According to the latest blurb, the Samsung Galaxy S8 will hit the shelves a month after its expected announcement, which is currently rumoured to be around the end of March.

Twitter tipster @ricciolo1, who has been accurate in the past, states that the Galaxy S8 will be "ready" for MWC at the end of February/beginning of March, but will not be "showcased to big public," in other words it will probably be revealed behind closed doors, likely to Samsung partners and carrier networks ahead of the full launch.

Ricciolo goes on to say that a "little bird" told him March 29 is the day to watch for an official public launch, but it will be available "w17" which we take to mean week 17 of the year, ie: the last week of April.

He also adds that it will be priced "from 849", which is belived to be €849. Of course that would be the regular 5.7in Galaxy S8 and the base model with lowest level of storage; you can expect  the higher storage models (if there are any) to cost more, and for the Galaxy S8 Plus with a 6.2in display to be more expensive still, by as much as €100 if past launches are any measure.

All of which means the Galaxy S8 series will be more expensive than its predecessors AND more expensive than the current iPhone.

"#S8 is READY & will be present to mwc,though NOT showcased to big public.. Little bird told me 3/29 , available w17, from 849 !!! #galaxyS8." - @riccilo1.

For a while it was thought the Galaxy S8 would launch some time in the middle of April with an arrival in stores in May at the latest. This was following the original rumours that the Galaxy S8 would be announced at MWC, but allegedly Samsung put the launch back in order to allow further testing, in light of the Galaxy Note 7 "explosiongate" fiasco, it's understood Samsung is being extra cautious at getting everything locked down nice and tight before releasing to the public.