Samsung customers could be looking at a significant price rise for the Galaxy S8, if a new report is to be believed.
Goldman Sachs, a leading global financial institution, believes it will cost Samsung as much as 20% more for the raw materials it plans to use in the upcoming Galaxy S8. This increase could result in a price rise for retail customers, if Samsung decides to pass the cost onto consumers. That’s according to a report by Korea’s Choice News, which blames major hardware improvements as a potential cause for the price bump.
For reference, the Samsung Galaxy S7 cost £569 at launch, while the more expensive Galaxy S7 Edge priced at £639.
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Samsung is expected to make a number of significant design changes to the Galaxy S8, including scrapping the Home button, instead embedding a new optical fingerprint sensor beneath the display. The display is also getting a rework, with the Galaxy S8’s screen tipped to occupy most of the front of the phone, with a very slim bezel made possible through the removal of the Home button. There’s also a rumour that Samsung might only use its ‘Edge’ style curved screens on the next flagship.
The other chief rumour is that Samsung will probably split the processors it uses in the Galaxy S8, with some regions getting a phone powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 835 chip, and others receiving a handset that runs on Samsung’s own custom-built Exynos chip.
It’s also highly likely we’ll see upgrades to the camera, memory, and storage, any of which could jack up the cost of building the Galaxy S8 for Samsung.
Of course, there’s no guarantee that prices will rise if Samsung does have to pay more for the Galaxy S8. After all, Samsung will need to ensure that its next flagship phone lands at a reasonable and competitive price, especially in a bid to rebuild the waning consumer trust that followed this year’s Galaxy Note 7 recall debacle.
In any case, we won’t know what Samsung’s plans are for the Galaxy S8 for quite some time, so take this report – and any future leaks – with due caution.
Related: CES 2017
Watch: Samsung Galaxy S8 – Everything you need to know
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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.
