Galaxy Note 8 may come with a welcome surprise

The path to the Galaxy Note 8 is littered with rumors and reports, some of them pretty massive in terms of what they reveal. Today's pair of rumors are quite so Earth-shattering, but they still offer interesting details about the launch of the Galaxy Note 8. The best news is that we won't have to wait very long to find out if they're legitimate, as the Note 8 reveal is coming up in just a couple of weeks.

The first rumor of the day comes from Korean site ETNews, which claims that Samsung will ship the Galaxy Note 8 with a phone case included in the box. This decision was apparently made to cut back on the financial burden for consumers – after all, when you're buying a new phone, the price of accessories like cases, screen protectors, and chargers can add up quickly.

The one downside to including a phone case in the box is that third-party case manufacturers might have a harder time netting add-on sales for the Note 8. Since the assumption is that the Note 8 is going to be a major seller with consumers, missing out case sales could hurt a lot. Still, it's a win for consumers and should be a win for Samsung, as an included case could sway more people toward the Galaxy Note 8.

This isn't the first time Samsung has done this, ETNews notes, as it included a phone case with the Galaxy Note FE. The Note FE is a refurbished version of the Galaxy Note 7, launched in some regions like Korea last month. With 400,000 of those phones, Samsung included a case, though this would be the first time it would do that with a flagship release.

Elsewhere on the internet, Roland Quandt has uncovered another interesting thing about the Galaxy Note 8. Taking a look at model numbers for the phone, Samsung seems to be plotting a model with 256GB of storage. For now, it appears that this model is only planned for South Korea, but it's at least plausible that it could spread to other regions as well.

The same is true for the rumor of a pack-in case with the Galaxy Note 8 – for now, the only region that'll get the free case seems to be South Korea. We'll find out if either of these bonuses will come to North America on August 23, which is when Samsung is expected to reveal the Galaxy Note 8 in New York City. We'll be at the event, so stay tuned for more.