A new Samsung Galaxy S21 rumor could be the best news we've had yet about the next big Samsung phone. It's nothing to do with hardware or software, but rather the phone's apparently much lower price.
The source is a little obscure, being a user called Landsk on the Naver blog "yeux1122" (via SamMobile). They claim that while prices haven't been confirmed, the cost of the Galaxy S21 will be between $850 and $899, the Galaxy S21 Plus between $1,050 and $1,099, and the Galaxy S21 Ultra between $1,250 and $1,299.
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For context, the starting price in USD for the S20 series was $999 for the Galaxy S20, $1,199 for the Galaxy S20 Plus, and $1,399 for the Galaxy S20 Ultra. The leak's figures therefore indicate that each S21 model will have a reduction of between $100 - $150 compared to its predecessor.
This could be caused by falling component costs, allowing Samsung to sell its phones for less while still making the same profit per device. Samsung may also have decided to cut prices to hopefully snatch sales from Apple or OnePlus, whose iPhone 12 and OnePlus 8 Pro are both big competitors to Samsung's flagship handsets.
Apple in particular is likely a focus. With the iPhone 12 Pro now starting at $999, Samsung no longer has the advantage of offering more hardware for less with its S20 series. Combine that with an early January launch date, rather than February for the S20 or March for the Galaxy S10, and Samsung is seemingly gunning for sales from any users looking for a flagship upgrade in 2021.
The rumored price of the S21 Ultra happens to match up with that of the current Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra ($1,299). We've been seeing many claims that the Galaxy Note line won't be getting an upgrade this year, and might be ended entirely so Samsung can focus more on foldables like the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip and Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2.
While sharing a price point isn't strong evidence of that, it at least means that anyone who already uses Samsung's top stylus-equipped phone won't be horrified by the cost of a Galaxy S21 if they decide to upgrade.
Another upgrade we're expecting to see in January is a new chipset, likely Qualcomm's newly revealed Snapdragon 888, as well as Samsung's Exynos 2100 in certain markets. Displays however will see a downgrade in some respects, with the 6.2-inch S21 and 6.7-inch S21 Plus both using lower FHD resolutions compared to the QHD S20 and S20 Plus, according to the leaks so far.
The S21 Ultra will keep its QHD resolution, but instead will shrink slightly from the S20 Ultra, going from 6.9 inches across to 6.8 inches. The Ultra model will apparently also sport a pair of telephoto cameras, with 3x and 10x magnifications respectively, to give even more photography potential to the phone.
With Christmas quickly approaching and January on the horizon, we shouldn't have too long to wait before we see if these rumors come to fruition.
