Samsung Teases Launch of Next Galaxy Smartphone on February 21

Samsung has teased the reveal of its next flagship smartphones later this month, timed to coincide with the annual Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona, Spain. The major competition to Apple in the smartphone market will be using its usual “Unpacked” event to show “The Next Galaxy,” with the tease suggesting there may be more to come from the electronics producer in terms of virtual reality hardware, at the same event.

The video teaser states the event will take place on February 21 at 7pm CET (1pm EST), and will be streamed by the manufacturer’s YouTube channel. The first part of the video shows an actor putting on the Gear VR headset, indicating the smartphone could have some level of virtual reality capability similar to current top-flight Samsung smartphones, and possibly even a new Gear VR headset release.

Current rumors suggest the new phone will be called the Galaxy S7 and the Galaxy S7 edge, with PhoneArena suggesting they will have 5.1-inch and 5.5-inch displays respectively. The devices will apparently be waterproof and dust proof, have a 12-megapixel rear camera that will use a dual-pixel autofocus system, and a hybrid dual SIM slot that can be used for a second SIM card or a microSD card.

Another device rumored for launch at the event is the Gear 360. According to SamMobile, the device is a spherical camera that can capture 360-degree imagery using a pair of fisheye lenses. The camera will be able to produce an image with a resolution of 3840×1920, include typical camera settings, and connect to a smartphone over Bluetooth. If true, this may be an attempt by Samsung to allow consumers to create their own content viewable on the Gear VR.