According to a report from Reuters, the Korean electronics giant will launch the Galaxy S7 in two screen sizes in February. Ukrainian tech blogger Ivan Luchkov, who leaked the date for Samsung’s Unpacked 2014 event for the Galaxy S5, corroborates that timing and claims Samsung may hold an Unpacked event on Feb. 20 in Barcelona, days before Mobile World Congress.
A 5.2-inch Galaxy S7 and a 5.5-inch Galaxy S7 Edge are reportedly in the cards. The report claims Samsung is planning to produce 3.3 million of the smaller S7 and 1.6 million of the larger curved model.
Samsung’s current Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge have 5.1-inch screens. The company also sells the Galaxy S6 Edge+, a larger smartphone with a 5.7-inch screen with curved edges along the screen.
Though we won’t know for sure until Samsung makes it official on stage, the latest rumors suggest the S7 will sport a similar design to the current S6. The smartphone may be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor with 4GB of RAM and include a USB Type-C port. It may also have microSD card slot as well, which would mark the return of a much-desired feature.
Other rumored features include a pressure-sensitive screen (similar to the iPhone 6S’s 3D Touch) and possibly an iris scanner. And for everyone’s sake, we sincerely hope the rumor on a TouchWiz redesign is true.
Despite the Galaxy S6/S6 Edge and Note 5/S6 Edge+ being fantastic smartphones, Samsung has seen its market share drop significantly as consumers have flocked to Apple’s latest iPhone 6S and 6S Plus. Not only is the competition fierce from Apple, but Samsung’s also losing ground on the Android side to the likes of Xiaomi, Meizu and OnePlus, scrappy Chinese companies that have proven it’s possible to sell smartphones with premium materials at much lower prices (epitomized by the excellent $250 OnePlus X).
Will Samsung be able to turn the tide with the Galaxy S7? We’ll find out soon enough.