The Samsung Galaxy S20 series is finally here, and it is arguably the first mainstream phone to go all-in on 5G.
But 5G has a cost and we could be in for a year of even pricier phones as the switch to the next-gen networks becomes more popular. During a chat with Trusted Reviews, Dan Benjamin, Head of Product & Pricing at Samsung said that adding 5G to a phone means “there tends to be about a £100 step-up.”
This pricing structure is clearly visible for the S20 series, which kicks off at £799 for the 4G version of the Galaxy S20. Want 5G? That price jumps to £899 – a neat £100 increase.
To offset this jump, Samsung is adding an extra 4GB of RAM – going from 8GB to 12GB – but it’s clear the majority of costs go on the addition of the 5G modem and capabilities.
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You’ll also see the Samsung Galaxy S20 Plus is £100 more expensive than the S10 Plus. Last year’s Plus model was released at £899, while the S20 Plus will set you back £999. There’s not a 4G version of this phone available either – at least not in Europe – so you’ll be stumping up the extra cash whether you plan to take advantage of the 5G speeds or not. We’d also expect this to result in pricier costs if you pick up the phone on contract, too.
While 2019 might have been full of 5G phones, a lot of them were merely 5G-enabled spin-offs of a 4G phone. Samsung, for example, still launched 4G versions of its Note 10 series and OnePlus had a completely separate 5G OnePlus 7 Pro.
With the launch of the Galaxy S20 series that all changes. There’s only one version here that lacks 5G and all models of the higher-end S20 Plus and S20 Ultra are fully 5G phones. It’s clear the Samsung is taking 5G very seriously and it might not be long until all of its high-end phone pack support for it.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
