Editors' Note: Samsung has set a date for Galaxy Unpacked 2024 — the event, which will likely include the Galaxy S24 launch, takes place on January 17, 2024. We've got a guide on how to live stream Galaxy Unpacked. Our original report on Galaxy S24 release date rumors follows.
The Samsung Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24 Ultra will be here before you know it — quite literally, if some of the rumors about Samsung's plans for next years flagship are anything to go by.
While the latest Galaxy S phone is often thought of as a spring release, in recent years, that launch has come earlier and earlier. Maybe it's because Samsung wants to start the new year off with a bang or it wants to make people forget about the latest iPhone — or maybe for both of those reasons — but it's hard not to notice that Samsung's first big smartphone launch of the year has been inching forward in the calendar. And a growing number of rumors suggest tht the Galaxy S24 will continue that trend.
Here's what we know so far about a potential Galaxy S24 release date, guided by both rumors and what Samsung's done with past phone launches.
Samsung Galaxy S24 release date: What Samsung's done previously
It used to be pretty easy to time a Galaxy S announcement — just look on a calendar when Mobile World Congress was taking place and assume that Samsung would hold a press event during the global smartphone trade show. From 2014 through 2018, Samsung announced its new Galaxy phone at four of the five MWCs taking place in that span; the lone exception was 2017's Galaxy S8 launch.
Starting with the Galaxy S10 launch in 2019, though, Samsung began moving its phone launches earlier on the calendar. For the most part, that's meant a launch event in February, though on one occasion, the Galaxy S made an even earlier debut. In 2021, Samsung's Galaxy Unpacked event for the Galaxy S21 took place on January 14 — keep in mind that was in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
| Galaxy S model | Date announced | Ship date |
| Samsung Galaxy S23 | February 1, 2023 | February 17, 2023 |
| Samsung Galaxy S22 | February 8, 2022 | February 25, 2022 |
| Samsung Galaxy S21 | January 14, 2021 | January 29, 2021 |
| Samsung Galaxy S20 | February 11, 2020 | March 8, 2020 |
| Samsung Galaxy S10 | February 20, 2019 | March 6, 2019 |
| Samsung Galaxy S9 | February 25, 2018 | March 16, 2018 |
| Samsung Galaxy S8 | March 29, 2017 | April 21, 2017 |
| Samsung Galaxy S7 | February 21, 2016 | March 11, 2016 |
| Samsung Galaxy S6 | March 1, 2015 | April 10, 2015 |
| Samsung Galaxy S4 | February 24, 2014 | April 11, 2014 |
Most recently, the Galaxy S23 lineup made its debut on February 1 at an in-person event in San Francisco. That's the second earliest we've ever seen Samsung's flagship.
Actual release dates — when Samsung's phones start appearing on retail shelves — are also all over the map. The latest a Galaxy flagship has ever shipped was the Galaxy S8, which didn't land in users' hands until April 21, 2017 — nearly a month after Samsung's launch event.
In recent years, Samsung has tightened up the gap between when it announces a phone and when it ships. Earlier this year, the Galaxy S23 became available on February 17, a little more than two weeks after the Galaxy Unpacked event.
Samsung Galaxy S24 release date: What the rumors say
It's clear that Samsung has stopped treating the Galaxy S as a spring release, and rumors strong suggest that's going to continue with the Galaxy S24 release. We're expecting to see three models — the Galaxy S24 Ultra and Galaxy S24 Plus should join the standard flagship — with a release in early 2024.
And "early" is turning out to be more accurate than we realized. After early rumors of a January launch window for the Galaxy S24, more definitive rumors have since emerged. Korean publication The Elec published a firm date for Galaxy Unpacked 2024 and the anticipated Galaxy S24 launch, with an estimated date of the Galaxy S24's release on January 17. The event would be held in San Jose, Calif., The Elec reports.
Under this scenario, pre-orders would begin on January 19, with the new phones hitting store shelves on January 30. That last date would fall on a Tuesday, an odd day for phone releases. We'd expect a January 26 release date is more likely if the January 17 launch is a go.
That January 17 date has been backed by other leakers, and the most concrete evidence to date comes from Evan Blass, who has a strong reputation when it comes to information about Samsung's smartphone plans. While sharing rumored Galaxy S24 specs, Blass also posted a link to a countdown timer that shows an announcement date of January 18 at 3 a.m. KST — that would be 1 p.m. EST / 10 a.m. PST on January 17.
Samsung Galaxy S24 release date: What we think
A January 2024 launch for the Galaxy S24 would certainly be keeping with Samsung's recent strategy of moving up its Galaxy S releases. That said, there are certain periods during the month that don't make a lot of sense for a phone event.
CES 2024 is slated to begin on Tuesday, January 9, and run through the rest of the week. Unless Samsung's planning an Unpacked event to conicide with the tech trade show, you'd figure that samsung would look elsewhere on the calendar.
The following week features the Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday in the U.S. That falls on Monday, January 15, and while that wouldn't preclude Samsung from scheduling an Unpacked on either the following Tuesday or Wednesday, you'd imagine Samsung would want to avoid losing a day of event prep time to a national holiday.
Still, there's enough evidence of a January 17 event to suggest that Samsung will indeed show off its new phones then. While evidence of a later date could subsequently emerge, we'd suggest keeping the week of January 15 clear if you're interested in Samsung's next big product announcement.
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