The Samsung and Apple war is poised to intensify. Per reports, shortly after revealing smartphones like Galaxy S3 and the Galaxy Note 2, the company is now rumored to come up with the next biggest player in the Samsung franchise - Samsung Galaxy S4.

A Samsung official, who declined to be named, told the daily news site Korea Times (translated) that the company is "ready" to unveil the Galaxy S4 in Barcelona (Mobile World Congress) next year, and the new device is expected to hit shelves globally a month later after the revelation.

The official further stated that as the smartphone is due nine months after the May debut of the Galaxy S3, it will be more than enough to limit competition from Apple's latest offering, the iPhone 5.

Executives from Samsung's local parts suppliers said the company's new flagship smartphone will "definitely use" LTE networks. The device will also sport its in-house Exynos-branded application processors and quad-core chips. The S3, at the moment, uses both Samsung's Exynos and Qualcomm's Snapdragon processors. This, of course, depends on the country.

As far as features are concerned, the screen size of the S4 is expected to be upgraded to 5 inches from the current 4.8 screen size of the S3. While the device will run on Google's Android platform, it will also sport an OLED display, the officials said.

"Samsung wants to keep its one-year product schedule and the Galaxy S4 will be the first to match that strategy. The S4 will see some external changes but retain its popular rectangular shape with rounded corner concept," said an official from one of Samsung's local partners.

The new report has arrived just a few days after rival Apple revealed its highly-anticipated iPhone 5. The sales of the Galaxy S3, previously, hit 20 million in just over three months of its launch.