Galaxy S9 release date might've just slipped out

Invites haven’t been sent out just yet, but Samsung already confirmed its next flagship will debut at MWC 2018. Now it’s just a matter of finding out exactly when the company will host a launch event. In the past, Samsung’s hosted its launch events in the middle of the trade show but in recent years moved them to the weekend before the official start. There’s been some speculation as to what will happen this year, but a very reputable individual has shared what information he has regarding the Galaxy S9’s upcoming announcement.

Evan Blass, the mobile industry insider at VentureBeat, spoke to “a C-level executive at a major casemaker” who seemingly leaked Samsung’s planned schedule to take the Galaxy S9 to the market. The executive revealed when the phone will be announced, up for pre-order, and shipped.

Everyone knew that Samsung would launch the Galaxy S9 before the trade show in Barcelona begins or no later than the first day, and the unidentified executive’s note lines up with that. The date to keep an eye on is February 26. Then, following its announcement, the Galaxy S9 will apparently go up for pre-order on March 1. And finally a global release would occur on March 16, meaning the 2018 flagship from Samsung is hitting the market sooner than any of its predecessors.

Blass didn’t share any specifications in his latest leak; however, there’s been enough of that provided in the last few weeks. Earlier this month an alleged retail box for the phone was posted online. It highlighted the Infinity Display, a 12MP camera with optical image stabilization and variable aperture, and the usual set of features for premium Galaxy hardware.

This week news broke that Samsung wouldn’t be changing the battery size for the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+. Both phones will match last year’s models, but in 2018 the battery technology will be more efficient and thus long-lasting.

Moving up the launch and release dates should work out well for Samsung. Apple will continue pushing the iPhone X up until the fall, and competitors like LG and HTC do have immediate plans to introduce new flagships. Samsung should then be able to have the world watching when the Galaxy S9 goes official and gets released.