Well-timed rumors that the Samsung Galaxy S4 is being prepped for MWC 2013 appear

Rumors of the Samsung Galaxy S4 suggest an increase to a 5-inch screen size and an MWC 2013 release date.

There’s nothing like a good rumor to get the week started and this time it’s a big one, as it concerns the follow-up to the current darling of the Android world, the Samsung Galaxy S3.

According to a report in the Korea Times, Samsung is readying the Galaxy S4 for launch during Mobile World Congress next year, before going on sale in March.

The quote comes from an unnamed Samsung official, who adds that the next Galaxy flagship will have a similar design to the S3 — keeping its “popular rectangular shape with rounded corners,” but potentially increasing the screen size again, this time to 5-inches.

A quad-core Exynos processor will power the device, Android will be the operating system, and it will support 4G LTE networks all over the world. The article makes particular mention of Europe here, where 4G is beginning to become more widespread, plus the UK will hold its 4G spectrum auction early next year too.

The report continues to say that Samsung is still considering using its flexible screen technology for the S4, but hasn’t made a final decision, although talk of production problems make it sound unlikely.

To counter Apple and the release of the iPhone 5, Samsung has already struck out with set of provocative newspaper adverts, and the timing of this leak couldn’t be better either.

Is it true?

Samsung is almost certainly working on a follow-up to the Galaxy S3, and it could well be named the Galaxy S4, but what about the rest of the report’s speculation? It’s equally as likely to use another Exynos processor in the S4, but whether this will be another quad-core chip, or the Exynos 5 Dual with its high resolution screen support, isn’t quite so clear cut.

Android and 4G LTE are also obvious features, while a push to a 5-inch screen isn’t that unlikely either. Remember, the S3 and the Galaxy Note 2 aren’t that much larger than their predecessors, despite the respective increase in screen size.

What doesn’t sound right is the Mobile World Congress unveiling. Samsung made a very big deal out of the S3’s launch in May, deliberately moving the release from February’s Mobile World Congress to a separate event later in the year. It worked really well and anticipation quickly built to fever pitch, while the glitzy event captured plenty of headlines, so we doubt Samsung would decide against doing the same thing again next year.

A March 2013 release would also see the S4 go on sale less than a year into the S3’s life, which seems very early for such a capable device.

But then, accuracy isn’t the point of this leak, it’s about letting everybody know that Samsung is hard at work on the next big thing, and not to be distracted by shiny offerings from the competition.