What we can expect from the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 - to be launched next week

Galaxy Note 8 will offer IP68 certification, a Samsung Exynos 8895 CPU, 6GB of RAM, 64GB of storage and IP68 certification

August is, traditionally, a quiet month for news - the ‘silly season' when stories that wouldn't normally even make it to the inside pages at any other time of the year become front-page news.

But with companies like HMD Global with its Nokia launch and Samsung taking advantage of an otherwise quiet month for major product launches, August has become more interesting. At least as far as tech news is concerned.

Next week, after yesterday's launch of the new flagship Nokia smartphone, the Nokia 8, Samsung will unveil the long-awaited Galaxy Note 8.

This has been particularly eagerly awaited following the disaster of the Galaxy Note 7.

So what do we know about the forthcoming Galaxy Note 8?

If you plan to go bog-snorkling with your shiny, new $1,000 smartphone, make sure it's not a deep bog

First, the device will almost certainly be launched on Wednesday 23 August at a press conference the company is holding in New York on that day, with the company revealing in a recent earnings report that its new Galaxy Note 8 would be out in the third quarter.

Well, there isn't much time left in the third quarter for a device to make an appearance, and with Samsung's own Australian website indicating that pre-orders will be opening next Friday, Samsung eventually admitted that the Galaxy Note 8 was, indeed, going to be launched next Wednesday.

That doesn't leave too much time for buyers to save up for the device - and they might need to save up rather a lot of money. Rumours aired on The Inquirer tech website suggest that it could be the first Galaxy Note device to break the $1,000 barrier.

If you're in the UK, that will pin the price at between £920 and £950, including VAT, with BT-owned EE the first UK operator to confirm that it'll be offering the smartphone. If you're interested, you can register with EE now.

In terms of specifications, the device will offer IP68 certification against dust, dirt, sand and, most important of all, in terms of water resistance, which means that you can plunge the device in up to 1.5 metres of water for up to 30 minutes and everything should be a-okay.

That compares to IP67 certification, which provides the same resistance to dust, dirt and sand following an eight-hour test, but which certifies resistance to water for immersion of 30 minutes in water of up to 'only' one metre in depth.

Hence, if you plan to go bog-snorkling with your shiny, new $1,000 smartphone, make sure it's not a deep bog.

While it will offer USB-C connectivity, you'll still be able to plug in your old headphones via a standard 3.5mm jack

The device itself will sport a Samsung Exynos 8895 ARM-based CPU - or a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 if you're in the US - along with 6GB of RAM. Storage will weigh-in at 64GB, with microSD expansion, with a built-in 3000mAh battery supporting fast-charging and wireless charging.

Built-in will be a 12MP dual rear-facing camera and an 8MP front-facing camera and, while it will offer USB-C connectivity, you'll still be able to plug in your old headphones via a standard 3.5mm jack. It will also have S-Pen support and an improved iris scanner for security.

The screen, meanwhile, will be a 6.3-inch, 4k (3,840 by 2,160 pixels) Super AMOLED Infinity Display offering an 18.5:9 ratio. It'll run Android 7.1.1 Nougat, but will no doubt be quickly upgraded to Android O, when Google finally releases it (expected soon).

The device will also be available in black, gold, grey and blue. Sorry, that should be "Midnight Black, Maple Gold, Orchid Grey and Deep Sea Blue", according to The Inquirer.