Samsung is looking to boost sales of the Galaxy S20 series, by promising to buy the phones back after a couple of years, at an above market rate.
Amid slumping smartphone sales due to the coronavirus pandemic, Samsung is promising users 50% of the retail price, if they return an S20 handset within 24 months.
If you want to keep the phone for two years before cashing in, Samsung will guarantee you a decent price at the end of the period, provided you keep the phone in “satisfactory” condition.
The phone will have to be bought from Samsung.com or the Shop Samsung app in order to be applicable to the program, and buyers will have to opt-in at the point of purchase.
So, if you buy a Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G 512GB, you can get $799.99 back, whereas if you’ll be guaranteed $499.99 if you keep the phone in decent knick (via Droid-Life and Android Central).
The idea is a sound one, given the Galaxy S10, on average, lost almost 50% of its value, less than a year after it went on sale. That means users who take part in the scheme are practically guaranteed a better price than they could get on the secondary market.
The Galaxy S20 series is typically accomplished and a decent leap forward on the S10 in many respects. However, the current climate has constricted an already tricky market for expensive flagship smartphones.
Related: Galaxy S20 vs Galaxy S20 Ultra
We gave the S20 and S20 Plus phones 4.5 star scores, out of a possible 5, while the Ultra version wasn’t far behind with 4 stars. We loved the design, great cameras, gorgeous screen and oodles of power. However, the Samsung One UI skin isn’t as enjoyable to use as Google’s pure version of Android, so dragged things down somewhat.
Of the standard S20, our reviewer wrote: “For most people, the Samsung Galaxy S20 is the best Android phone available right now. This will likely be the biggest selling flagship Android device of the year, with a lot of happy customers.”
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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.