Over the last few months we’ve seen all manner of rumors and leaks pertaining to the Galaxy S III, Samsung’s next flagship phone that’s becoming infamous out of its sheer elusiveness. But the latest photo to claim legitimacy is the most promising that we’ve sen yet. The image below was spotted by a Reddit user, if it’s a fake, it’s a very impressive one. Two things jump out at us from what looks like a snapshot a of a presentation slide: one, this image isn’t obviously based on a previous Samsung PR shot. And two, it’s sporting the logo of Weber Shandwick, an American PR firm that represents Samsung’s mobile interests.

First, the good news. The mockup’s design and branding seems consistent with Samsung’s current trends, even if the black/grey ring around the front of the phone is a little surprising. The homescreen itself looks like an adapted version of the one found on the Galaxy Note, which is certainly possible if those 4.8-inch screen rumors are true. Take a look at the five shortcuts in the “dock” area – a feature found on both Ice Cream Sandwich and the Galaxy Note.

Some other features raise alarms. One, there appears to be a dedicated camera button on the right side (the profile image has the phone facing to the left). While we’d be thrilled to see a return to this features among mainstream phones, it seems unlikely. Two, the earpiece speaker appears to be on the bottom of the phone, below Samsung’s customary Home button. Barring some very strange ergonomics, this doesn’t seem altogether likely. There’s no mention of hardware specifications in the photo, but it certainly seems to indicate a big, high-res screen and a thickness somewhere in the 7mm range.

The dates on the slide indicate an announcement for May 22nd in London. We haven’t heard any news about such an event (and Samsung has made it clear that the Galaxy S III will get an event all to itself) but this far out that’s not a nail in the coffin for this rumor. For a phone with international aspirations, London would make sense. If the phone were announced in May that would give it a release sometime in June or July, and we’ve got no reason to doubt that.

This is a long way from any sort of confirmation, but it’s the best that we’ve seen thus far. What say you, readers?

[via Phandroid]

18 COMMENTS

  1. If the S3 runs on ICS then I would suggest fake….ICS removes the need for dedicated buttons of any kind on the face of the phone including the home key so why would it have one?

      • Yes but most manufacturers(like htc) have decided not to go with on-screen buttons with ICS-equipped phones. I have a Galaxy Nexus and I must say I liked capactive  touch buttons instead. 

      • The on-screen buttons are way better then the capactive and the buttons disappear when you don`t need them! that way you can use the full 4.8 inches and get a better viewing experience. I also have a Galaxy Nexus and can say that the on-screen buttons are definitely the way to go!

      • Nothing about that photo says it’s Gingerbread rather than ICS. With Touchwiz, youre not likely to be able to tell a difference based solely on the widgets or the icons.

  2. I am absolutely amazed at how terrific the stuff is on this site. I have saved this
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  3. Its got to be fake, on the front facing photo, the sides are silver, on the side shot its white and silver. There is a small bit of white on the front one but it just doesnt seem likely that it matches the side shot.

    • It’s viewed from the other side of the phone on the side view. Notice how there aren’t any volume buttons on the side view.  That’s why the gray and white appear to be switched.

  4. Since you won’t be able to buy one until June or July… what’s the point at (incorrectly) trying to guess what it will be?   You’ll never guess correctly.  And even if you do… you still can’t buy one.

  5. Not a fan of the color profile – Black rimmed white looks tacky. 

    If they are truly using ceramic make the whole thing bone white. 

  6. just went to samsung forum 2012 with all new release for this year, didnt see any device with this name, saw samsung galaxy II advance, samsung galaxy droid beam,…..new samsung pad to be used as phone too (approx release in june)

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