Samsung’s next flagship smartphone — likely called the Galaxy S10 — may debut a week ahead of Mobile World Congress on February 20. The company sent out invites to media for a Galaxy Unpacked event, which will take place at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco.
The Galaxy S10 has been all but confirmed officially. In the invitation Samsung said, “As you may know, this year marks the 10-year anniversary of the Galaxy series.” Last year’s Samsung smartphone that debuted around the same timeframe was the Galaxy S9, so it’s not a stretch to assume we’ll be seeing the launch of its successor. That being said, there’s a possibility Samsung could unveil a new naming structure for the celebratory phone, not unlike what Apple did with the iPhone X.
What’s more interesting is Samsung’s decision to skip Mobile World Congress, and considering the event in the coming weeks is labeled “Galaxy Unpacked,” it’s unlikely we’ll see any major announcements from Samsung at the Barcelona show this year. This isn’t the first time Samsung has sat out of the trade show — the company unveiled the Galaxy S8 at a separate event in March 2017.
What can we expect for the new phone? Well, it could actually be three handsets. The latest rumors reveal three names: The S10, S10 Plus, and S10 E. Some or all of these devices may come with Samsung’s Infinity-O display, also known as a punch-hole display. It’s where the bezels surrounding the screen are nearly non-existent, and the selfie camera floats as a lone circle at the top of the screen, like a punched hole in a piece of paper. There’s a clue in the invitation image above — we presume the line running through the middle is how thin the bezel will be around the phone.
Rumors also suggest Samsung may add a third camera to the back of the Galaxy S10 Plus, making way for a wide-angle lens, just like phones such as the LG V40 ThinQ and the Huawei Mate 20 Pro. All of this information comes from leaks, so take it with a grain of salt. You can read all the latest updates we have on the Galaxy S10 in our handy roundup.
Other announcements
What else may be on the docket for Samsung? We could potentially hear more about the Galaxy Home smart speaker, powered by Bixby. Samsung announced the product at its Galaxy Note 9 launch event in August 2018, but we have not heard much about it since. Considering the device was in marketing images around CES 2019, it’s not a stretch to expect to hear more.
There’s a good chance we’ll also learn more about the foldable phone — that’s if Samsung doesn’t just unveil it completely alongside the S10. Samsung confirmed to Digital Trends the phone will launch in the “first half of 2019.” The image in the invitation could also be interpreted as two screens, or the two-tone zero on the “10” could be teasing the folding nature of the phone.
No matter what’s debuted on stage, Digital Trends will be on the ground in San Francisco covering Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked on February 20, which starts at 11 a.m. PT.
