The 2H 2013 major touchdowns have been confirmed - Apple releases the 4-inch iPhone 5S on Sept while release date for Samsung's second flagship of the year, the Galaxy Note 3, is likely to happen late in the month following its Sept 4 launch.

The brewing battle between the iOS and Android devices has long been expected. In terms of experience, the iPhone is the veteran but not necessarily battle-scarred. It counts more than half-a-decade of existence and the Apple pedigree as its main badge of honour. It is safe to say that hundreds of millions have used or are using the gadget - from first generation to the latest, the iPhone 5.

The Note 3, on the other hand, is a relative newbie - still on its way to the third iteration. But it is not a pushover, by no means. It commands its own market segment - the phablet sub-sector - and boasts of creating a turf that is now the envy of mobile device makers.

There is no doubt that the Galaxy Note brand inspires gadget anticipation and the Note 3 could even surpass Samsung first flagship for the year, the Galaxy S4. Or, the powerful and attractive supersized smartphone could even reign supreme over the iPhone 5S and below are the four reasons why such scenario is highly likely.

The Note 3 is the epitome of the global phablet fever

As mentioned, Samsung started the fire when it boldly introduced the first Galaxy Note in 2011. Initially, experts baulked at the idea of a smartphone that seems hard to handle in one hand due to its bulk. Yet the big screen hit it off with gadget lovers and for the third offering, the South Korean tech giant is stretching the limits.

At reportedly 5.7-inch (or 6-inch), the Note 3 is essentially what a phablet is. There is no argument that the large viewing window will dwarf over that of the iPhone 5S, which likely will keep the 4-inch profile. It could brag of better Retina resolution from the previous build but in today's gadget trend, bigger seems better, especially in the Note 3's case. The Note 3 display panel is expected to use Full HD Super AMOLED for a 1080p resolution render and with that incredible mix, the choice is easier for many gadget shoppers.

The battery edge

Apple and Samsung are working hard to deliver a gadget that is both powerful and power-efficient. For sure, the 5S falls within that class - reliably powerful with longer operating hours thanks to upgraded chip and display technologies plus the inclusion of massive battery with higher rating.

Certainly too, the Note 3 will not be left behind using CPU and screen panel that are not power-hogs. But with one simple body design, the Samsung phablet is steps ahead of the 5S in providing more energy options to users. With its removable back cover, the Note 3 allows users to move around with an extra battery, fully-charged, which they can easily slide in when battery juice reaches the zero level. Not possible with the tightly-closed iPhone 5S or any other iPhone models.

The storage advantage

Rumours have it that Apple is issuing an iPhone 5S variant with up to 128GB of disk space. Now that's a lot of memory and should erase one of the envies that iPhone users have over their Android counterparts.

But such talk remains speculative for now, Fact is, the Note 3 offers more space, capable of actually equalling the 128GB 5S with the 64GB Note 3 that come with microSD slot and able to accommodate cards in the 64GB class. That should be 128GB of generous Galaxy Note 3 digital room readily available on release date.

The constantly evolving S-Pen

Steve Jobs ridiculed this phablet companion but it remains in existence and is in fact gaining more ground as Note users are becomingly more accustomed to using the digitiser to write electronically or simply extend the functions of their fingers when interacting with devices.

The S-Pen has come a long way and Samsung tirelessly works for its further enhancement and one evidence is the company's upcoming developers' conference, in which a session is reportedly reserved to discuss the new features to come with the Galaxy Note 3 tool on release date.