Come 2013, Samsung is expected to unleash a slew of Galaxy smartphones and one of the highly rumored handsets among them is the Galaxy S2 Plus. And, the latest report suggests that Samsung will release the Galaxy S2 Plus in two variants.

Previously, rumors and leaks have indicated that the Galaxy S2 Plus will make an appearance in early 2013. The Galaxy S2 Plus, is believed to resemble the Galaxy S2 smartphone which was launched in 2011 and will be available in two colors - Chic White and Dark Blue.

Now, a new report suggests that the Galaxy S2 Plus will come in two variants i.e. one with NFC and one without NFC. The "GT-I9105" is the non-NFC model and the"GT-I9105P" is the NFC one.

"Samsung will introduce the Galaxy S II Plus is 2 variants, one version with NFC chip and one without NFC," reported SamMobile.

Apparently, Samsung has delayed the release of the Galaxy S2 Plus owing to the unprecedented success of its best-selling Galaxy S3, which is a follow-up to the Galaxy S2 and has sold over 30 million units worldwide since release.

According to rumors, the Galaxy S2 Plus will feature a 4.3-inch WVGA display (800 x 480 pixels), a 1GHz dual-core processor, and 8GB of internal storage. The smartphone will likely have an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera and a 2-megapixel front-facing camera. The Galaxy S2 plus will allegedly run on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean out of the box.

If the rumored specifications of the Galaxy S2 Plus are anything to go by, then the smartphone seems to be a cheaper downgrade rather than an upgrade of the Galaxy S2. The rumored screen size and resolution are similar to that of the Galaxy S2; however, the processor and on-board storage have received a downgrading.

It is speculated that Samsung will take the wraps off the Galaxy S2 Plus at either the CES 2013 in January or the MWC 2013 in February. With not much time left for these events to get underway, it will be interesting to see what Samsung brings consumers' way.