Samsung Plans Faster Galaxy S4, but It's Not Quite LTE-Advanced

Samsung claims it will soon launch the world's first smartphone with a network connection boasting ultra-fast LTE-Advanced speeds, and it's going to be a variant of the company's current flagship, the Galaxy S4, a new report says.

J.K. Shin, Samsung's head of mobile business, said Samsung would be the first manufacturer to launch a smartphone with "advanced 4G," Reuters reported. Shin did not specify a date, although he said it could be on sale as early as this month.

Samsung is hosting an event in London on June 20 to unveil new Galaxy devices.

Even if Samsung launches an LTE-Advanced phone, very few customers will be able to actually use it. Almost no carriers have deployed LTE-Advanced — a wireless standard that promises speeds up to 20 times that of LTE — apart from one in Russia.