LG has decided to make a preemptive strike the day before the official opening of Mobile World Congress 2016 (MWC). The influential event is a bit over a month away, and will start on February 22 and continue until February 25. According to the Korea Times, LG has issued a press event invitation has been sent out to reporters for the day before the opening of theMWC, and it’s most likely intended to reveal a new flagship mobile. Despite the expected competition of Samsung’s upcoming flagship the manufacturer is assumed to announce the LG G5.
This is quite the opposite of last year, when the company decided to skip the event completely in order to avoid getting overshadowed by Samsung’s Galaxy S6 lineup. LG launched its last flagship months after its dominating rival did, but the firm has decided to make the first strike this year.

Rumors regarding the device have been around for the last few months. It’s expected to sport a Snapdragon 820 processor and boast a 21-megapixel camera as well as retina scanning. The phone is further thought to come with a full-metal body. LG is also in the works to launch its own payment service. The service is further predicted to be similar to that of Samsung Pay and Apple Pay in that it will allow consumers to make their in-store purchases via their cellphones. The creative team responsible for the service named it LG Pay.

More interesting rumors include the option of a removable battery combined with the previously mentioned all-metal body. Several rivals have begun offering metal bodies, but few offer the option to replace the battery. While the company would of course like the LG G5 to steal the spotlight from Samsung, it will have to bring something extra if it hopes to pull that off.

If some of these rumors turn out to be true, the manufacturer might just manage to both surprise and impress the audience at MWC this year. Time will tell, though, and for now, these remain rumors that should be taken with a grain of salt.