UPDATE: The Galaxy S10’s launch date has now been confirmed by Samsung.EARLIER:
With CES 2019 almost done, the next major tech event will take place next month in Barcelona, Spain. But this year’s Mobile World Congress edition won’t be the home of Samsung’s Galaxy S line. A report a few weeks ago said the handset will be unveiled during a special Samsung press conference set to take place on February 20th, just a few days before MWC kicks off. Now, a couple of reports say that’s indeed the date of Samsung’s next Unpacked event, and offer us a location: San Francisco.
Samsung insider Ice Universe posted a brief message on Twitter to note that the phone will launch in San Francisco next month:
The Next Galaxy, February 20, San Francisco.😘
— Ice universe (@UniverseIce) January 10, 2019
However, it’s unclear whether he has obtained any information himself, or he’s simply relaying information that appeared in The Korea Herald and The Wall Street Journal a few hours earlier.
The reports did not offer preorder or launch dates for the Galaxy S10. The phone is rumored to launch in stores by March 8th.
The Herald does say that Samsung is doing things a little differently this year because the Galaxy S10 also happens to mark the series tenth anniversary. A second reason to unveil the phone before MWC 2019, where the Galaxy S10 versions will be on display nonetheless, is to give the Galaxy S10 a head start of about a week over competitors that will unveil new devices in Barcelona. Huawei might use MWC to unveil its first foldable handset. As last year showed, Huawei has become Samsung’s main rival in the Android market.
Samsung has confirmed at CES that its own foldable handset will be available in stores in the first half of the year. The Herald notes that the phone’s release schedule hasn’t been confirmed. “Because it is the first foldable phone by Samsung, we are thinking more about offering some powerful contents for better user experiences that can be earned only from the foldable phone,” an official said.
When it does go on sale, the foldable handset will cost around 2 million won or $1,788, and launch in Korea, the US, China, and Europe.
A different report from The Wall Street Journal also offers the same date and location for the Galaxy S10 press conference. Moreover, The Journal claims that Samsung will show off a fully functional foldable smartphone on February 20th. The version Samsung unveiled in early November was carefully camouflaged with the help of protective gear and lighting, as the phone’s final design wasn’t completed.
Samsung is yet to confirm the date, but the company will soon issue invites for the Galaxy S10 press conference. What’s interesting is that a Galaxy S10 launch teaser has appeared online, seen in the image below, via SamMobile:
