Samsung Electronics has finally set the formal launch date for the next-generation Galaxy S-series flagship smartphone. As expected, the company will officially unveil the long-awaited Galaxy S IV on March 14, 2013, at a special UnPacked media event. At present it is unclear when does the company plan to begin shipments of the novelty, but earlier it was reported that the smartphone is on-track for April release.

Samsung Galaxy S-series smartphones have proved to be the most successful rivals for Apple’s popular iPhone smartphones. Only Galaxy S-series handsets can sell in quantities that exceed tens of millions of units, considerably higher than the so-called iPhone competitors from some other companies. While actual shipments of Samsung Galaxy S III have been considerably lower compared to sales of iPhone 4S and then iPhone 5, the fourth incarnation of Samsung Galaxy S is expected to considerably close the gap with Apple’s flagship smartphone as Samsung reportedly wants to sell as many as 100 million of its flagship Google Android-based handsets in about a year after the launch.

Even though many expect Samsung Galaxy S IV to become a breakthrough, it may end up being not revolutionary at all. Samsung has reportedly decided to use Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 APQ8064T application processor (quad-core Qualcomm Krait 300 microprocessor, Adreno 320 graphics core, 32-bit dual-channel LPDDR3 memory controller, Bluetooth 4.0, Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, no baseband/modem) for its new flagship, not multi-core Exynos chip with eight ARM Cortex-A7 and A15 cores, as it was initially expected. Moreover, Samsung Galaxy S IV will utilize full-HD (1920*1080) 4.99” LCD display with SoLux backlighting, but not Super AMOLED+ or bendable OLED as expected a while ago.

While Samsung Galaxy S IV may not be as revolutionary as originally expected, it will still be powerful, as, according to the report, it will feature 2GB of LPDDR3 RAM, 13MP camera and 16GB, 32GB or 64GB of storage. The phone is projected to be made of plastic and aluminum as well as feature removable battery. The handset is expected to be available in white and black.

Samsung did not comment on the specifications of the product or the shipments plans.

Tags: Samsung, Galaxy, Google, Android, Exynos, Qualcomm, Krait, Adreno, Snapdragon, 28nm, TSMC