Android
Samsung Galaxy S5 Release Date Predictions
The Samsung Galaxy S5 is heading to the United States and according to the carriers that will carry it, it will land sometime during the month of April. Carriers have not confirmed specific dates. With a release date still weeks away, we want to make some bold predictions about the Galaxy S5 release date in the United States.
After months and months of waiting, the Samsung Galaxy S5 is finally here. Samsung made it official at its Unpacked 5 event in Barcelona, Spain and they device is now out in the open for the world to see.
On paper, and in person, the Galaxy S5 looks like it could be a worthy successor to the Galaxy S4, the device that replaced the company’s extremely popular Galaxy S4. It offers a brand new design that is both water and dust resistant, it brings an upgraded 16MP camera to the table, and it comes with some useful software enhancements including Android 4.4.2 KitKat.
Tons of Americans probably have their eye on Samsung’s new Galaxy S, problem is, we still don’t know when the device is going to officially land on shelves.
As expected, Samsung relayed a specific release date for the Galaxy S5. The device will arrive on April 11th, or, just a few weeks before the Samsung Galaxy S4’s first birthday. And while American carriers have confirmed the Galaxy S5 for arrival and even tagged it with an April release, there are still a lot of missing details including specific release dates.
With the Galaxy S5 U.S. release date situation still unresolved, we want to offer up our own predictions about how we see it playing out for consumers in the United States.
Here is how we see the Samsung Galaxy S5 release going down in the United States.
Galaxy S5 U.S. Release Dates In and Around April 11th
The Samsung Galaxy S5 release date doesn’t have any specific dates inside the United States though we do know that it will be coming in April thanks to the sign up pages that we saw carriers roll out after the Galaxy S5 was announced.
When we asked Samsung if it would be released on April 11th in the United States, we received a nod from an employee though they later said that it was still not confirmed.
In the build up to the Galaxy S4 launch, we had heard that the Galaxy S5 might arrive in the U.S. in late April, possibly around April 25th. That would be around the same time that the Galaxy S4 launched last year.
Even with that information, we simply can’t see the Galaxy S5 arriving in the United States much later than April 11th. The United States is an important battleground for Samsung and the Galaxy S5 is a device with a big name. Carriers like devices with big names because they bring in cash and new customers. Galaxy devices are important to carrier portfolios especially right now given the climate of the smartphone market; 2014 has been extremely quiet.
The only thing that potentially could influence release date decisions is the arrival of the HTC M8, also known as the all new HTC One. It’s scheduled to launch on March 25th which means it could also touch down in April as well. Even if that does happen, we can’t see the Galaxy S5 release emerging much later than April 11th.
Release Dates Within Days of Each Other
Time to get a little more specific. We also predict that carriers will release the Galaxy S5 within a couple of days of each other.
Release dates for major flagship devices usually cluster around each other. The Galaxy S4, for instance, was released on four major carriers in just a few short days. The lone straggler was Verizon who released the Galaxy S4 much later in May.
We also saw the same thing happen with the Galaxy Note 3. Every single Galaxy Note 3 release date emerged in the beginning of October as carriers looked to keep up with their rivals ahead of the holiday shopping season.
Look for the Galaxy S5 release to follow in their footsteps.
Pre-Orders in March
We have sign up pages and RadioShack is taking reservations ahead of a pre-order but we don’t have a Samsung Galaxy S5 pre-order in the United States just yet.
All signs point to March. Usually, we see carriers offer a pre-order about a month out from the release date so it would not be surprising if carriers put their device on sale early in the first or second week of March ahead of the Galaxy S5’s release date.
Pre-order dates will likely vary though again, we should see carriers try and keep up with their rivals. Once we see one arrive, the others shouldn’t be too far behind.
Sensible Verizon Galaxy S5 Release Date
Nothing is set in stone but we are predicting a sensible Samsung Galaxy S5 release on Verizon. Last year, the carrier left a bad taste in the mouths of its customers by releasing the Galaxy S4 a month after its competitors. It also left the release date up in the air for weeks while consumers tried to decide where to buy the flagship.
It also angered its customer base with an HTC One release that came in August. AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile all released the HTC One during the month of April.
We simply cannot see Verizon mucking this up, alienating its consumers once again. Verizon may have been the top dog last year but the competition is closing the gap. AT&T’s 4G LTE network is slowly chipping away at Verizon’s lead and T-Mobile offers some tantalizing options for those who don’t want to lock themselves into a device or carrier.
Verizon got it right with the Galaxy Note 3 release and we think it will get it right here as well.
Instant Deals
We’re predicting instant Samsung Galaxy S5 deals. This is an Android smartphone and we almost always see a retailer offer some kind of deal on release day. It doesn’t matter if it’s a flagship or a mid-range device, it always seems to happen.
Amazon and Walmart are the two most likely to offer a Galaxy S5 deal to consumers. Amazon often will drop the price by $20 or $30 right around release day while Walmart is known for knocking off a few dollars as well.
There are rumors that the Galaxy S5 could be cheaper than $199.99 on-contract but even if that is the case, we still expect someone to knock the price down in an effort to capture consumer attention.
Plentiful Stock
Even in the face of overwhelming demand, Samsung has managed to keep its devices on shelves. The Galaxy S3, Galaxy S4 and Galaxy Note 3 all sold millions of times over but all three remained on shelves in the days, weeks and months after launch.
In the past Samsung has attributed that to the use of plastic. It’s simply able to produce devices at an extremely fast rate in an effort to keep up with the demand. With more than a month to go before the Galaxy S5 ships, the company has given itself plenty of time to meet demand for the Galaxy S5. We think the plastic design and the gap between announcement and release will translate into a smooth delivery.
There is also a sense that the Galaxy S5 and its lack of a metal design, QHD display and 64-bit processor underwhelmed. That feeling, combined with Samsung’s supply chain prowess, has us thinking that we won’t see a Galaxy S5 sell out on any carrier.
@admillios what happened to the new design and touchwiz? Need to drop the galaxy series. I feel there wont be a galaxy s6
— Nick Drew (@nld5) February 26, 2014
@admillios I just read your spec comparison and mostly it’s just meh. Unless there are (cont) https://t.co/mwMeE6jv4I
— Jason Matheson (@jmath679) February 24, 2014
@admillios This appears to be the standard model. If no prime model then I like a lot of people will be done with Samsung.
— Brian (@BrianB13) February 24, 2014
Early Shipments
We almost always see some shipments arrive early ahead of their release dates. We expect the Samsung Galaxy S5 to do the same. Of course, we’re not talking about weeks or months before the in-store release but we’re talking maybe a day or two at best. AT&T for instance has done this in the past, possibly to reward those who pre-ordered, and we would not be surprised to see the same thing happen here.
32GB Situation
Samsung announced both a 16GB and 32GB Galaxy S5. However, it was careful not to say which regions would be getting which. Carriers still haven’t confirmed anything either and we’re thinking that this could play out like it did with the Galaxy S4.
The 32GB Galaxy S4 was only made available on AT&T and Verizon. The Verizon model in particular arrived extremely late and at one point, appeared to be dead in the water. Sprint, T-Mobile and U.S. Cellular simply saw no need for the 32GB model given the device’s microSD card slot.
Samsung’s Galaxy S5 comes with a microSD card slot so we’re betting that at least one carrier opts to carry the 16GB model and the 16GB model only, even if half of its memory is taken up by Samsung’s software.
loubielou
02/27/2014 at 9:35 am
LOADS will keep loyal to the Galaxy S4s until the Galaxy S5 price starts dropping,as theres loads of alternative phones around,as we might get more releases in 2nd or 3rd Quarter of 2014,What will Samsungs reaction if the Galaxy S5 never meets there Target?as people were Expecting a much better Smartphone from Samsung