Report says Galaxy S8 will be unveiled next month

The rumors concerning the launch of the Galaxy S8 continue to offer different views on the matter. Initial reports suggested that Samsung will unveil the phone at Mobile World Congress in late February. Then, newer leaks indicated that Samsung may be looking to host a special late March or early April Unpacked event for the phone in New York City. A story last week claimed that April 18th would be the launch date for the handset.

A new leak now claims the phone is still on track for a mid-April launch, but Samsung could still announce i“There is a possibility of the S8 phones being showcased a month or two ahead of the actual release date,” a source familiar with the matter told The Investor. That would mean Samsung could bring the Galaxy S8 at MWC, as it has done with the Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S7 in previous years.

But mass production is still expected to begin in March when Samsung will roll out 5 million units, the report notes.

“As the release date of the S8 has been postponed to mid-April, Samsung seems to have set a more ambitious goal than before to make up for the loss caused by the Note model, which has so far led Samsung’s smartphone business every first quarter,” a second source said.

Samsung aims to sell more Galaxy S8 units than its most recent predecessors, having a 60 million units goal for the handset. The company sold 45 million Galaxy S6 and 48 million Galaxy S7 units in 2015 and 2016, respectively. Before that, Samsung sold 65 million Galaxy S3 units and 70 million Galaxy S4 units. The Galaxy S5 marked a significant drop in sales, with Samsung only selling some 45 million units in 2014.

“The tech giant has requested its partners to supply (parts) based on the tech giant’s 60 million shipment goal,” a different source told The Investor in a separate story.t at MWC.

One of the most interesting rumored features of the Galaxy S8 is a Samsung-owned virtual assistant. After all, previous Galaxy S generations always had access to Google’s Google Now voice-based assistant, but Samsung is going to do things a little differently this year. And the company accidentally confirmed that its virtual assistant is indeed in the works.

Samsung put on its website images that indicate Bixby will support Samsung Pay payments. Bixby is what the virtual assistant will be called, according to previous leaks that include trademark applications from Samsung.

Bixby is based on the technology developed by Viv, a company that Samsung acquired a few months ago. Viv was founded by two of the people who created Siri for the iPhone a few years ago.

As SamMobile points out, Bixby will let users send money to friends and family. You’ll be able to say things like “Bixby, send $30 to Carlos,” and the assistant should complete the request.

Samsung may have confirmed that Bixby is indeed in the works, and will be integrated with Samsung Pay in the future, but the company never mentioned the Galaxy S8.

Still, it’s very likely that a feature as important as a virtual assistant would be introduced together with a brand new flagship handset. The Galaxy S8 is the next major phone coming out of Samsung factories. A recent report indicated the handset might be launched at MWC, although it would only ship to buyers in mid-April.

It’s also very likely that Bixby will be available on older Galaxy S and Note flagships that will be updated to Samsung’s latest Android Nougat-based operating system. But tha