Newly leaked pictures show a GT-I9502 Samsung handset that could be the Samsung Galaxy S4, while Antutu tests confirm the smartphone will boast an eight-core processor.

The Samsung Galaxy S4 is set to make its debut on Thursday, March 14, and as with any big launch, rumors, leaks and speculation are piling up in anticipation ahead of the big unveiling.

News of the latest leak comes from SammyHub, which reports that a Chinese forum leaked images of a Samsung GT-I9502, purportedly the Samsung Galaxy S3 successor. According to the poster, the rendering is a dual-SIM version of the Samsung Galaxy S4 for China Unicom.

The handset sports a full-HD display, a powerful quad-core processor clocked at 1.8GHz, 2GB of RAM, a 13-megapixel rear camera and runs Android 4.2.1. On paper, it all falls in line with the specifications the Galaxy S4 is rumored to have. Further pictures reveal that the smartphone is packing a new Universal5410 processor, which could be the Exynos octa-core.

On the other hand, a few details raise some important questions. First of all, the handset in the leaked pictures resembles the Samsung Galaxy S3 and the Galaxy Note 2, which could mean that it's just a prototype with the hardware built-in. Samsung did this before, as a prototype of the Galaxy S3 smartphone leaked ahead of launch with a different chassis.

Moreover, some cases from China, purportedly for the Galaxy S4, suggested that the next-generation Galaxy smartphone will be boxy in shape. As CNET points out, this leaked GT-I9502 is likely a version of the Galaxy S3/ Galaxy Note 2 aimed at the Chinese market, not the Galaxy S4 everyone's expecting.

Meanwhile, it appears the eight-core Exynos processor for Samsung Galaxy S4 received a confirmation. According to Antutu, someone submitted a benchmark for a new Samsung handset with the codename Samsung GT-I9500. If the GT-I9502 didn't quite add up, Antutu confirmed that the GT-I9500 is indeed the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S4.

The benchmark tests actually confirm all of the rumored Galaxy S4 features, including the Exynos Octa 5410 CPU clocked at 1.8GHz. This means that the Galaxy S4 will pack eight cores, which would make it much faster than any other handset currently available on the market. In terms of graphics, the Galaxy S4 reportedly packs a PowerVR SGX 544MP GPU chip. The benchmark test also confirms the handset will have 2GB of RAM, a 4.99-inch Full HD display with a 1920 x 1080 resolution, a 13-megapixel camera and Android 4.2.

Samsung will unveil its new flagship Galaxy S4 smartphone on Thursday, March 14, at an event in New York City. Stay tuned for the big unveiling.