We’ve received official confirmation from Verizon that Note 8 pre-order shipments have begun, with deliveries expected on Tuesday September 5th.  That’s a full 10 days ahead of the official street release date, which is September 15th. 

A Verizon spokesperson told BGR that “we are prepping preorders for shipment and customers should start receiving their orders as early as next Tuesday.”  Several customers have sent BGR emails that show devices have already been shipped by Verizon and are with Fedex, with estimated delivery showing on Tuesday. 

It’s unusual for a pre-order to beat the street release date by more than a week.  Devices often arrive a day or two early — as a result of shipping policies more than anything else — but an official confirmation from Verizon that shipment has begun is more of a shift in policy, rather than any kind of accident. 

Sprint customers have also been receiving shipping notifications, with some deliveries expected as soon as today.  We’ve reached out to Sprint to try and clarify their timeline for shipping as well. 

Samsung hasn’t made any statement on why pre-orders have begun shipping, but it’s not difficult to guess why.  Since the Galaxy Note 8 was unveiled with that September 15th release date, Apple has announced it’s holding an event on September 12th. 

It’s not a secret that Apple will be revealing at least one new iPhone at the event, and we’re expecting to hear something about the iPhone 8/X/Edition.  If Apple shows us some kind of groundbreaking new phone on the 12th, and pre-orders don’t arrive until the 15th, it’s very possible that people who pre-ordered the Note 8 will cancel and go with the iPhone instead. 

Samsung has to be worried about the iPhone 8.  For the first time, Apple is launching an iPhone with a screen size comparable to the Note series.  Other features that have traditionally given Samsung the edge over Apple — wireless charging, dual camera setup, iris recognition — may well also pop up in the iPhone 8. 

It’s also the only phone that’s going to compete with the Note 8 on price.  The retail price of Samsung’s new phablet is $930, just a hair less than the rumored $999 sticker on the iPhone 8. 

Basically, the stage is set for a bitter showdown between thousand-dollar Android and Apple phones, and it looks like Samsung is doing every tiny thing within its power to take the early advantage.