Samsung is expected to reveal the Galaxy S9 at the Mobile World Congress later this month, so it comes as no surprise that we’re seeing an increasing number of leaks about it. Today there’s another Galaxy S9 price leak, and it seems to back up what we heard before, which is that Samsung will likely raise it.
Galaxy S9 price leak for the U.K.
Citing an unnamed source in the “U.K. mobile phone deals industry,” Techradar reports that the Galaxy S9 will likely be priced £100 higher than the Galaxy S8 was last year. That would put the starting price for the S9 at £789. Given that this Galaxy S9 price leak pertains specifically to the U.K., it’s unclear what the U.S. price might be.
If we assume that the price increase is about the same but converted to U.S. dollars, it would make the starting price for the Galaxy S9 about $140 higher in the U.S., which would make it roughly $890. Techradar suggested $850 though, suggesting that Samsung might “only” add $100 to the price (how generous).
The blog does not make mention of the Galaxy S9 Plus, but Samsung will certainly charge more for that handset as well. Last year, the Galaxy S8 Plus started off $100 more than its smaller sibling. However, Samsung is rumored to be adding a dual-lens camera to the Galaxy S9 Plus this year, so we can’t rule out the possibility that the S9 Plus will be even more than $100 pricier than the Galaxy S9.
Galaxy S9 price to increase because people will pay
Techradar’s source said the reason Samsung is inflating the price of the Galaxy S9 this year is simply because it can. The person said that the “massively inflated” prices for handsets such as the Note 8, Galaxy S8 and iPhone X have indicated that plenty of consumers are able and “willing to pay these higher prices.”
Last year kicked off a disturbing trend that pushed flagship phone prices nearly to $1,000, and then the iPhone X pioneered a $1,000 price. If this trend keeps up, we can probably expect the Note 9 to be priced at or above $1,000, and if consumers don’t stop shelling out big bucks for new flagship smartphones, there could be no end to the price hikes in sight.
Other leaks about the Galaxy S9
In addition to the Galaxy S9 price leak, we’re also hearing more about the design and probable specs. For example, Twitter tipster Evan Blass tweeted leaked images of the S9 in Lilac Purple. One of the images shows not only the stunning new color but also the positioning of the fingerprint scanner, which apparently will be below the camera lens. The two lenses on the Galaxy S9 Plus look to be vertically aligned with the fingerprint scanner below them.
In addition to Lilac Purple, Blass states that the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus will also come in Midnight Black, Coral Blue and Titanium Gray. However, he also said it’s unclear if all four of the colors will be available in all the regions where the handset is sold.
We also heard recently that the Galaxy S9 will sport a 3,000mAh battery, while the S9 Plus will have a 3,500mAh battery. Interestingly, we also heard this week that the S9 could be the last S phone Samsung launches. A Korean source reportedly told GizChina that rather than calling next year’s model the Galaxy S10, Samsung is planning to call it the Galaxy X. At first glance, it would look like this is a blatant rip-off of Apple’s iPhone X, but we’ve been hearing rumors about a phone called the Galaxy X since at least 2016. That would mean Apple actually ripped off the Samsung rumor, but that’s really beside the point.
The Galaxy X has long been rumored to be the company’s phone with a foldable screen, and there have even been concerns that the rumors might hurt sales of the Galaxy S9. Now that we’ve heard this Galaxy S9 price leak, it’s pretty safe to say that’s a valid concern. After all, why pay $1,000 (or nearly that) for a standard smartphone if a foldable one is coming only one year later?
Samsung is expected to reveal the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus on Feb. 25.
