Save The Date: The Samsung Galaxy Note 10 is being announced on August 7

As of this morning, the South Korean tech titan has officially sent out invitations for their next Unpacked hardware event in New York.

Given the timing and the nature of the invitation itself (seen above), it's all but certain that the announcement of the company's Galaxy Note smartphone is on the cards.

However, as always, plenty of info about the Note 10 (or whatever it ends up being called) out there for those willing to reach into the rumor bucket and see what they can dredge up.

Everything we already know about the Samsung Galaxy Note 10

Design & Display

Unlike previous Note smartphones, the Note 10 is rumored to be arriving in two sizes.

The regular Note 10 is said to have a 6.3-inch Dynamic AMOLED display of the same quality found in the Galaxy S10. The second, larger, Note 10 will come in at a hefty 6.75-inches. Some reports claim that the larger of these two devices will be branded as the Galaxy Note 10 Pro but it could just as easily be called the Note 10 Plus.

Design-wise, there's probably going to be a lot of overlap between both new Note phones and this year's Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10+. Both Note 10 devices are said to feature screens with curved edges, in-display fingerprint sensors and an Infinity-O notch - though where the S10's hole-notch hung on the corner of the display, the Note 10's notch is said to sit in the center.

The last detail here is up for debate but, early on in the Note 10 leaks game, there was some talk of Samsung abolishing physical buttons. Some versions of this tidbit claim that the oft-maligned Bixby button is on its way out. Others say that Samsung are going to opt for haptic sensors akin to the edge sense tech found in recent Google and HTC devices rather than traditional volume and power buttons. Of all the rumors surrounding the Note 10, this is the one we're most dubious of - and only time will tell whether it proves to be accurate.

Processor

Credit: Samsung

In terms of the guts of the thing, Samsung are likely to equip the Note 10 and Note 10 Pro with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 855 SoC in some markets and their latest Exynos 9820 hardware in others, like Australia. Depending on which market you're buying the Note 10 in, this will put in it line with rivals like LG and Oppo or slightly behind them.

Samsung's Exynos isn't awful but, traditionally, it doesn't compare favorably to Qualcomm's own flagship hardware - which is probably why Samsung opt for the Snapdragon 855 in markets like the US.

Still, long story short, expect your Note 10 to come carrying the next iteration of whatever processor was in your Note 9. It'll be better than its predecessor but the degree to which will vary.

RAM & Storage

Given that the Galaxy Note 9 came in two storage specs, we expect that convention to continue here. Reports say that the baseline Note 10 will come with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of on-board storage.

We're expecting the Note 10 Pro to follow in the footsteps of the 512GB variant of last year's Note 9 - though whether Samsung will look to raise the amount of RAM in the Pro device to compete with gaming phones like the Razer Phone 2 or Nubia Red Magic Mars remains to be seen.

Software

When it comes to software, the Note 10 is expected to arrive running on Android 9 Pie and Samsung's own One UI skin. Given the positive response to One UI when it arrived with the Galaxy S10, we're not expecting too many big changes here - though Bixby is likely to get a buff of some sort.

Battery

Last year's Galaxy Note 9 featured a 4000mAh battery. Given how vital battery life is for a powerful device like the Note 10, we expect an upgrade of some sort.

However, rumormongers are divided as to what that'll look like. Some say that the regular Note 10 will feature a smaller 3400mAh battery while the Pro model gets an upgrade to 4300mAh. Others say that both will feature a 4170mAh battery.

We'll have to wait and see.

Cameras

Though the specs involved are still mostly unknown, the Galaxy Note 10 is widely expected to embrace the triple-lens rear camera paradigm set by Huawei's P-series. Given that the Note 9 was the series' first dual-lens smartphone, it'll be a major update.

This array is tipped to involve a primary, telephoto and wide-angle lens, though whether it'll compete with devices like the P30 and Oppo Reno on stuff like zoom or Google's Pixel phones and the Nokia 9 PureView on post-processing remains to be seen.

Samsung did recently apply for a trademark concerning something called DepthVision - which might suggest that - if nothing else - the Note 10 will come with a few new tricks up its sleeve.

Features

Credit: Christopher Hebert/IDG

In terms of the tangible end-user features that'll separate the Note 10 from the Note 9 and Note 8, it sounds like there will be as many additions as there will be subtractions.

Specifically, some rumors suggest that Samsung will be cutting not only the headphone jack but also the Micro SD slot. Time will tell whether these doomsayers are proven correct but, if they are, it would leave LG standing as the only major flagship smartphone manufacturer sticking with the legacy port.

Also on the audio side, there have been some reports that the Note 10 will opt for the same 'sound on display' tech found in fare like the Huawei P30 Pro and Sony's Bravia OLED TVs (where sound is projected through the screen rather than through a speaker).

As for the Note's signature S-Pen, we're not expecting too many changes. Last year's Note 9 brought with it a slew of new uses for the S-Pen, so the Note 10 might add to that. Still, we're not expecting anything revolutionary.

5G

Whether or not Samsung's latest Note offering will be their first to include 5G connectivity as standard remains to be seen. There might be a separate Note 10 5G. Adopters of the larger Note 10 Pro might get 5G while standard Note 10 buyers miss out.

In addition, it's not yet clear whether Samsung will opt to use their own 5G modem or Qualcomm's X50.

Still, given the ongoing rollout of 5G networks across most of the major markets that Samsung will be looking to sell the Note 10 in, we expect some form of 5G connectivity.

Thinking of buying a 5G smartphone? Here's what you need to know first.

Price & Availability

Australian pricing for last year's Galaxy Note 9 started at $1499. We expect the Note 10 to be at least a little more expensive: probably closer to $1699.

Typically, Samsung tends to launch major devices like the Note 10 approximately 3-4 weeks after announcing them. We don't have a specific due-date in mind but we'd be surprised if the Note 10 isn't in the hands of consumers by the time Tim Cook takes to the stage of the Steve Jobs Theater to announce their next iPhone in mid-September.

Is that all? What else is being announced?

Credit: Samsung

While the Galaxy Note 10 is sure to be the focus of August's Unpacked event, it might not be the only bit of tech that Samsung show off. Last year's August Unpacked also saw the announcement of the Galaxy Watch and the Galaxy Home smart speaker.

The latter has still yet to be released, so it's possible we could get an update here. However, thus far, most rumor seem to suggest that we'll see a follow-up to the Galaxy Watch Active launched earlier this year.

Then there's the matter of the Galaxy Fold.

Announced in February alongside the Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10+, Samsung's controversial-but-exciting foldable has been delayed indefinitely from its earlier April launch date. Samsung have yet to set a new timeline for when early adopters will be able to embrace the company's first flagship foldable but, given that they now claim to have fixed the durability issues that plagued earlier incarnations of the Fold, we're expecting some sort of update to come out of next month's Unpacked.

Credit: Samsung