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We still have a lot to learn about the next line of Samsung Galaxy S21 phones, including how much they will cost. But a new leak suggests they will cost the same as the Samsung Galaxy S20 series, in India at least.
Yes, the unidentified source, speaking to an Indian publication. TechQuila, noted that prices may not change from last year’s cost of Samsung Galaxy S20 lineup, meaning the S21 could start at $ 999 / £ 899 / AU $ 1,499. Specifically, they noted a potential range of INR 60,000-Rs. 70,000 for the Samsung S21 and INR 90,000-1,00,000 for the supposed S21 Ultra.
The source also claimed that the S21 line would launch globally on January 14, which supports what we’ve heard elsewhere, and that the phones would launch in India at least a week later, via pre-orders (with a small reserve of INR 2,000 / $ 27 fee) supposedly living in the country.
The cost of phones in a 5G world
If the S21 phones cost as much as their Samsung S20 counterparts, we wouldn’t be too surprised: rumors and leaks point to a very similar phone with incremental improvements.
But more importantly, the S20 phones saw a huge price increase from the 2019 Samsung S10 lineup. The apparent culprit? 5G – Adding the chipsets and modems to enable support with next-gen networks resulted in a price hike for almost all phones coming out in 2020, hence the jump from the Samsung S10 to $ 899 / £ 799 / AU $ 1,199 up to the Samsung S20 at $ 999 / £ 899 / AU $ 1,499. Of course, there were cheaper 4G versions of the S20, but they weren’t available in all regions.
So an even more expensive S21 line could surprise consumers too much, who may still be reeling from last year’s price increases. But with more than a month for the phones to be properly announced (assuming the rumored release dates are correct), we’re not ruling out more expensive phones until we hear more rumors.
Through GSM Arena
