New leak points to release dates for Samsung Galaxy S8 and LG G6

It’s getting to be that time of year when the big Android device makers release their flagship phones in quick succession. Hometown South Korean rivals Samsung and LG have been duking it out in recent years with near-simultaneous releases, but this time LG may have a few weeks all to itself. A leak from ETNews claims to have release dates for the LG G6 and the Galaxy S8.

LG took it on the chin in 2016 when consumers didn’t get on-board with its modular design, leading to substantial losses in the company’s mobile division. After a reorganization, the LG V20 was tweaked to offer a more premium feel and no module chin in late 2016. Now, the LG G6 is on the way. It’s been thoroughly leaked, and an announcement is expected at Mobile World Congress in a few days.

According to the new report, LG will make the G6 available on March 10th following a week of pre-orders. This may be a global launch or the launch date in South Korea. The G6 will have an unusual 5.7-inch screen with a resolution of 1440 x 2880 pixels. That works out to an 18:9 ratio, making it noticeably taller than a comparable 5.7-inch screen (measured diagonally). This could be better for split-screen multitasking and video, but the display also has rounded corners. I don’t know if everyone will be into that.

The alleged Galaxy S8.

LG is not alone in adopting a corner-less screen. Samsung is expected to do something similar with the Galaxy S8, but it will also curve down at the edges. That could make the rounded corners look less abrupt. Samsung won’t be announcing the GS8 at Mobile World Congress. This phone will launch a little later on April 14th in South Korea and April 21st everywhere else.

LG will have a chance to get some sales before the Galaxy S8 is official, which is expected to happen on March 29th. However, Samsung’s phone will launch with one potentially huge advantage. It will be the first phone with a Snapdragon 835 SoC. Samsung has reportedly bought up the entire first run of chips from Qualcomm, so the G6 will ship with the Snapdragon 821. That’s the same SoC used in the Google Pixel and upcoming HTC U Ultra.

Samsung has been growing its sales in the last few years since it changed its design priorities following poor sales of the Galaxy S5. The Note 7 fiasco definitely hurt Samsung, but the GS8 could get it back on track. LG has been struggling, even though most of its phones have been competent. Hopefully the G6 is more competitive, because a head start of a few weeks won’t be enough to turn it around.