We know from an official announcement that the Galaxy Note 8 will be unveiled in NYC this Wednesday on August 23, but now we also have a release date, thanks to Evan Blass from @evleaks on Twitter. The famous leakster informed everyone a few hours ago that Samsung will be opening the pre-orders on August 24, which is the very next day after the Galaxy Note 8's unveiling this Wednesday. He also revealed that the smartphone will be available for purchase from stores starting September 15.

Evan Blass was full of information today as he gave out even more info regarding the Galaxy Note 8 in the same post. According to him, if you pre-order the Galaxy Note 8 in the US, you will either receive a 256GB microSD card + convertible wireless charger or a Samsung Gear 360 camera, but the choice is up to you. A point to be noted is that these dates only apply to the US, South Korea and a few select nations in Europe. The rest of the world will likely have to wait a bit longer.

Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)

Although we are still a few days away from the Note8's official unveiling, this leak is showing us pretty much everything that there is to see. Of course, this isn't the real thing, not even a prototype, but what you see here is exactly what you are going to see on August 23 in New York at the unveiling event. What does that mean you ask? It means that this is an official dummy unit; the likes of which are generally used to showcase new smartphones at retail displays. Apart from the fact that it won't turn on, it's identical to the Galaxy Note 8 in every other way.

The pictures were leaked online on Weibo in China, as is often the case these days. While it's the cleanest and most satisfying look at the device that we have had so far, it didn't surprise us because we have seen it all before, thanks to previous leaks. What do you think of Samsung's upcoming stylus-wielding, dual-camera beast after taking a look at these images? Let us know in the comments.

Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)

The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission has just recalled 10,000+ Galaxy Note 4 handsets for issues related to the battery. If that sounds familiar then it's because of the fact that about year ago, something similar happened with the Galaxy Note 7. While this doesn't sound good for Samsung initially, a little more probe into the matter reveals that Samsung is actually not at fault for this one.

It seems that some AT&T refurbished Galaxy Note 4 smartphones contained batteries in them that are prone to overheating. As the batteries were not made or supplied by Samsung, they are off the hook for this one. In fact, the heating batteries are counterfeit units which made their way into some of the AT&T refurbished Galaxy Note 4 devices through unknown means. As of now, there have been no reports of fire, explosion, damage or injury.

The Galaxy Note 7 disaster has been one of Samsung's biggest messes recently, but they have come out of that much better than most people expected them to. Of course, the real test of the impact that the infamous handset had left on the minds of Samsung's customers will commence once the Galaxy Note 8 goes on sale next month.

Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)

We had heard that the Galaxy Note 8 was going to be launched in a brand new version of blue, but now we have had our first look at it, thanks to Evan Blass of @evleaks on Twitter. Unfortunately, the picture doesn't show us the back, which would have actually shown us more of the color than what we see here in the front facing render. Granted it isn't the best leak we have seen from @evleaks, but it still is something!

It looks like Samsung is sticking to its design choice from the Galaxy S8 and S8+, which shared the same black front bezels across all colors. This of course, contributes to us seeing even less of the Deep Sea Blue color in this picture. The S-Pen on the other hand is completely blue and quite visible.

The suspense is about to be over though, since Samsung will be unveiling the Note 8 next Wednesday, which is exactly a week from today. The August 23rd launch event will be a Samsung exclusive at New York City, but you probably knew that already by now.

Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)

We know the specifications which the Galaxy Note 8 will be sporting this year, or at least most of it anyway. Nevertheless, until and unless we see it all officially on August 23, everything is still just rumors and leaks. Today's leak is brought to us by GFXBench after the Note 8 went on the website for a spin. Check them out in the screenshot above.

The 6GB of RAM, Exynos 8895 SoC, Mali-G71 GPU, 64GB internal storage, dual rear cameras, etc. sits in perfectly with what we had heard and seen so far. However, it was surprising to see that the Note 8 will be sporting a 6.4-inch Super AMOLED QHD+ display instead of the rumored 6.3-inch one. The difference is almost negligible, but it's worth noting nonetheless.

Rumor has it that a new version of the Gear Fit Pro (2) will also be revealed at the NYC exclusive event on the 23rd, but not much else is known about it, including the likely price of the fitness band. On the other hand, a lot of people are waiting impatiently to see how high Samsung prices the Galaxy Note 8, which is expected to be as high as $1200 or more.

Saikat Kar (tech-enthusiast)