( CNN ) -- The next generation is just a few weeks away for the world 's hottest smartphone without a piece of fruit on it . The Samsung Galaxy S IV will be unveiled March 14 at a New York event , the company announced Monday . The release will mark the latest assault in what 's rapidly become a two-phone race for supremacy on the mobile landscape . Samsung confirmed the plans at Mobile World Congress , the massive tech show currently under way in Barcelona , Spain . Samsung unveiled a new tablet there but , taking a page from Apple 's playbook , opted not to roll out its flagship phone during the crowded event where many rival products are clamoring for attention . `` We introduced the Galaxy S III in London last year , and this time we changed the venue ( to New York ) ... as we were bombarded with requests from U.S. mobile carriers to unveil the Galaxy S IV in the country , '' J.K. Shin , the head of Samsung Mobile , was quoted as saying by Korean media . The company followed with a post on Twitter containing the less-than-subtle message , `` March 14 . Ready 4 the show ? '' The post linked to a promo inviting people to `` come and meet the next Galaxy . '' Details on the new phone 's features are scarce , although analysts expect that it will have a higher-resolution screen . All but the most ardent of tech pundits have abandoned the idea that a mythical `` iPhone killer '' will emerge from Apple 's bevy of competitors . But in the Galaxy S III , the fragmented field of phones running on Google 's Android operating system found a champion : a single gadget to put forward for an apples to apples ( if you will ) comparison to the iconic iPhone . And the results ca n't have made folks in Cupertino happy . How Samsung is out-innovating Apple . In the third quarter of last year , the Galaxy S III became the first smartphone to outsell the iPhone . The Galaxy S III shipped 18 million units worldwide in that three-month span from July to September , compared with 16.2 million for the iPhone 4S , according to research by Strategy Analytics . With the release of the iPhone 5 , Apple retook the lead in the final months of 2012 , selling an estimated 27 million . But the S III hung in there with another 15 million units sold . The companies have also been engaged in a nasty $ 1 billion patent battle . And Samsung has stepped up its advertising in a major way , with Apple squarely in its sights . The Korean company was a sponsor of Sunday night 's Academy Awards telecast , and it and Apple went head-to-head with big advertising buys during the broadcast .
Samsung says its Galaxy S IV phone will be unveiled March 14 . It came at Japan 's Mobile World Congress . The popular Galaxy S III has emerged as the iPhone 's chief competitor .