It is already expected that Samsung will come out with a new flagship early next year. However, speculations suggest that the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S8 will debut as early as February.

According to Phone Arena, Samsung has been in the habit of announcing its flagship Galaxy S-series handsets a day before the annual Mobile World Congress. The South Korea-based tech giant has followed this timeline beginning with the Galaxy S5, which was announced on Feb. 24, 2014. Meanwhile, the previous-generation Galaxy S6 debuted at the 2015 MWC event, although it was officially unveiled on March 1, a day before the event officially commenced. The current Galaxy S7 lineup appeared on Feb. 21 this year, earlier than the Feb. 22–25 schedule for the 2016 MWC.

The industry follower surmises that Samsung will not be breaking this timeline, and the Galaxy S8 will be announced on Feb. 26. The date is based on next year's MWC schedule. The 2017 Mobile World Congress is slated on Feb. 27 to March 2, 2017.

However, it remains as an educated guess, owing to the recent woes of Samsung flagships. The company's latest iteration, the Galaxy Note 7, has had battery issues that prompted the tech giant to recall millions of units. With the Galaxy Note 7 enjoying another jump start on its market cycle, it remains unclear if this will have an impact on other flagship releases. Due to the recall, Samsung may think of adjusting its flagship launch timeline next year, starting with the Galaxy S8.

Meanwhile, though Samsung has yet to confirm details about its next flagship offering, speculations have already surfaced online about the Galaxy S8. Rumor has it that the new lineup will only be released in Edge variants, with the curved display having 5.1-inch and 5.7-inch versions. There are also talks of the new flagship being fitted with a dual camera setup.