Samsung Galaxy S5 not flying solo to MWC, Galaxy Tab 4 and Gear 2 also coming

BY Adrian Diaconescu

Published 13 Feb 2014

Samsung-Galaxy-Gear

Samsung wasn’t exactly subtle in teasing Galaxy S5’s announcement for the opening day of Barcelona’s Mobile World Congress – February 24 – but apparently the “Unpacked 5” event won’t only be about the company’s next generation flagship phone.

Rumors of an entire line of Galaxy Tab 4 slates have been floating around for a few weeks, reaching their peak yesterday, when credible sets of specs leaked out. And reports out of Asia now peg the trio’s intro for MWC’s debut.

ZDNet Korea’s mystery “local sources” pinpoint the Tab 4 series as consisting of 7, 8 and 10.1 inch models, just like other insiders, claiming the target will be business clients. The publication even goes so far as to back some of the existing hardware and software gossip, adding credence to the tablets’ 1.2 GHz quad-core SoCs and pre-loaded Android 4.4 KitKat.

But wait, there’s more. The same tipsters told ZDNet a Galaxy Gear 2 smartwatch will be unveiled at MWC as well, complete with a flexible OLED display. Little else is known about the wearable gizmo at this time, though Samsung officials suggested at one point Galaxy Gear sequels and rehashes may be capable of performing certain tasks independently, as opposed to relying heavily on interaction with smartphones.

Since the first generation Gear landed less than five months ago, it’s a tad surprising to hear a follow-up is already so close to a commercial release. For comparison, Galaxy Tab 4’s predecessors are roughly eight months old, whereas the Galaxy S4 is nearing a year. But look at sales numbers, and you’ll understand.