Samsung's Galaxy S IV launch today: What to expect

No matter which company it is, there is usually a year's gap between the introduction of one flagship smartphone and the next. Samsung, however, has shortened this cycle by two months. The company is all set to unveil its next flagship Android smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy S IV, later on Thursday in New York.

There's been a lot of buzz around the Galaxy S IV, which will be the Korean giant's first global flagship smartphone unveiled on US soil. In the run up to the launch, Samsung unleashed a series of teaser ads, including one that said the smartphone would be one of the most amazing products to hit the market "since TVs went color".

Here's what you can expect from the Galaxy SIV:

Industrial Design: Don't expect changes in the outer look of the hardware. Going by leaked images, the Samsung Galaxy SIV looks very much like its predecessor. The device is likely to have a 4.99 inch/5 inch (1080p) display. It will weigh 138 grams and will be 7.7mm thick.

Camera: While the S III had a superb 8MP camera, the latest one will have a 13MP camera. With rivals adding software gimmicks - such as Nokia's PureView technology and HTC's UltraPixel - Samsung, too, is expected to likewise.

Processor: For some time now, it has been suggested that the Galaxy S IV will pack in a Exynos Octa 5 8-core CPU paired processor. The rumours began when Samsung showed off the Exynos Octa CPU at this year's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. With the Samsung Galaxy Note II and many of the latest Android smartphones supporting 2GB RAM, this should be a default specification.

Leaked videos also suggest the S IV will run on Android v4.2 and will feature a new TouchWiz user interface. A couple of weeks earlier, The New York Times reported that there will be an "Eye Scrolling" feature that will make it much easier to read text on the phone. There are indications that the S Pen stylus functionality will also be added to this smartphone.

Stay connected for more news on the Samsung Galaxy S IV and its launch.