Samsung Galaxy S3 Release: Rumored to Run ICS and TouchWiz

New leaked photos allegedly depicting the next generation Samsung Galaxy S series has sparked new rumors about the phone's software, suggesting it will run on the Android Ice Cream Sandwich with Samsung's TouchWiz overlay.

There's no way of knowing if recent images leaked on Reddit and Phone Arena are legitimate, but one image bears the label Samsung GT-i9300, which suggests it is the next model up from its predecessor, GT-i9250, commonly known as the Galaxy S2.

The Android Ice Cream Sandwich is the most likely feature on the next generation Galaxy phone. Updates of the software have already started to roll out on the Galaxy S2 and the Galaxy Nexus, which launched in December, came with the software pre-installed.

With Samsung yet to announce the phone's release, rumors have been spreading ferociously. The phone is expected to boast an Exynos 4412 chipset with a quad-core unit, which will apparently be clocked at 1.5GHz.

Early predictions say the S3 will come with a larger screen than that of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, nearer to the 5-inch scale. It is rumored to have an AMOLED plus screen with 1280x720 resolution. If the phone comes with a S5K2P1 chip, it will be able to capture 60fps HD video and 8.3 megapixel images.

The most uncertain rumors are about the phone's release date. The phones predecessor--the Galaxy S2--was unveiled at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) last year, and then launched in April, which spurred rumors that the S3 would be out at the same time. But Samsung has said that Galaxy enthusiasts shouldn't hold their breath for a March release, as the phone is likely to come in the middle of the year, closer to the summer, according to a report obtained by News Sizzle.

The most recent rumor about the phone's release date is that it will come out in April. A new report indicates that Samsung's Greater China president, Kim Young-Ha, is planning on moving the launch forward a few months.

There's no real way of knowing how official the source is, as the report was published on a Chinese Website, but an April or May launch, before the iPhone 5, could be a clever marketing strategy from Samsung, especially as there is still so much buzz surrounding the Galaxy S2.

Other rumored specs: