Samsung could be gearing up to launch a smaller, 'Mini' variant of its flagship Galaxy S8, after a new device appeared on Geekbench.

The new Samsung device listing, picked up by German site Winfuture.de, currently has the name SM-G9600 and was only uploaded on 12 July. It's more than likely going to be a Galaxy S8 Mini, and will come with a new 1.77GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 840 processor and Android 7.1.2 out-the-box.

The Samsung Galaxy S8 Mini will be one of the first smartphones to use the Snapdragon 840 processor, which is more than likely an update to the Snapdragon 820, rather than a replacement for the 835 that features in many of 2017's flagship phones.

Samsung Galaxy S8 Mini image 2
Geekbench

Winfuture makes the very valid point that Samsung hasn't released a Mini version of one of its flagships since the S5. The S6 and S7 both had Edge versions instead, with the regular version being targeted at those who wanted a more compact smartphone.

If Samsung does release an S8 Mini, it could well be in response to LG releasing the Q6, which is seen as a Mini version of the G6 flagship, although LG says it's part of a new Q-series of smartphones. However, the Q6 features a smaller version of the FullVision display found on the G6, albeit with a slightly lower resolution.

Of course, just because a listing for a new Samsung device has appeared on Geekbench, doesn't guarantee it will ever see the light of day. It's worth taking this one with a hefty pinch of salt for now until more information regarding the SM-G9600 are released.