Samsung Galaxy S21 price leak suggests you won’t pay more than the S20 phones

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The Samsung S21 may not get a price jump

Samsung Galaxy S20
(Image credit: Future)

We still have a lot to learn about the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S21 line of phones, including how much they’ll cost. But a new leak suggests they’ll cost the same as the Samsung Galaxy S20 series – at least in India.

Yes, the unnamed source, speaking to Indian publication TechQuila, noted that prices may not change from the cost of last year’s Samsung Galaxy S20 line – which means 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 alleged S21 Ultra.

The source also claimed 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 - though pre-orders (with a small INR 2,000 / $27 reservation fee) are supposedly live in the country. 

The cost of phones in a 5G world

If the S21 phones cost just as much as their Samsung S20 counterparts, we wouldn’t be too surprised – the rumors and leaks point to a largely similar handset with incremental improvements. 

But more importantly, the S20 phones saw a big jump in price from 2019’s Samsung S10 line. The apparent culprit? 5G – adding in the chipsets and modems to enable support with the next-gen networks resulted in a price bump for nearly every phone that came out in 2020. Hence the jump from the Samsung S10 at $899 / £799 / AU$1199 up to the Samsung S20 at $999 / £899 / AU$1,499. Granted, there were cheaper 4G-only versions of the S20, but they weren’t available in all regions.

Thus, an even costlier S21 line might shock consumers too much, who may be still reeling at last year’s price bumps. But with more than a month left until the phones are properly announced (assuming the rumored launch dates are correct), we’re not ruling out pricier phones until we hear more rumors.

Via GSM Arena

David Lumb
David Lumb

David is now a mobile reporter at Cnet. Formerly Mobile Editor, US for TechRadar, he covered phones, tablets, and wearables. He still thinks the iPhone 4 is the best-looking smartphone ever made. He's most interested in technology, gaming and culture – and where they overlap and change our lives. His current beat explores how our on-the-go existence is affected by new gadgets, carrier coverage expansions, and corporate strategy shifts.