Galaxy S21 will be Samsung's cheapest 5G flagship to date: sources

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Last year’s Samsung Galaxy S20 and Note 20 series weren’t exactly smash hits, and we can put that down largely to their high prices. The South Korean giant is going to launch its new flagship, the Galaxy S21, earlier than usual to give sales a kick. But, of course, simply revising the release date won’t be enough, and that’s why the chaebol has apparently decided to lower the price of S20’s successor.

South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency reports that the standard model will cost less than 1 million won or 999,000 won to be exact (~$914). This would make the Galaxy S21 Samsung’s cheapest 5G flagship to date.

For reference, the Galaxy S20 5G had a retail price of 1.248 million won (~$1,142) in South Korea, and the Note 20 carried a tag of 1.199 million won (~$1,097) at launch. The company’s first 5G-ready smartphone, the Galaxy S10 5G was released for 1.397 million won (~$1,278).

A simple currency conversion won’t do it if you are trying to figure out the price of the phone in other markets because things such as taxes and duties also come into play. Still, if Samsung’s goal is to boost sales against competing brands like Apple as the report suggests, it’s safe to assume that the Galaxy S21 will be cheaper than its predecessor in all markets. Additionally, leaked European prices hint at the same. 

The other two models will also likely be more affordable than their progenitors. The Galaxy S21 Plus is expected to retail for 1.2 million won (~$1,098) and the Galaxy S21 Ultra will go for 1.45 million won (~$1,327).

In contrast, the S20 Plus and S20 Ultra were priced at 1.35 million won and 1.59 million won, respectively. 

Even before the iPhone 12 series was released, analysts were expecting it to quash Samsung’s 5G dominance, and sure enough, it took the iPhone 12 just two weeks to dethrone the Note 20 Ultra as the most popular 5G-enabled phone.

Last year, Samsung’s market share dropped below 20 percent for the first since 2011, and it’s expected to dip to 18.8 percent this year. Apple’s share, on the other hand, is forecasted to increase to 16.4 percent.

Display industry insider Ross Young isn’t betting much on Samsung’s new phones. He believes each iPhone 12 model will drive more sales in the first 3 months then all Galaxy S21 series phones combined during a comparable period. 

Each iPhone 12 model will do more volume in its first 3 months than the entire S21 lineup will in their first 3 months.

— Ross Young (@DSCCRoss) January 9, 2021

The Galaxy S21 series will be announced on January 14 and sales will likely begin on January 29.

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