Samsung is set to announce the Galaxy S IV, its next-generation Android flagship, on March 15 — before it goes on sale in early April. That’s according to a “trusted insider,” who claims the location of Samsung’s Unpacked event is still “top-secret.” Invitations will reportedly go out to the press just after Mobile World Congress at the end of this month.

We knew Samsung wouldn’t be unveiling the Galaxy S IV at MWC this year; the company now holds dedicated press events to launch its bigger products — and they don’t get much bigger than the Galaxy S IV. But we had no idea when it would be unveiling the device.

No we do, thanks to a trusted insider for SamMobile, who claims March 15 is the big date. Invitations are to go out to the press shortly after MWC, and the handset is then expected to launch in Europe and Asia in early April, before making its way to North America, Australia, and Africa in May and June.

We’re unable to confirm this, of course, so take this with a pinch of salt until those invitations actually begin doing the rounds. Having said that, SamMobile has a good track record with Samsung rumors, and its sources regularly provide accurate information regarding future releases.

The Galaxy S IV will follow Samsung’s hugely successful Galaxy S III, which has sold more than 40 million units worldwide since it went on sale last May. It has big shoes to fill, then, but it’ll have no problem doing that if its rumored specifications are anything to go by.

The device is expected to be the first to offer Samsung’s eight-core Exynos 5 Octa processor, with an eight-core Mali-T658 GPU. Other rumored internals include 2GB of RAM, a 4.99-inch Super AMOLED processor with a 1080p resolution, a 13-megapixel rear-facing camera, and a 2-megapixel front-facing camera.

We’ve already seen purported images of the Galaxy S IV, but again, it’s hard to tell whether these are indeed genuine until the device is actually announced. With major handsets like this, fan-made mockups aren’t uncommon.

• SourceSamMobile