How different the Galaxy Note 8 will be from the Galaxy S8? Externally, the two handsets would look nearly identical thanks to the Infinity Display front panel but in terms of internal specifications the former is certainly getting premium specs upgrades. But the asking price will not come cheap - starting at no less than $1000.

In a report, WCCFTech said the Note 8 is unboxing in two storage variants. Samsung will make the handset available in 64GB and 128GB with provision for memory expansion of up to 256GB. But it is the built-in storage technology that that the Note 8 will use that is notable, which is UFS 2.1 standard, the report added.

It would mean "the Galaxy Note 8 (is) faster and more responsive," as the new memory standard will deliver faster read and write speeds. And UFS 2.1 is far more stable that recording of 4K video on the device is expected to be more error-free.

But as Samsung has always advised, the use of extended memory could greatly affect the overall performance of the Note 8. The tech giant said high-performance memory card is a must to ensure handset performance will not degrade though it should be noted premium microSD cards are expensive.

And that could easily make the Note 8 as the most expensive Samsung flagship smartphone to own. According to BGR, if the basic model with 64GB storage will cost $1000 then the 128GB edition will sell at around $1100 that for many is already a small fortune.

For some, the likely course is to look for alternatives and one that is surely tempting is the OnePlus 5 that will cost no more than $550 for the 128GB model. And it will have the firepower as that of the Note 8 - the Snapdragon 835 processor but with 8GB of RAM, which is 2GB more of the rumored RAM provision for the Samsung phablet flagship.

Or Samsung fans can simply go for the Galaxy S8 Plus that is but slightly smaller than the Note 8's reported 6.3-inch Infinity Display. The GS8 will only lack the S Pen stylus and the rumored dual camera setup of the Note 8 that for many users will be negligible considering the cash damage for the former is only around $800.

Yet for those already sold to the Galaxy Note 8 hype, paying up to $200 more seems a non-issue, convinced that the hardware upgrades are worth the price. And it helps that Samsung is reportedly planning to bring the Note 8 to the market ahead of schedule.

Reports said the Galaxy Note 8 is set for unveiling in middle August, potentially positioning the handset for market availability by early September 2017. The plan, clearly, is to get ahead of the expected iPhone 8 release in October or November in hopes that shoppers will scoop up the Android phablet and not wait for the next iPhone.

It might be the case if Samsung can find a way to pack Android O with the Galaxy Note 8 release date or at least make a solid commitment to update the device the moment version 8.0 of Google's mobile OS becomes available. For now, the Note 8 is expected to unbox with Android 7.1.1 Nougat.