Numerous reports have suggested that sales of Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S4 have fallen well short of the company’s internal projections, and Samsung might not be confident that its universally panned smartwatch and new curiously curved smartphone can pick up the slack. According to a recent report from South Korean news site Naver, Samsung plans to launch its next-generation flagship Galaxy S5 smartphone well ahead of schedule. The site claims the phone could be unveiled as soon as January 2014 ahead of a release in February. Samsung’s Galaxy S III and Galaxy S4 each debuted in the second quarter.

Naver says Samsung is rushing the phone out because Galaxy S4 sales have been weak, and the company hopes the various new technologies in the Galaxy S5 will help turn the slump around. Of course, Samsung just posted record-shattering unaudited third-quarter earnings that included at least $9.2 billion in operating profit, and Galaxy S4 sales certainly had a lot to do with the company’s monster quarter.

The report also makes mention of a 64-bit, eight-core Exynos processor for the Galaxy S5, as well as a 16-megapixel camera with optical image stabilization. Earlier reports suggested that the Galaxy S5 might finally feature a metal housing in place of the flimsy-feeling plastics Samsung typically uses, which would absolutely be a welcome change.





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