It’s rumored that pre-orders for the Galaxy S8 will start on April 7th in South Korea, according to a new report out of the region from ET News. In addition to the pre-order date it’s also being rumored that the sales of the device will begin on April 21st, which is about a week before the sales of the device are rumored to start in Canada and what is likely to be the same date in the U.S. Pre-orders in South Korea are said to continue until April 17th, and then a day later Samsung will host a special pre-launch event at some of the carrier stores of the three carriers in the region who will hold pre-orders for both the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Plus.
With the week-long time difference between what is rumored to be the launch day for sales in South Korea and the launch day in North America, it’s entirely possible, although not guaranteed, that pre-orders may begin in places like the U.S. and Canada about a week after they start in South Korea, which would put pre-orders in those two countries as going live on April 14th, though this is only speculation. Having said that Samsung could also choose to start pre-orders in South Korea and in North America at the same time as these are two of Samsung’s largest markets. Samsung is scheduled to announce the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8 Plus on March 29th at their upcoming Unpacked event.
The rumor states that the pre-launch event will be held for “reserved subscribers only” though the report doesn’t explain what constitutes a reserved subscriber. What is likely is that this is referring to anyone who places a pre-order for either of the new phones, and that it may give them a chance to pick up the device at the store during the pre-launch, which is said to be taking place from the 18th through the 20th in South Korea at the designated retail stores of South Korea’s three telecom companies. Sales are also reported to start first at the online websites of the carriers as well as other online markets in the region.