South Korean tech giant, Samsung is starting the year with a bang. Could Samsung be ringing in the New Year with its latest flagship, the Samsung Galaxy S7?

While the Samsung Galaxy S6 launched globally in April of this year, tech analysts are speculating that the Samsung Galaxy S7 will be released earlier this year. While there were reports that the latest flagship will be released on Feb. 22, Know Your Mobile says that a January release date is entirely plausible.

The Samsung Galaxy S6 is arguably one of the best phones of 2015 with its sleek new build and glass and metal design. While the phablet received raving reviews from the Samsung fanbase, many were disappointed of the flagship's two new features- an internal battery and the fact that the phablet does not support a microSD card. A new report released by Yahoo says that the South Korean company may be bringing back microSD function for the next generation flagship.

The report by Yahoo also says that the Samsung Galaxy S7 will also boast of an even bigger 5.2-inch display screen, while the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge will sport a phablet sized 5.7 inch screen. Samsung plans to launch both phones as early as the start of next year, the report says. At least one of these phones is expected to have a 4K display.

When it comes to design, Samsung is known to take things up a notch. The South Korean tech giant is expected to depart from the squarish, block design of a phone, Tech Radar reports. The flagship will also most likely step up its security features other than its fingerprint scanner. The website reports that the Samsung Galaxy S7 may finally incorporate the iris scanner for added security features. The flagship will be equipped with dual high resolution scanning cameras on the front, as well as enhanced aperture. Turning the phone screen on will have the phone identify the user.

Samsung will also be taking a cue from the success of the iPhone 6S 3D Touch technology by incorporating ClearForce by Synaptics. This feature allows for different functionality that would depend on how hard the screen is being pressed. The phone will reportedly run on Snapdragon 820 and will have Android Marshmallow 6.0 fresh off the box.

Given the flagship's stellar features and specs, it is expected that the Samsung Galaxy S7 will not come cheap. The Samsung Galaxy S7 will most likely be priced at $800.

Samsung has given no official announcements as of yet, so treat all rumors with a grain of salt.