New images of Samsung Galaxy S IV leaked

As it's one of the most anticipated devices in recent times, it's no surprise that rumours about the Samsung Galaxy S IV keep popping up. According to SamMobile, a picture of the device has been leaked some blessed soul from Samsung. While the legitimacy of the picture is up for debate, it is very likely that this is the next device in the Galaxy S series.

The new phone is set to feature a much thinner bezel along with a bigger screen. Also notable is the lack of buttons on the front face. This points to Samsung finally making the shift towards on-screen buttons. Overall, the design is very reminiscent of the Galaxy S III and the Galaxy Premier, with a greater focus on curves at the corners. Without an official statement by Samsung, though, this could be just a fake picture.

Follows a design similar to that of the S III and the Premier

However, an official statement may not be that far off, as a Korean member of SamMobile has posted a picture of a Samsung Mobile Unpacked 2013 invitation. Going by the picture, Samsung may finally announce the phone during the event, which is set to be held on March 4, 2013, at Pyeongchang, Korea. Once again, due to lack of information from Samsung, the legitimacy of the invitation is debatable.

Only yesterday did we find out that the Galaxy S IV would not be launched before May 2013. However, since almost all the devices in the Galaxy S line have been launched around the April - June period, we expect the S IV to be announced some time in May.

The invitation could be a fake, but it could also be real

It is very likely that the company will want to emulate the success of the Galaxy S III, which was launched in May last year. All everyone is waiting for now is the announcement of the phone. But thanks to the success of the SIII and the Note II, it may be quite some time before the company makes an announcement. While rumours point towards an announcement during CES, it is far more likely that the announcement will come at a later date, as Samsung seems to be focusing on showcasing displays at the event.

Rumours are all over the place about what the next phone by Samsung will be like, and one of these suggests that the device will have an unbreakable screen. The South Korean giant has been a popular name in the development of displays. Mark Newman, an analyst with Stanford Bernstein, stated that Samsung will eventually go for unbreakable and flexible displays. "Either the Galaxy S IV or S V will have unbreakable and even possibly flexible and foldable displays by 2014. That's going to be a game-changer."

UBS analyst Nicolas Gaudois stated, "Looking to the first half of 2013, we see evidence of Samsung likely accelerating the release of the Galaxy S IV - compared with May (this year) for the Galaxy S III. We believe preparations for volume manufacturing of unbreakable plastic substrate displays continue. All in all, we could see a strong products push in the high-end in the first half, followed by other releases."

The rumoured specifications of the Galaxy S IV include an Exynos 5450 Quad-Core CPU clocked at 2.0 GHz, a Mali-T658 GPU, 2GB of RAM, a 4.99-inch Super AMOLED screen with a resolution of 1080 x 1920 pixels, a 13 megapixel rear camera, and a 2 megapixel front-facing camera. The device is rumoured to come out of the box with Android 4.2.1.