The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 release date is expected to be in the third quarter this year. Rumors have circulated around the specs and release date of Samsung's Galaxy Note 3, as the South Korean company continues to compete with Apple's iPhone 5S.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 3, in addition to the S4 Mini, is expected to release in Q3, according to DigiTimes.

The Galaxy Note 3 'Phablet,' or phone-tablet, is expected to have two varieties: one based on the Galaxy S4 Exynos 5 Octa, and another based on S4 I90505 Snapdragon 600.

Apple is expected to release its low-cost, and possibly plastic, iPhone and the iPhone 6 in late summer or early fall. Samsung, to compete with Apple, is also expected to release its next-generation Galaxy Note 'phablet' around the same time, according to iBTimes UK.

According to widespread rumors, the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 may even appear before the IFA 2013 event in Berlin, between September 1 and 5, to get a jump on its iPhone competition.

The Galaxy Note 3 is expected to feature 2GB of RAM, regular connectivity options including LTE, NFC, IR blaster, Bluetooth 4.0 and microUSB 2.0. It will offer varieties with 16 GB, 32 GB and 64 GB of memory, including a microSD slot for expanded memory.

Other specs for the Note 3 include Android 4.3 Jelly Bean with TouchWiz Nature UX and a 5.9-inch Super AMOLED display. The resolution is expected to be 1080x1920 pixels.

The Note 3 is expected to have a 13-megapixel camera with image stabilization technology, similar to the Galaxy S4.

Although the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 release date is not confirmed, more information is expected to leak at the Samsung Galaxy premiere event scheduled for June 20 in London.