[THE INVESTOR] LAS VEGAS –- Samsung Electronics will hold the Galaxy S10 Unpacked event in San Francisco in mid-February, according sources on Jan. 9. 

The 10th edition of Galaxy S phones will be unveiled in the city -- home to the world’s most innovative tech firms -- one week ahead of the Mobile World Congress 2019 that kicks off in Barcelona, Spain, on Feb. 28, sources told The Korea Herald. 

Samsung was widely expected to announce the S10 series at MWC 2019 in Barcelona as it did for the predecessor S9 series.

However, there reportedly has been a discussion about changing the place and timing of the Unpacked event to mark the 10th anniversary of the Galaxy phone this year.

It is presumed that Samsung could have moved forward the announcement by taking into account Huawei’s possible debut of its first foldable smartphone at MWC.

Meanwhile, the schedule for the release of Samsung’s first foldable smartphone hasn’t been confirmed, a high-ranking Samsung official said.

“Because it is the first foldable phone by Samsung, we are thinking more about offering some powerful contents for better user experience that can be earned only from the foldable phone,” the official said.

Considering that Samsung exclusively showcased a nearly completed prototype of its foldable phone to executives of major clients at the Consumer Electronics Show 2019 in Las Vegas, some in the industry have said its debut may also be imminent.

According to a Samsung official, the foldable phone -- temporarily dubbed “Galaxy F” -- would come with a price tag of around 2 million won ($1,788). Just 1 million Galaxy foldable phones will be released into markets starting in Korea and then in the US, China and Europe.

By Song Su-hyun/The Korea Herald (song@heraldcop.com)