The rumours that Samsung will release its upcoming Galaxy S24 slightly earlier than normal are stacking up.
As Forbes reports, Korean publication The Elec (via SamMobile) has claimed that Samsung’s next flagship will be announced on January 17th 2024, with the device line-up being available to pre-order the next day. The Galaxy unpacked event will also be held in San Jose, California. The report states that the thought process behind an earlier launch date is to improve sales in the first half of next year. Unsurprisingly, Samsung will unveil the Galaxy S24, S24 Plus and Galaxy S24 Ultra at the launch event.
This isn’t the first piece of news pointing towards a January release. Last month, sources speaking with SamMobile claimed that the new device will be unveiled in “early to mid-January”, which was backed up by tipster Ice Universe, who said that the Galaxy S24 series had entered mass production.
And just last week, more information suggesting that Samsung is targeting an early January launch surfaced. As spotted by 91 Mobiles, a handset with the model number SM-S928B/DS popped up on the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) website. Companies selling consumer products in India have to have their goods certified first, which appears to be the case for this Samsung device.
91 Mobiles explains that model number is likely the Galaxy S24 because the Galaxy S23 has a similar model number: SM-S918B/DS. No other information is provided, apart from the model number of another unknown device. But BIS certification typically happens a few weeks before a product is sold, 91 Mobiles explains. That lines up with the several leaks that have all pointed towards a January release date.
The last flagship Galaxy S phone to land this early was the S21, which was announced on the 14th and released on January 29th. The Elec claims that buyers could be booting up their S24 as early as January 26th, which would be one of the earliest releases in recent Samsung history. The S22 series landed in February last year, while the Galaxy S20 was announced in February and was available to buy on March 6th. The Galaxy S10 had a similar launch schedule, releasing on March 8th 2019.
Elsewhere, Android Authority discovered some code in the Snapchat app that suggests Galaxy S24 owners will be allowed to add a direct shortcut to the app on the phone’s lock screen. Another app deep dive showed that the Instagram app will have the same ability on the Galaxy S24. This is important because it bypasses a step (unlocking your phone) to access select apps, which is normally limited to default apps and not third party services.
We’ll know if that date and location are accurate in the coming weeks, but given the number of recent leaks, it does seem likely that Samsung is targeting an earlier release. The company is also looking to add new AI skills to the Galaxy S24 range.
A new feature named “Live Translate Call”, that seems destined for the Galaxy S24, will automatically translate calls, in real time, directly through the native phone app. Samsung has also developed its own generative AI model, called Gauss, that can edit and create images, summarize documents and act as a coding assistant.
How that all boils down into user friendly functionality remains to be seen. But Samsung seems to be thinking about precisely how it will bake advanced AI tools in to day-to-day apps, with Live Translate Call being a solid example of bridging that gap. If the company has more of this up its sleeve, it will both solve a long-standing feature-bloat issue with its phones and challenge Google’s AI-laden Pixel 8.
We’ll know more if, or when the Galaxy S24 lands next month.
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