait for too long.
