Apple's iPhone 12 Pro might be a stellar smartphone but it's due to get some tough competition from the Samsung Galaxy S21. And new leaks hint at price cuts to the upcoming Samsung flagship that could undercut Apple's high-end iPhone.
Prices for the Galaxy S21 series were prematurely revealed by Belgian mobile carrier Voo, which posted the European price tags for the whole range. The company quickly removed the listing but not before Twitter user jordan82 took some screenshots and posted them online, revealing some good news.
- Samsung Galaxy S21 release date, price, specs and leaks
- The best Android phones right now
- JUST IN: Trump permanently banned on Twitter
The starting prices of the three available models are €849, €1,049 and €1,399 respectively. These versions have 8GB RAM and 128GB storage in the Galaxy S21 and S21 Plus' case, and 12GB RAM and 256GB storage in the Galaxy S21 Ultra.
Comparatively, in Belgium the iPhone 12 Pro starts at €899, meaning the base Galaxy S21 undercuts it, providing the leaked prices are accurate.
This was given further credence by a report from ETNews, which noted that the Galaxy S21's starting price in South Korea will be 990,000 won. That's roughly $904, which not only undercuts the iPhone 12 Pro's U.S. price of $999, but the $999 launch price of the Galaxy S20.
Samsung Galaxy S21, S21 Plus, S21 Ultra leaked prices
| Model | RAM/Storage | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Galaxy S21 | 8GB/128GB | €849 or around $904 |
| Galaxy S21 Plus | 8GB/128GB | €1,049 or around $1,095 |
| Galaxy S21 Ultra | 12GB/256GB | €1,399 or around $1,399 |
Converting these prices to dollars or pounds sterling won't account for regional pricing differences, so let's compare them instead to the Belgian prices for the Galaxy S20.
The MSRP for the Galaxy S20, S20 Plus and S20 Ultra are €999, €1,099 euros and €1,399 respectively. That shows that Samsung might be dropping the price of its new phones as previous rumors have claimed, but only for the two cheaper models.
On the South Korean pricing side, the Galaxy S21 Plus is set to cost 1,199,000 won, which is around $1,095, cheaper than the $1,199 Galaxy S20 Plus. It's worth noting that these conversions are not exact, so we need to take them with a pinch of salt, but they track with previous rumors of a Galaxy S21 Plus and S21 Plus price drop.
The price drop makes sense given that Samsung has dropped the display resolution and amount of RAM between the Galaxy S20 and S21. However, users will get a mighty Snapdragon 888 processor, triple rear cameras and either 4,000 mAh or 4,800 mAh battery.
The top-end Galaxy S21 Ultra would be the only model to start with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. The S21 Ultra is also expected to offer a sharper Quad HD display as well as dual telephoto lenses (3x and 10x).
Somewhat confusingly the Voo leak for the S21 Ultra has its European price higher than the Galaxy S20 Ultra which started at €1,349. But the South Korean price is slated to be 1,450,000 won, around $1,324, which is cheaper than the S20 Ultra's price of 1,595,000 won and $1,399.
Regional differences could be at play here, and we've heard other reports that the S21 Ultra will be a higher price than its predecessor given it'll have even more premium features, including a Galaxy Note series-chasing S Pen support.
Samsung Galaxy S21 getting more color options
Another leak has revealed more colors for the Galaxy S21 series. These are post-launch options according to leaker Ishan Agarwal. That means they could either be region exclusive colorways or potentially the colors Samsung will reveal in the usual mini-refresh it does with its flagship phones a few months after they've been launched.
You can expect some of these extra color options for the Samsung Galaxy S21 Series after launch.Galaxy S21+ / S21 Plus: RedGalaxy S21 Ultra: Blue, Bronze, TitaniumOf course, you never know if they end up being region exclusive or have a rollout based on country. #GalaxyS21January 6, 2021
There's one extra color for the Galaxy S21 and S21 Plus, which Agarwal simply describes as "red." The S21 Ultra gets three more options: blue, bronze, and titanium. The bronze one sounds particularly attractive, given how handsome the Mystic Bronze version of the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra looks.
Samsung Galaxy S21 won't come with a charger
Something the Galaxy S21 will lack, however, is a charging brick in the box. Ice Universe confirmed this arguably frustrating rumor again on Twitter, seemingly inspired by Apple's recent decision to do the same with the iPhone 12 series.
Samsung will cancel the S21 series of chargers. What do you think of this?January 7, 2021
There are some convincing arguments for dropping the charger. Manufacturing more chargers is bad for the environment, and particularly when many users are likely have a functional charger at home already. It also makes the phones a little cheaper to sell, with the Galaxy S21's missing block perhaps being the reason for the small price decrease from the Galaxy S20.
The downside of this approach is that users may feel they're being cheated out of a standard and crucial piece of a new smartphone package. Furthermore, while users may have some compatible chargers already, they might not be able to deliver the specific wattage to fast charge the Galaxy S21; 25W for the S21 and S21 Plus and possibly up to 45W for the S21 Ultra.
As of today, we're officially a week away from Samsung's January 14 event where the Galaxy S21 will debut. Once we've had a chance to test it out, our Galaxy S21 review will determine whether it's worthy of a spot on our best phones list.
