Samsung Electronics Co. will unveil its 10th anniversary flagship Galaxy S label in mid-February, a week earlier than expected as a kind of curtain-raiser for its much-anticipated foldable handset.

The Korean electronics giant has sent out invites to 3,000 global partners and media officials for the unpacked event of the Galaxy S10 series to take place on Feb. 20 at 11:00 a.m. local time at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco. A parallel event will run in London the same day.

This is Samsung Electronics’ first unpacked launch in San Francisco, the home ground of its archrival Apple Inc. The standalone show was scheduled a few days before the Mobile World Congress (MWC) being held Feb. 25-28 in Barcelona, a usual venue for the unpacking of Galaxy S releases.

As its 10th anniversary model, the Galaxy S10 is expected to come in three variants: a standard 6.1-inch S10, a premium 6.4-inch S10 Plus, and an entry-level 5.8-inch phone to be called S10 Lite or S10 E. Following the release of the three models in March, a fourth version backed by the latest 5G network will come out later in spring, sources said.

The standard model would be equipped with a dual rear camera and a single front camera, while the premium model would come with three cameras on the back and two in front. The 5G model is said to have four cameras in the rear.

The two high-end versions would be embedded with Qualcomm’s in-display ultrasonic fingerprint sensors that are reportedly more capable of reading wet or dirty fingers. There were also hints of gradient color schemes for the new lineup.

Industry observers speculate Samsung Electronics may have moved up the unveiling date to use the MWC stage as a showcase for its much-awaited foldable display handset, one of the most ambitious releases for 2019. The company gave its business partners a sneak peek of the new gadget in a closed-door session this week at the CES tech show in Las Vegas.

By Shin Chan-ok and Kim Hyo-jin

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