Samsung event in August portends new smartphone launch

The South Korean company announced Tuesday the "Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2015" event on Aug. 13 at the Lincoln Center in New York, but did not provide further details. The company launched its flagship Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge smartphones at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in March.

Samsung plans to launch a larger version of the Galaxy S6 edge curved smartphone at the August event, according to The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter.

The Galaxy S6 edge plus will have all the features of Samsung's flagship device, in the larger-size format offered by the Galaxy Note series, according to the newspaper. The report appears to confirm earlier accounts that the company would introduce in August a new version of its flagship Galaxy S6 edge, besides the Galaxy Note 5 combination phone and tablet, popularly referred to as a phablet.

Samsung did not immediately comment.

The Galaxy S6 and S6 edge met with mixed results in the second quarter of this year as supply of the edge models could not meet demand, IDC said last week. The research firm said all eyes would be on the early release of the Note 5 and the rumored S6 edge plus, expected in August.

The shortage of the Galaxy S6 edge is expected to hit the company's earnings, scheduled to be announced Thursday. Samsung said earlier this month that it anticipates reporting lower than expected earnings for the second quarter.

Operating profit for the quarter is expected to be around 6.9 trillion won (US$6.1 billion), short of the 7.2 trillion won analysts were expecting. Sales were estimated at 48 trillion won, below the 53 trillion won analysts had forecast.

Samsung's August event may also include the release of its first smartwatch in about a year, and a strong push in the payments market, according to WSJ. The Note 5 will be powered by Samsung's in-house Exynos processor chips, it added.