Samsung CONFIRMS MWC launch date with mysterious new invite

Samsung has officially confirmed it will be launching a new Galaxy product this month.

The company sent out invitations to a media event in Barcelona, hours before the start of the Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona.

The event could see Samsung unveil several new devices – including a new powerful Android tablet – but almost certainly won’t be the launch for the highly-anticipated Galaxy S8 smartphone.

The invite gives little away about the event or what it may involve – other than that it is to be held at the Palau de Congressos de Catalunya, Barcelona, and will be starting at 7pm CET (6pm GMT).

A black background is dominated by the words Samsung and Galaxy, with the only image appearing to show the bottom of a new device.

Given the resemblance to its existing product, this is most likely the rumoured Galaxy Tab S3 tablet, which Samsung had been widely expected to launch at the show.

The image shows what looks like the lower end of the tablet, with a significant-sized bezel and a physical home button, much like the previous Galaxy Tab S2 device.

Samsung has not updated its rival for the iPad Pro for some time, meaning that a refresh for the Galaxy Tab S3 seems sensible as it looks to take on the likes of Apple in the premium tablet market.

The company had until now held back on its plans for Mobile World Congress following the decision to delay the release of its new Galaxy S8 smartphone.

Samsung was originally expected to reveal the flagship smartphone at MWC 2017, as it had done with the last two generations of its flagship mobile device.

The company typically dominates the Sunday before the show, but is now set to reveal its new smartphone at an event on March 29th, reports claimed this week.

The Samsung Galaxy S8 is rumoured to boast a number of upgrades over its predecessor – including a dramatic new design, 4GB of RAM, faster Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor, and dual-camera set-up on the larger Galaxy S8 Plus model.

But the Samsung Galaxy S8 could also feature a major design overhaul.

The company is rumoured to be dropping all physical buttons from the front of the device.