Samsung went ahead and revealed its flagship Galaxy device earlier this week, the Samsung Galaxy S3. With it, the Korean manufacturer confirmed many speculations floating around about the device and simultaneously dismissing many. While most of the rumors held true for the Samsung Galaxy S3, there was no 12-megapixel camera, 2GB RAM or ceramic case (Samsung Galaxy S3 will still use a plastic rear case just like the S2).
iPhone 5 vs Samsung Galaxy S3: Which will be first to US stores?
However what wasn’t confirmed was its release date. Now many folks believe that Samsung purposely delayed the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S3 until now so that it could manufacture sufficient units for a global launch. However that may not be the case if you look back at the Galaxy S2.
The Samsung Galaxy S2 was also revealed in May of last year, going on sale within weeks in its home country (the Galaxy S3 launch event mentioned an estimated June launch this time around). Over here in the US however, the first variant only arrived in September. It was then only until October that all top 4 major US carriers were offering their versions of the Samsung Galaxy S2. So if anything, Samsung may be right on schedule.
At the same time, Apple has gone ahead and officially confirmed that WWDC 2012 will kick off on June 11th. WWDC as we know it has been the traditional venue for launching all new iPhone models sans the 4S which came in later in the fall. So there is still the high likelihood that we could see Apple return to its traditional summer schedule and announce the iPhone 5 in June at WWDC 2012. Furthermore, the folks over at CultOfMac report that Walmart has gone ahead and slashed the price of both the iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 ($188 to $114, and $88 to $34 respectively). This happens just over a month from WWDC 2012 which coincidentally was the same scenario last year when Walmart dropped the price tag of the iPhone 4 and 3GS in September (iPhone 4S launched a month later).
The iPhone for one has been known to roll out quickly after its official announcement, usually landing in US stores within 2 and 3 weeks of the announcement. So if all holds true, we could see the iPhone 5 hit Apple Stores as early as next month, possibly jumping ahead of the Samsung Galaxy S3 unless you plan to opt for the international model when it is released.
With just over a month to go before the San Francisco event, we should begin to see clues as to what Apple has planned for WWDC 2012. Simultaneously, Samsung Mobile USA should be in a better position to give a firmer release date for the US Samsung Galaxy S3. At this time, they have setup a signup page to gauge consumer interest across all US carriers.
