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Samsung to launch Galaxy Note 8 in August, ahead of Apple's 'iPhone 8'

By Roger Fingas

Samsung will hold a New York City launch event for the Galaxy Note 8 in the second half of August, about a month ahead of the announcement of Apple's new iPhones, according to one report.

The Galaxy S8+, from which the Note 8 will likely borrow many cues.

The Note 8 will feature a curved screen slightly bigger than the 6.2-inch Galaxy S8+, a source Reuters. It should also have twin cameras on the rear, likely owing to the success of the iPhone 7 Plus. The latter uses its second lens for 2x optical zoom, as well as simulating depth-of-field effects in Portrait mode.

Much is riding on the Note 8, since its predecessor -- the Note 7 -- was just two months after its own August debut, plagued by a series of battery fires. Samsung eventually concluded that were to blame, and instituted a new testing regime to avoid a repeat. The debacle cost the company some $5.4 billion.

The S8 line, released after the Note 7, has sold well so far and gone without any reported battery fires.

Apple is expected to in September: the 7s, the 7s Plus, and finally the so-called Because of production delays, the "8" may not hit shelves until October or even later.

Like the standard S8, the "iPhone 8" is expected to use an edge-to-edge, 5.8-inch OLED screen, support wireless charging, and ditch a physical home button in favor of a virtual one. The iPhone's screen won't wrap around the edges though, and should embed Touch ID, avoiding the need for a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor.

Some other "iPhone 8" features may include , a new "A11" processor, and quicker cable-based charging. The 7s and 7s Plus should share , but use LCDs instead of OLED.