China Mobile, the world’s largest operator by connections, inadvertently confirmed that Samsung’s 2016 flagship Galaxy S7 smartphone will be available from March next year, according to reports.

Speculation about the device has been rife in recent weeks, with Samsung reportedly hinting the smartphone will not launch at CES in January, sparking rumours of a Mobile World Congress (February 2016) unveiling, as it did with Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge earlier this year.

And in an accidental leak, China Mobile now seems to have confirmed the speculation.

During an end of year event looking into new smartphones and its roadmap for 2016, the operator revealed in a presentation slide that the Galaxy S7 would be available in the third month of the year.

The slide even revealed a price of CNY3,000 ($465), although this figure is unlikely to be like for like across regions.

It does however back up speculation that Samsung would cut the price of its new flagship in an attempt to grab additional market share.

Analysts have said it could be priced 10 per cent cheaper than the Galaxy S6, when it first launched.

China Mobile’s leak follows reports about the potential features of the Galaxy S7, which includes talk of a pressure sensitive screen, a USB Type-C connector and a traditional jump in camera specs.

It is also suggested that the entire portfolio will be made up of four devices: Galaxy S7, Galaxy S7 Edge, Galaxy S7 Plus and Galaxy S7 Plus Edge.