The 6.2-inch Samsung Galaxy S20 was notably absent from Verizon's lineup when that phone arrived in March. But Big Red will now join other carriers in offering the Galaxy S20. Pre-orders begin May 21 with the phone arriving at Verizon on June 4.
This variant of the Galaxy S20 will cost $999, like it does unlocked and on other networks. However, it'll have one notable upgrade for Verizon: millimeter-wave (mmWave) compatibility.
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As the smallest, least expensive version of Samsung's latest flagships, the 6.2-inch S20 was originally only built to support sub-6GHz 5G, rather than the faster, more densely-packed mmWave networks currently being fleshed out in cities. Verizon's edition of the S20 — officially called the Galaxy S20 5G "UW" to distinguish it from the sub-6-only models — corrects that oversight.
That means that, just like the $1,199 Galaxy S20 Plus and $1,399 Galaxy S20 Ultra, this particular version of the Galaxy S20 will support the full range of Verizon's 5G infrastructure. And that will extend to the carrier's own low-band deployment of 5G, which is expected to launch later this year as work continues to build out the Verizon 5G network.
Verizon's Galaxy S20 will come in a distinctive shade, called Cloud White, which you won't find on other carriers or unlocked configurations of the device. Purchasing the phone over a 24-month installment plan breaks it up into $41.66 per billing cycle.
Verizon is running a few promotions to mark the occasion. First off, the carrier is slashing $150 off the price of the device for new and current customers for a limited time. Furthermore, if you opt for a monthly payment plan and a new line with one of Big Red's unlimited data options, you can get up to $1,000 in credit to put toward another S20. Existing unlimited customers can also trade their old smartphone in for up to an additional $350 off.
We found a lot to like about this phone in our Galaxy S20 review earlier this year, though we were most disappointed by the device's rather short battery life, as it lasted an hour less than the Galaxy S20 Plus and two-and-a-half less than the Galaxy S20 Ultra in Tom's Guide's custom web-surfing battery test. (Both those models have been available at Verizon since March.) We're curious find out how differently the Verizon-tuned edition of the S20 fares with all those power-hungry, mmWave radios inside.
