HTC M8 release date not at MWC in Feb? Samsung Galaxy S5 and HTC flagship to launch in mid-March

Two highly anticipated phones – the HTC One 2 (also known as the HTC M8) and the Samsung Galaxy S5 – will not be launching at the upcoming Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this month.

Latest rumors suggest that the HTC and Samsung flagship smartphones will not be launched on Feb. 24 but instead be unveiled in separate events some time in mid-March.

HTC M8 is slated to pack a bigger display than its popular predecessor's 4.7 inch screen. The new smartphone is rumored to come with a 5.1 inch screen and an umproved ultrapixel camera. The HTC M8 may also be the first smartphone to remove the physical button from its smartphone and instead feature an onscreen button.

Tech tipster @evleaks tweeted Jan. 27: "M8 will be the first HTC device with on-screen buttons."

Other rumors for the HTC One 2 include a 2 or 3GB RAM and quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor. It is likely to run on Android 4.4 KitKat with Sense 6.0 UI.

A previous image tweet of a wallpaper by @evleaks also suggested that the device will come with a 1080 display.

The Samsung Galaxy S5 is also expected to pack a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor and 3GM RAM. However, the display is likely to be much better than the HTC M8 as its rumored that a super HD display with 2560x1440 resolution is in the works.

KGI analyst Ming-chi Kuo also recently predicted that the Galaxy S5 will have a fingerprint sensor much like the one that is featured on the iPhone 5S. "Fingerprint is necessary for a star model," he said. This analysis contradicted reports that Samsung will be introducing the all new iris scanning sensor to improve its security.

Kuo also predicted that we will not be seeing the metal version of the Galaxy S5 this time, despite the fact that fans have been asking it for it. The phone is claimed to feature a 2850 mAh battery and an improved 16MP camera, up from the 13MP camera sensor packed in the Galaxy S4.