Tech: Samsung will release its Galaxy S9 in February

Samsung has confirmed its Galaxy S9 smartphone will be announced in February during Mobile World Congress.
The manufacturer will share details about when the smartphone will be available to consumers at the launch event.

Samsung also indicated the Galaxy S9 will see updates to the Bixby AI software.

The Samsung Galaxy S9 will be unveiled in late February, during Mobile World Congress (MWC), according to Samsung Mobile CEO DJ Koh.

Rumors previously suggested Samsung might unveil its 2018 flagship smartphone during the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), which is currently taking place in Las Vegas; however, the manufacturer refuted the claim at a press conference during the convention this week.

Samsung will reveal the official release date for the Galaxy S9 during its February launch event at Mobile World Congress. The smartphone is expected to go on sale in March.

Prior to Samsung's announcement, the release timeline for the Galaxy S9 was up in the air. Samsung announced its previous S-series smartphone, the Galaxy S8, at a standalone event in New York in late March 2017 — but that was mainly because it was the first smartphone Samsung launched after the Galaxy Note 7 discontinuation. The Galaxy S8's launch was delayed due to Samsung implementing a new safety-testing protocol to ensure its batteries were safe.

Choosing to unveil the new Galaxy phone at MWC, which is the plan this year, is more in step with Samsung's usual launch cycle. The Galaxy S5, Galaxy S6, and Galaxy S7 were all announced during the convention, which takes place in Barcelona.

Based on what we've heard so far, it doesn't sound like the Galaxy S9 will have many major updates. Koh detailed that consumers can expect updates to Samsung's AI assistant, Bixby, especially to its user interface. Rumors currently suggest the device may have a design similar to the Galaxy S8, with some small tweaks to the camera and rear fingerprint scanner placements. The Galaxy S9 is also expected to include Samsung's Exynos 9810 chip, which may bring features similar to Apple's Face ID and Animoji, which are found on the iPhone X. Other reports suggest Samsung may increase the amount of internal storage included in the Galaxy S9.