We’ve had a visual leak (apparently) of Samsung’s Galaxy S8 but it seems that we might be seeing the phone itself a whole lot sooner than the expected release date. Confused? Don’t be, Samsung is supposedly doing something a little different this year. A fresh report out of Korea claims that the Galaxy S8 will be getting a limited pre-release before the officially release.

According to the report, which comes by way of Korean newspaper The Investor, anonymous industry sources have said that “There is a possibility of the S8 phones being showcased a month or two ahead of the actual release date.”

The thinking is that the Galaxy S8 might become available in small numbers as soon as February or March this year, with a full-scale rollout taking place in April 2017. The reasoning for this isn’t explored but Samsung, according to the same report, is plotting to sell larger-than-usual numbers of its newest flagship — probably to make up for last year.

If correct, a limited release of the Galaxy S8 could act as a sort of beta test for the device before production really ramps up for that April release, allowing Samsung to identify and work around any potential issues. The last thing it wants is a repeat of 2016 so this rumoured release could just be extreme caution in action.

We’re still expecting to get our first official look at Samsung’s MWC presentation, though we’ve had plenty of unofficial ones so far. If we get a close-up much sooner than expected, all the better.

Source: The Investor via The Next Web