Every year this decade, Samsung has used Berlin's IFA trade show at the beginning of September to introduce a new Galaxy Note phablet, starting with the original device in the series in 2011. But this year, according to The Wall Street Journal's Jonathan Cheng, Samsung will move up the new Note's launch by a few weeks in order to avoid competing for attention with the announcement of the latest iPhone. Apple is expected to refresh its iPhone 6 and 6 Plus with new 6S variants, and it usually hosts its big autumn event just after IFA — so it's understandable that Samsung would seek to secure a slightly longer hype window for one of its own halo products.

Samsung did something similar last summer by launching the well received, but short-lived Galaxy Alpha in August, exploiting a traditionally quiet time for new product releases. The fifth Galaxy Note is likely to follow a similar trajectory: launched in the midst of summer and then featured as part of Samsung's IFA exhibition. Its actual release date is still likely to overlap with the upgraded iPhone's, but maybe a couple of weeks of availability before Apple's latest could be just enough to help stem Samsung's gradual decline in sales.