Samsung Electronics Co. will feature an upgraded camera when it unveils its next Galaxy Note smartphone on Aug. 9, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg late this week.
The new model, likely to be called the Note 9, will look similar to last year’s model. It will include a faster processor from Qualcomm Inc. QCOM, +0.84% for some markets, the unnamed people told Bloomberg.
Samsung’s 005930, +1.18% “Unpacked” event, which will be held in New York according to the Bloomberg report, comes about two weeks earlier this year than a similar event last year. The South Korean company aims to release the new model as early as the end of August, the people said, though stressed that plans could still shift.
Earlier this year, Samsung released the Galaxy S9 phone with an upgraded camera, which has generally been well received by consumers.
Samsung had 23% of the smartphone market in the first quarter versus 16% for chief rival Apple Inc. AAPL, +1.80% , according to data from IDC.
Apple typically holds its iPhone release events in September, though recent conferences haven’t offered much in the way of groundbreaking upgrades, say most analysts.
In fact, that’s the same sentiment overhanging its annual Worldwide Developers Conference kicking off on Monday.
If incremental changes are announced this week, Apple watchers look for small improvements and some new iOS features, including upgrades to Siri, MarketWatch’s Emily Bary reports in a curtain-raiser for the event.
