Editor's Note: Samsung has set a date for Galaxy Unpacked 2024 - the event, which is expected to include the Galaxy S24 launch, will take place on January 17, 2024. We have a guide on how to live stream Galaxy Unpacked; the original report on the Galaxy S24 Ultra release date rumor is below.

For years, Samsung has been predictable about the Galaxy S release date: Samsung would unveil the new flagship at Mobile World Congress in February and have it in stores a few weeks later. In recent years, however, Samsung has moved away from big phone announcements at MWC, making the guessing game of when we can expect the company's new device much more difficult.

Still, Samsung isn't always great at keeping secrets. Rumors keep coming in that add the necessary background as to when the Galaxy S24 Ultra (and its less capable siblings, the Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24 Plus) will be released. Also, if history is any guide, Samsung has made some clues and measurable changes in its launch strategy.

Even with these tangential insights, we still do not know exactly when the Galaxy S24 Ultra will be launched. But now that rumors about Samsung's Galaxy S24 Ultra launch plans are becoming more definite, we have some hunches: when will the Galaxy S24 Ultra hit store shelves; when will the Galaxy S24 Ultra be available in stores; when will the Galaxy S24 Ultra be available for purchase; and when will the Galaxy S24 Ultra be available in stores?

If there is one thing we can predict with certainty, it is that Samsung wants to get the Galaxy S24 lineup, including the top-of-the-line Galaxy S24 Ultra, into stores as soon as possible. In fact, in the past three launches, starting with the Galaxy S21, Samsung has accelerated its schedule, forgoing the former March and April launches and switching to January and February launches.

This move makes sense. By accelerating the launch of its flagship models, Samsung's latest and greatest handsets will hit store shelves months before Apple launches its new iPhone. Samsung also faces pressure from Chinese smartphone maker OnePlus.

Earlier this year, Samsung premiered its Galaxy S23 lineup at an Unpacked event in San Francisco on February 1 and launched the device on February 17. This was a week earlier than the previous year, when Samsung announced the Galaxy S22 on February 8 and released it on February 25. However, Samsung announced the Galaxy S21 on January 14 and released it on January 29.

These dates seem consistent with Samsung's plans for this year. We know that Samsung will not announce the Galaxy S24 Ultra in December - leaving just over a week in the month - and anything past mid-February is unlikely. So it looks like Samsung will not announce the Galaxy S24 Ultra until a few weeks later, and then another week or two after the launch.

Whenever Samsung does announce the Galaxy S24 Ultra, it is expected to be announced along with the Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24 Plus. Rumors suggest that the Ultra should, of course, have the best features, including a smoother 144Hz screen, a titanium design, and a new 50MP telephoto zoom camera. The rumor also predicts that Samsung will launch the Galaxy S23 a month earlier than when it launched this year.

One such rumor circulated in September when a Twitter user calling himself Revegnus cited sources that the Galaxy S24 Ultra was expected to launch in January. In a recent leak, Ice Universe claims that the Galaxy S24 Ultra is already in production and is being prepared for a mid-to-late January launch. This follows a report from South Korea claiming that Samsung has already determined January 17 as the desired launch date and will hold an Unpacked event in San Jose, California on that date.

The Seoul Economic Daily recently cited sources inside Samsung saying that Samsung is planning an Unpacked event in early 2024, but did not specify whether that meant January or February.

However, most rumor-mongers have largely settled on the concept that Samsung will announce the Galaxy S24 Ultra (and other models) on January 17, begin taking pre-orders on January 19, and start selling somewhere between January 26 and January 30.

The most definitive word yet comes from leaker Evan Blass, who has a strong track record in predicting the operation of Samsung's various phones. While sharing leaked spec sheets for all three Galaxy S24 models, Blass has also linked to an apparently official countdown timer that indicates a likely launch date for the S24 in Korea. According to the timer, it will likely launch at 3:00 a.m. KST on February 18, or 1:00 p.m. EST/10:00 a.m. PST on January 17.

Samsung has not commented on the rumor and has been tight-lipped about its plans. Still, rumors continue to circulate as the Galaxy S24 Ultra's release date approaches.

For one thing, claims that Samsung will launch the device "a full month" earlier than the Galaxy S23's release date, as claimed by Revegnus, seem unlikely. Samsung needs some time to launch the smartphone and increase pre-orders. If they were to move it up a month from this year, they would announce the Galaxy S24 Ultra in the first week of January and have it in stores by January 17. It is never a good idea to announce something in the first week of the year, and Samsung knows it.

We also need to check the calendar; CES 2024 starts on January 9 and runs through January 12. We know that Samsung will not be presenting a cell phone at CES and probably don't want to get caught up in the tornado of news coming from there. We also need to remember that the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday in the United States is Monday, January 15. Samsung could choose a January 16th announcement date, but it seems more likely to wait until that Wednesday, i.e., January 17th.

Then there is the question of lead time and how much Samsung needs it. If Samsung can get the Galaxy S24 Ultra on store shelves within a week or two, the Galaxy S24 Ultra release date could be January 26, but if more time is needed, February seems more likely. Given Samsung's near insistence on a two-week span between device announcement and release, it seems difficult to get the Galaxy S24 Ultra in stores the week after the announcement, leaving only the last week of January or the first week of February.

For now, the proposed timetable of a January 17 unveiling and late January launch seems plausible. However, given Samsung's history, it is likely that the Galaxy S24 Ultra will not be available to all until after January 30.