Samsung may be planning a surprise for the end of the year. According to a source from South Korea, the electronics giant has accelerated its production schedule for the Galaxy S21 flagship, and a December release is not out of the question.

The report comes from MTN, a South Korean business and financial news channel, which reports that component suppliers will begin manufacturing Galaxy S21 parts in November as Samsung ramps up mass production of the upcoming handset. according to MTN, mass production of the Galaxy S20 will begin in January started, and Samsung announced three Galaxy S20 models on March 6.

A report found by PhoneArena claims that Samsung is "rushing to release the [Galaxy S21]," at least according to a Google Translate transcript." Some people are also discussing the possibility of a December launch this year," the report continues.

That would seem overly aggressive, given both the market conditions and Samsung's rollout of flagship phones this year. In addition to the Galaxy S20, Galaxy S20 Plus, and Galaxy S20 Ultra released in the spring, Samsung just recently announced the Galaxy S20 FE, a lower-priced version of the S20 model; a month before the Galaxy S20 FE, Samsung announced its Galaxy Note 20 lineup not to mention several updates to its lineup of higher-priced foldable phones.

In other words, it introduced a number of phones in a seven-month period before considering adding the Galaxy S21 to the mix.

There is another reason why handset makers prefer to launch all new products in the fall. That is to allow time for the phones to reach retailers before holiday shopping begins in earnest. To counter the economic strain of the coronavirus pandemic, the Black Friday shopping season is expected to start earlier than usual this year.

Besides, there is a big event in January just waiting for high-profile product announcements: the CES will be held from January 11 to January 14, and since the 2021 edition will be completely online, organizers will no doubt welcome the announcement of a new flagship phone by Samsung will be.

According to MTN, Samsung has good reason to want to accelerate the launch of the Galaxy S21. An earlier launch could lead to a spike in sales, as was the case when the Galaxy S7 was launched in 2016, which came a month earlier than the previous year's Galaxy S6.

MTN also notes that Samsung is also eyeing Huawei, which is struggling to make phones amid a U.S. export ban that prohibits U.S.-based tech companies from sharing software and hardware with Chinese phone makers. Samsung appears to be trying to take business away from one of its main rivals in the smartphone sector by moving up the launch of the Galaxy S21.

The Galaxy S21 will reportedly feature three different models, just as the Galaxy S20 did. This time, the high-end version of the phone could come with an S Pen, a feature Samsung usually reserves for its Galaxy Note lineup.

Other rumored features include a 180MP main camera, a true full phone display, and a top-of-the-line Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. The last feature may be another reason why the Galaxy S21 may not appear as soon as MTN reports. Qualcomm has yet to announce a successor to the Snapdragon 865, and likely won't do so until early December.