Galaxy S9 Price Leaked, Pre-orders To Start On February 26

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The Galaxy S9 is just around the corner and fans are all excited about the device. Reliable tipsters and supply chain reports have leaked almost all technical specifications of the device before its official unveiling. Past reports have claimed that the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus would be more expensive than their predecessors. Fresh leaks have revealed the Galaxy S9 price, and the date when pre-orders would go live.

The Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus will be Samsung’s response to the iPhone X. Unfortunately, the new Galaxy phones will have no major design changes while the iPhone X came with a radical new design. Despite an older form factor, Samsung is planning to bump up the Galaxy S9 price compared to last year’s models. Reliable tipster Evan Blass said in a tweet that the Galaxy S9 would cost EUR 841 in European markets while the larger Galaxy S9 Plus would be priced at EUR 997.

https://twitter.com/evleaks/status/966717256205045760

If you convert those prices into dollars, the Galaxy S9 price would be $1,036 and the S9 plus would set you back by $1,229. But that’s now how smartphone prices work. The previous generation Galaxy smartphones suggest that European prices tend to be higher than in the US. According to GSM Arena, the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus would have a starting price of $850 and $950 in the US, respectively.

Meanwhile, folks at PiunikaWeb have discovered that the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus would cost EUR 849 and EUR 1,000 in Spain. The details come from a leaked screenshot of a Spanish bank document. These prices aren’t the same as Evan Blass’s leak, but pretty close. By comparison, last year’s Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus were priced at EUR 809 and EUR 909 in Spain, respectively.

Samsung Galaxy S9 Price And Pre-orders
Image Source: Piunikaweb.com (screenshot)

These prices are just for the base model. The higher storage variants could go upward of $1,000 in the US. We still can’t be sure what the final Galaxy S9 price would be in the US market, but we can expect it to compete with the iPhone X in terms of pricing. The Galaxy Note 8 phablet was priced at $930 in the US and EUR 999 in European markets. The Galaxy S9 Plus would cost as much as, or even higher than, the Galaxy Note 8 in the US.

It seems like a risky pricing strategy from Samsung. The iPhone X, which sold well during the holiday quarter, had an innovative design and features like Face ID and Animoji to lure buyers. The anniversary iPhone sold 29 million units during the holiday shopping season. But its sales have fallen dramatically in the current quarter due to its $1,000 price tag. Apple fans who couldn’t afford the iPhone X could opt for the iPhone 8 ($699) or the iPhone 8 Plus. But Samsung doesn’t have an iPhone 8-like option with the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus.

The Korean electronics heavyweight could still manage to attract buyers by offering aggressive trade-in promotions right from the beginning. The rumor mill claims that Samsung would offer a $350 trade-in discount to pre-order customers who turn in their older phones. It would bring down the effective price of the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus to between $500 and $600.

According to Reddit user Mopso, the Galaxy S9 pre-orders will start on February 26 in Spain, just a day after the Unpacked event. February 26 is when the Redditor’s bank will begin accepting pre-orders, but it isn’t clear when the wireless carriers and Samsung would open pre-orders. German publication WinFuture claimed a few days ago that the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus would go on pre-orders on February 25 itself, and hit the store shelves on March 8th.

Korean site The Investor recently reported that South Korean carriers including LG Uplus, KT, and SK Telecom would initiate pre-orders on February 28th. Samsung would launch the devices on March 16, but pre-orders customers will start receiving their units from March 9 itself, a week before the device hits the store shelves.

The Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus are almost confirmed to have 5.8-inch and 6.2-inch Super AMOLED Infinity displays with an 18:9 aspect ratio. The standard S9 would pack 4GB RAM, a 3000mAh battery, and a single 12-megapixel camera on the back. The Galaxy S9 Plus would offer 6GB RAM, a dual camera setup on the back, and a 3500mAh battery pack. Both the phones will have an 8MP shooter on the front.

Other features include a 3.5mm audio jack, dual stereo speakers, a USB Type-C port, a Bixby button, facial recognition, an iris scanner, and an Animoji-like feature likely to be called AR Emoji. Both the handsets will run Android Oreo with Samsung’s custom Experience UI on top. They both will be powered by the Exynos 9810 or Snapdragon 845 depending on the region. Since pretty much everything is already known about the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus, Samsung will reportedly give the Unpacked event attendees a new experience by allowing them to view the new phones in augmented reality.

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