Samsung has announced that its next flagship smartphone will be unveiled on 21 February at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
In a move that is designed to increase anticipation for the device, but which arguably merely undermines the excitement, Samsung teased that "#TheNextGalaxy" would be revealed at the Centre de Convencions Internacional de Barcelona, starting at 6pm GMT.
Serial technology leaker Evan Blass earlier tweeted pictures of what he said were the new phones -- a Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge -- which feature a similar look and feel to the previous generation. In an article for VentureBeat he said the new phones will offer microSD card slots, be water and dust resistant, retain the same Quad HD screen resolution and feature larger (but non-removable) batteries.
In its own preview video for the Unpacked event, Samsung seemed to hint that virtual reality will again be a focus for the company in 2017. Its existing Gear VR headsets have gone down well with reviewers. By using Galaxy phones for the screen and processing power, a decent VR experience can be had at a fraction of the cost of the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. If a new headset is revealed, it is expected to work with the new devices and perhaps provide greater levels of head tracking and performance.
It is also possible -- judging by the above teaser video -- that Samsung will make the press conference available to watch in live 360-degree video, via its Gear VR headsets.
Much remains unknown about the Galaxy S7 however, including its software and materials, not to mention how it will improve the financial prospects of Samsung after what has been perceived as a down year for its smartphone sales and overall profit.
WIRED will be in attendance at MWC and will have all the news from the Samsung show as soon as possible. Other announcements expected at the show include news from the likes of LG and HTC, as well as a keynote from Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
