S8 Release Date

Samsung Galaxy S8: release date and everything you should know

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The latest leaks point to a QHD screen with no home button, while Samsung itself has confirmed the inclusion of a potentially very powerful AI assistant. There's also talk that the launch of the S8 could be delayed, but not all sources agree.

The Samsung Galaxy S7 was almost everything we hoped for, with improvements throughout leading it to be one of the most powerful, stylish and all round accomplished smartphones on the market.

But there's still room for improvement and it's low on innovation, so we have a wish list for what we want to see from the Samsung Galaxy S8. We'd also love to hear what you think, so let us know in the comments below and we'll furiously email them to Samsung.

The phone won't be launching for a long time yet, but that just means Samsung should have time to implement some of our suggestions. Here's hoping it listens.

We're also collecting all the rumors and news about the phone, along with our own educated guesses, so read on for all the latest on Samsung's upcoming flagship.

Cut to the chase

• What is it? Samsung's next flagship smartphone
• When is it out? Early 2017
• What will it cost? Maybe around $850 (roughly £655/AU$1120)

Samsung Galaxy S8 release date

Hottest leaks:

• A February 26 announcement
• An earlier launch than usual
• ...or it could be delayed until April

The Samsung Galaxy S8 is certain to launch in early 2017, since the beginning of the year is typically when Samsung rolls out its new flagships.

The last couple of years the brand has shown off the phone the day before Mobile World Congress starts, with MWC 2017 set to kick off on 27 February... meaning a Galaxy S8 release date of February 26.

That exact date has now been rumored by @Ricciolo1, who accurately leaked the launch date of the Galaxy S7, so it's looking likely.

In terms of when you'll be able to fondle it for the first time, expect a two week wait - so March 13 is our best guess there. Though one leak talks about an April release date, so the wait could be longer than usual.

That said, there's some analyst speculation that Samsung might bring the release forward, in order to minimize the impact of having to kill the Samsung Galaxy Note 7. They don't suggest just how far forward the release would be brought, but the S7 is very unlikely to arrive before the beginning of 2017.

On the other hand the launch could also be pushed back, as Samsung has apparently delayed development of the phone by two weeks, while it investigates the cause of the Note 7's overheating problem.

We've also now heard that the launch could be pushed back until April, though according to sources speaking to The Investor full volume shipments of the S8 will start in February, meaning a February announcement and March arrival should still be possible.