Samsung has officially announced its Galaxy Note 2, the successor to the Korea-based manufacturer's widely successful Galaxy Note device. As expected, Samsung unveiled the smartphone-tablet hybrid just ahead of IFA, which starts Friday in Berlin.

In recent weeks, there have been many rumors about what features and specs will appear on the device. Now Samsung has finally put those speculations to rest, and below is the official list of features that users will see on the Galaxy Note 2.

- Redesigned S Pen Stylus

- 5.5-inch display

- Thinner and lighter body

-1.6GHz quad-core Exynos processor

- 1280 x 720 display resolution, the same as the original Note

- Super AMOLED display

- 8-megapixel camera

- 'Magic Wand' sub-homescreen

- Near Field Communication

- LTE connectivity

- Android 4.1 Jelly Bean

- Two color choices: Mountain White and Titanium Gray

- Three storage options: 16GB, 32GB and 64 GB

- 2GB of RAM

- Upgraded battery with 3100mAh

- Air View, which allows users to hover the stylus approximately 10mm above the screen and the device responds

- Screen recorder, which records on-screen actions to be shared with others

- Pop-up Play plays local video in a little window overlay, a feature first seen on the Galaxy S3. The window in which the video is viewed can now be resized on the Galaxy Note 2.

- Best Faces feature, which lets users create a composite image from multiple pictures

- Photo Note creates handwritten notes on the back of pictures

- Release date in the fourth quarter of 2012

Some of these features and specs line up with previous rumors, while others are slightly off. For example, earlier indications said that the Galaxy Note 2 would come with a 1.4GHz processor, while that does not match the information revealed by Samsung above. Many of the other allegedly leaked specs proved to be accurate, such as the Super AMOLED display, the screen resolution and the 8-megapixel camera.

There is also one crucial bit of information that leaked prematurely: The Galaxy Note 2 bears striking similarities to Samsung's Galaxy S3.

"The physical design and materials are a direct match to Samsung's Galaxy S III," writes Vlad Savov of The Verge.

The software interface found on the Galaxy Note 2 looks nearly identical to that of the Galaxy S3, and the new device contains the same 8-megapixel camera.

When Samsung recently released a trailer teasing the release of the Galaxy Note 2, it stressed the artsy feel and slim design of the device. The tagline "Everything becomes an inspiration," was displayed across the screen as footage of various metropolitan scenes flashed by. This is similar to the approach that Samsung has taken with marketing its Galaxy S3, which is said to be inspired by various elements of nature.

"Elegant, intelligent and stylish, the Samsung Galaxy S3 is designed for humans and inspired by nature," read Samsung's official blog post describing the Galaxy S3.

But two important details were left out of the official reveal. Samsung did not specify the official release date for the device beyond Q4 2012, there was no information on which carriers the device would be available, and no price was revealed.

Which feature do you think is the most interesting? The Air Play that enables touch screen functionality without actually touching the display, or the Best Faces? Sound off in the comments below, and view the video to see exactly what the Galaxy Note 2 can do.