We now have launch dates for this year’s biggest flagships.
A report out of Korea’s ET News suggests Samsung and LG have finalized the launch dates for their upcoming flagships. The publication states that the Galaxy S8 — which is rumored to be unveiled in New York on March 29 — will be launching globally on April 21, while the LG G6 is slated to become available on March 10 following an unveil at Mobile World Congress later this week.
An earlier report said that the LG G6 will launch on March 9 in South Korea, with a U.S. debut planned for April 7. With Samsung skipping MWC this year and launching the Galaxy S8 at a later date, LG has a 42-day head start, and the potential to steal much-needed market share away from its fiercest rival.
ET News also states that Samsung originally intended to launch the Galaxy S8 on April 14 in its home market following a week of pre-orders, but ultimately moved the date to April 21 to ensure adequate stock of the device is available at launch. The latest estimates suggest the Galaxy S8 will be going up for pre-order in Korea on April 13.
Both handsets have leaked extensively in recent weeks, giving us a detailed look at what to expect from the South Korean manufacturers this year. The LG G6 will feature a 5.7-inch QHD+ 2:1 display, 13MP dual cameras, water resistance, 32-bit Quad DAC, and a Snapdragon 821 SoC.
Meanwhile, the Galaxy S8 is likely to be offered in two variants: a standard 5.8-inch model and an S8+ with a 6.2-inch display. The phones will feature thin bezels up front, with Samsung getting rid of the home button to make room for the “infinity” display. The phones will instead sport on-screen navigation buttons, a 12MP dual pixel camera at the back, IP68 dust and water resistance, and will be the first to run Qualcomm’s latest 10nm Snapdragon 835
