Samsung Galaxy S21 prices just leaked — there’s good and bad news

As a general rule of thumb, the price of flagship smartphones only goes in one direction, and although the increase is relatively modest each year, the cumulative effect is startling. Case in point, while you could buy Samsung’s top-of-the-line Galaxy S6 for $599 in 2015, five years later a basic S20 set you back $999 at launch, while the Ultra cost $1,399. 

But it looks like the Samsung Galaxy S21 will buck this trend. According to established leaker Ishan Agarwal, two models of Galaxy S21 will see a modest price drop on the S20. However, the new Ultra model will apparently see a small price increase.

The basic S21 will start at €849, the S21 Plus will be €1,049 (with a 256GB model for €1,099) and the S21 Ultra will cost €1,399. In dollars, those prices range from $1,040 to $1,715, but given costs between regions are never exact currency conversions, that’s not actually very helpful. 

A more sensible approach is to look at the Euro prices for the S20 and see how they’ve changed, and it’s pretty straightforward. In short, the basic S21 and S21 Plus are €50 cheaper than their entry-level S20 equivalents, while the S21 Ultra is €50 more than the S20 Ultra. 

While a price change of €50 (around $61) either way isn’t exactly life changing when discussing a device with a four-figure price tag, it’s nonetheless interesting that Samsung is bucking its pricing trend at all. 

You don’t have to look hard to find the likely cause for the price drop. Covid 19 has not only created problems for businesses making phones, but shoppers are not as flush with cash either, and despite the promise of Covid vaccines, an economic recovery won’t happen overnight.

In some respects, it’s surprising that any price cut is limited to just €50, but then again Samsung can always lower prices if sales are slow.

That’s assuming the rumor is correct, of course, but we won’t have to wait long to find out. Samsung will apparently be releasing the Galaxy S21 family earlier than usual, with a January 14 launch event rumored. While all three models are expected to share the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 processor and 120Hz screen, the Galaxy S21 Ultra is apparently going to be highly advanced, complete with dual telephoto zoom lenses and S Pen support.