As expected, Samsung Electronic Co. Ltd.’s latest flagship smartphone the Galaxy S7 is coming in February. But now we finally have a confirmed date and time.

Samsung has sent out invites to a new “Unpacked” event scheduled for Sunday, February 21st at 7 pm Central European Time (1 pm EST) in Barcelona in Spain, and just prior to the beginning of the annual Mobile World Congress which begins on the 22nd.

It’s expected that Samsung will launch either two or three phones at the event; the new Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge, and possibly a new larger Galaxy S7 Edge+ as well.

Just for something different however, a teaser video released by the company along with the invite hints that perhaps there might be something unexpected at the event, particularly given that it shows someone staring at a cube through the Samsung Gear virtual reality headset.

Specifications

There has been no shortage of leaks in the lead up to the launch so we already have a reasonably good idea of what to expect with both the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge.

The biggest changes to the Samsung Galaxy S7 will be the inclusion of a pressure-sensitive display similar to that offered by Apple, Inc.’s 3D Touch on the iPhone 6s, along with a new high-speed charging port that is said to allow for a full day’s charge in under 30 minutes and, in some cases, significantly faster than that.

A retina scanner may also be included with some versions of the Galaxy S7 and would deliver biometric authentication, literally scanning a person’s retina to confirm that they are authorized to use the phone and would, in theory, negate the need to support fingerprint scanning.

Screen wise, the new flagship is believed to be shipping with a 5.7-inch screen, but the camera is believed to be being downgraded from the 16-megapixel camera in the S6 to 12.2-megapixels, but instead will be shipping with Samsung’s Britecell sensor which is said to deliver superior picture quality despite the smaller pixel count.

Other changes are said to include the welcome reintroduction of support for a microSIM card, although this will be offset by the fact that Samsung is likely to drop support for MicroUSB charging with the implementation of the USB Type-C plug instead, the newer USB charger which is quickly appearing on phones rolled out by their many competitors.

If you can’t make it to Barcelona for the launch the event will likely be streamed online, or stay tuned to SiliconANGLE for all the latest Samsung news from Mobile World Congress as it breaks.

Image credit: janitors/Flickr/CC by 2.0