Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 release date: Early 2017 launch expected, development cycle seemingly changed again

(Samsung)Follow-up to the Galaxy Tab S2 (shown), the rumored Galaxy Tab S3, is expected to arrive early next year

It looks like Samsung's Galaxy Tab S3 will be missing out on 2016 entirely, but the folks waiting for the new tablet to be released apparently have no reason to worry, as the tablet is still expected to come out within the next few months.

Specifically, a new report from Sam Mobile indicated that the rumored tablet will come out sometime in the first quarter of next year.

As Tech Radar pointed out, an early 2017 launch date could mean that the Tab S3 will debut alongside the new Samsung flagship smartphone – expected to be known as the Galaxy S8 – sometime in late February.

Notably, an early 2017 launch date was not the original expectation many people had for when Samsung may unveil the Galaxy Tab S3.

Earlier this year, there were rumblings that the new tablet may be announced sometime in July followed by an eventual release in the fall, and when that didn't happen, folks then expected to see the new device make its debut in September. That latter scenario didn't happen either.

What makes that sequence of events significant is that it seems to hint that the Galaxy Tab S line may not be following a well-defined product cycle similar to the one Samsung seems to follow for their aforementioned flagship smartphone line.

If Samsung isn't really following any firm timeline when it comes to the Tab S lineup then that could make it more difficult to pin down when future variants will be released, though people would probably settle for just hearing more about the Tab S3 for now.

Unfortunately, not much is known about the Galaxy Tab S3 beyond its possible launch window at this point in time, so people interested in getting it will have to tune in early next year to make sure they don't miss out on any important details.

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