Apple’s iPhone 12 Pro may be an excellent smartphone, but it’s due to stiff competition from the Samsung Galaxy S21. And new leaks point to price cuts for the upcoming Samsung flagship that could undermine Apple’s high-end iPhone.
Prices for the Galaxy S21 series were announced ahead of time by Belgian mobile service provider Voo, which posted the European price tags for the entire series. The company quickly removed the listing, but not in front of the Twitter user jordan82 took some screenshots and posted them online and announced good news.
The starting prices of the three available models are € 849, € 1,049 and € 1,399 respectively. These versions have 8 GB RAM and 128 GB storage in the Galaxy S21 and S21 Plus, and 12 GB RAM and 256 GB in the Galaxy S21 Ultra.
By comparison, in Belgium the iPhone 12 Pro starts at € 899, which means that the base Galaxy S21 is undercutting it, provided the leak prices are accurate.
This was further provided by a report by ETNews, which noted that the starting price of the Galaxy S21 in South Korea will be 990,000 won. That’s about $ 904, which not only undercuts the iPhone 12 Pro’s US 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 about $ 904 |
| Galaxy S21 Plus | 8GB / 128GB | € 1,049 or about $ 1,095 |
| Galaxy S21 Ultra | 12 GB / 256 GB | € 1,399 or about $ 1,399 |
The conversion of these prices to dollars or pounds sterling will not take into account local price differences, so let’s rather compare it with the Belgian prices for the Galaxy S20.
The MSRP for the Galaxy S20, S20 Plus and S20 Ultra is € 999, € 1,099 euros and € 1,399 respectively. This shows that Samsung might lower the price of its new phones as previous rumors have claimed, but only for the two cheaper models.
On the South Korean price side, the Galaxy S21 Plus costs 1,199,000 won, which is about $ 1,095, cheaper than the $ 1,199 Galaxy S20 Plus. It is noteworthy that these conversions are not exact, so we have to take it with a pinch of salt, but this follows with previous rumors about the price drop of Galaxy S21 Plus and S21 Plus.
The price drop makes sense as Samsung dropped the screen resolution and amount of RAM between the Galaxy S20 and S21. However, users get a powerful Snapdragon 888 processor, triple rear cameras and 4000 mAh or 4800 mAh battery.
The best Galaxy S21 Ultra is the only model that starts with 12 GB RAM and 256 GB storage. The S21 Ultra is also expected to offer a sharper Quad HD screen 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 said to be 1,450,000 won, about $ 1,324, which is cheaper than the S20 Ultra’s price of 1,595,000 won and $ 1,399.
Regional differences may be at stake here, and we have heard other reports that the S21 Ultra will be a higher price than its predecessor as it will have even more premium features, including a Galaxy Note series that supports S Pen.
Samsung Galaxy S21 gets more color options
Another leak revealed more colors for the Galaxy S21 series. This is according to the leak options after launch Ishan Agarwal. This means that it can be either region-exclusive colorways, or possibly the colors that Samsung will unveil in the usual mini-refresh with its flagship phones a few months after its launch.
You can expect some extra color options for the Samsung Galaxy S21 series after the launch. Galaxy S21 + / S21 Plus: RedGalaxy S21 Ultra: Blue, Bronze, Titanium Of course, you never know whether it’s ultimately regionally exclusive or a rollout based on land. # GalaxyS216 January 2021
There is 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 looks particularly attractive, given how attractive the Mystic Bronze version of the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra looks.
Samsung Galaxy S21 does not have a charger
However, something that the Galaxy S21 will be missing is a boot in the box. Ice Universe reaffirmed this undoubtedly frustrating rumor on Twitter, apparently inspired by Apple’s recent decision to do the same with the iPhone 12 series.
Samsung will cancel the S21 charging series. What do you think of this?7 January 2021
There are some compelling arguments for dropping the charger. Manufacturing more chargers is bad for the environment, and especially if many users probably already have a functional charger at home. It also makes the phones a bit cheaper to sell, with the missing block of the Galaxy S21 perhaps the reason for the small price reduction of the Galaxy S20.
The downside of this approach is that users may feel cheated out of a standard and important piece of a new smartphone package. Although users already have some compatible chargers, they may not be able to provide the specific wattage to charge the Galaxy S21 quickly; 25W for the S21 and S21 Plus and possibly up to 45W for the S21 Ultra.
As of today, we are officially a week away from Samsung’s January 14 event where the Galaxy S21 will make its debut. Once we’ve had a chance to test it out, our Galaxy S21 review will determine if it’s a place on our best phone list.