News out of Korea today states that Samsung will launch their next-gen Galaxy S8 smartphone on April 21, while LG will launch their next-gen LG G6 on March tenth. Samsung Electronics is going to introduce the Galaxy S8 at a special event in New York on the 29th of March (U.S. time) and launch it on the 21st of April. Presale for Galaxy S8 has not been determined yet.

Samsung really needs the S8 to be a smash hit and it's expected that their usually hype about selling out in seconds will only get crazier to convince the market that they're back and ready to resume volume sales leadership.

On the flip side, Samsung is likely to play it safe this year and advance internal features while foregoing any dramatic physical changes to the current Edge design form factor.

With that said – Samsung was granted a design patent this week for a nicely curved smartphone design that actually advances their current "Edge" design with one that allows the display to wrap around to the backside as noted below. The new design makes it easier to hold while providing more display to play with for edge app icons and/or messaging. This would have been a cool design to go with and one that would have taken a fresh shift away from the iPhone-like design.

To view more angles of the Samsung smartphone design patent, especially the backside, see our Patently Mobile report here.

Some of the Features Rumored to be coming to the Galaxy S8 

Feb 9, 2017 - Samsung's new Galaxy S8 will Offer 5.7" & 6.2" Edge Displays but won't be supported by Larger Batteries

Feb 8, 2017 - Samsung's Digital Assistant for Galaxy 8 to Support 7 Languages & Samsung Talks of their First U.S. Home Appliance Plant

Jan 13, 2017 - Samsung and Apple Rumored to be Advancing the Anniversary iPhone's Water Resistance Feature to a Higher Level

Jan 5, 2017 - Samsung Ordering 10 Million Galaxy S8 Smartphones for Q1 with 10nm Processor & Possibly Free Wireless Earbuds

Jan 4, 2017 - Report Claims that Samsung will use the Controversial Samsung SDI Battery for the new Galaxy S8

Dec 21, 2016 - Rumor Claims that Google will Stop Samsung from using their own AI for their upcoming Galaxy S8 Smartphone

Dec 12, 2016 - The Latest Samsung Galaxy S8 Rumors Point to a Possible 6.2" Display with Dual Edge-Only Designs

Nov 29, 2016 - Samsung's 2017 Galaxy S8 will substantially Advance its Selfie Front-Side Camera with a Next-Gen Actuator

Nov 6, 2016 - Samsung Confirms AI is coming to the Galaxy S8 in Late February Courtesy of Viv

Oct 22, 2016 - Samsung Offers Note7 Customers the Option to get a Free Galaxy S8 in Exchange in March

Oct 18, 2016 - Samsung will Kick-Off 2017 with the World's First 10nm Processor Powering their Galaxy S8

Oct 7, 2016 - Copycat Samsung to likely Introduce Galaxy S8 in Q1 2017 with Dual Cameras and No Home Button

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