Confirmed: Samsung will not unveil the Galaxy S8 at MWC 2017

Samsung just told the world exactly what happened to the Galaxy Note 7 (spoiler: the battery). On the sidelines of the press conference, the company also confirmed that we would have to wait a little more than usual to meet the next Galaxy.

DJ Koh, the head of Samsung’s mobile business, confirmed to Reuters that the Galaxy S8 will not be unveiled at MWC 2017 next month.

It’s the first time in four years when Samsung does not launch its flagship phone in Barcelona. The Galaxy S7, Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S5 all debuted at MWC, while the Galaxy S4 was introduced at a standalone event in New York.

Koh did not provide any hints about the actual release date of the Galaxy S8. Multiple rumors, however, suggest that the S8 would be launched in mid-April, possibly in New York. A couple of rumors claimed Samsung would have a kind of soft launch at MWC, but those stories didn’t make much sense in the first place.

The stakes are massive for Samsung. Coming from the PR disaster that was the Note 7 recall, the company needs to make customers forget they ever worried about the quality of Samsung phones. The best way to do that is a flashy new device and it looks like that’s exactly what we’re getting with the Galaxy S8. Rumors point to big changes in design, including the removal of the iconic home button, as well as a rich feature set and powerful specs.

Check out our rumor roundup for more details on the likely Samsung Galaxy S8 release date, and let us know what you think about this delay in its launch!