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Samsung Galaxy S5 U.S. Release: 10 Big Questions

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The Samsung Galaxy S5 release date is set for April inside the United States. With a Galaxy S5 release just weeks away in the U.S., prospective buyers have unsurprisingly begun to ask a lot of questions about the U.S. release. Here, we take a look at those questions and answer them as best as we can.

At the end of February, Samsung took the stage at Mobile World Congress 2014 and announced the Galaxy S5, its Galaxy S4 successor that was rumored for months ahead of its launch. As expected, the Galaxy S5 is a powerful smartphone and one that is poised to confidently battle the likes of the HTC One, iPhone 5s and the Nexus 5.

Since that day in February, we’ve seen Galaxy S5 details emerge for potential buyers inside the United States. And while those details have helped to answer some of the questions surrounding Samsung’s Next Big Thing, we haven’t seen the entire U.S. release picture emerge. Those missing pieces have caused consumers to start asking questions. And rightfully so.

This is one of the biggest devices of the year and picking out a new smartphone is a big decision. Devices like the Samsung Galaxy S5 aren’t free and neither are the data plans that power them.

Since its February 24th launch date, we’ve been asked a ton of questions about the Samsung Galaxy S5 release in the United States. Here, we take a look at 10 of the biggest questions consumers have about the Samsung Galaxy S5 U.S. release and release date.

“When is the Samsung Galaxy S5 U.S. Release Date?”

We’ll start with the question that we hear the most. Friends, family and readers are constantly asking us about the Galaxy S5 release date in the United States and we don’t blame them. The Galaxy S5 is official, carriers say that it’s coming in April, but we still haven’t seen any specific details emerge for the U.S.

At MWC 2014, Samsung announced that the Galaxy S5 would be coming to 150 countries on April 11th. Thus far, that’s the only specific release date that we have. The United Kingdom will be getting the Galaxy S5 on April 11th but it’s still not clear if carriers in the United States will follow the UK’s lead.

Galaxy S5 Display

At this point, the only concrete answer that we can provide comes from the carriers themselves. Major U.S. carriers say that the Galaxy S5 will arrive in April and at this point, it looks like they will honor that promise. Exactly when in April remains a mystery though we would not be surprised if at least one carrier released the Galaxy S5 on April 11th.

One clue possible clue that points to April 11th? MVNO Ting says that it will offer the Galaxy S5 in mid-April and we can’t see it getting the device before major carriers. Two smaller carriers, Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile, say that they will release the Galaxy S5 in Q2. Q2 consists of April, May and June.

“Will My Carrier Get the Galaxy S5?”

Believe it or not, we get asked this question a lot. The Samsung Galaxy S5 is coming to at least nine carriers inside the United States. Here is the current list of Galaxy S5 carriers:

  • AT&T
  • Sprint
  • T-Mobile
  • U.S. Cellular
  • Verizon
  • MetroPCS
  • Boost Mobile
  • Virgin Mobile
  • Ting

C Spire Wireless and Cricket Wireless, both of which carried the Galaxy S4 and Galaxy S3, remain silent about the Samsung Galaxy S5. It’s possible that we could see announcements come a little later in the year but for now, consumers will just have to deal with nine Samsung Galaxy S5 carrier options in the U.S.

“Will There Be a Pre-Order?”

We still don’t know though it would be surprising if carriers opted not to host one for those who like ordering their smartphone ahead of the release date.

Samsung Galaxy S5 Release - Pre-Orders U.S.

Pre-orders begin on March 28th in the United Kingdom so it’s possible that we could see something start in the United States around that time but that’s just speculation. We do expect a pre-order in the United States though we still aren’t sure when it might touch down.

“How Much Will the Galaxy S5 Cost?”

This, along with the question about the release date, are the most popular amongst friends and family. People want to know how much the Galaxy S5 is going to cost. Unfortunately, carriers haven’t been very helpful.

Samsung’s Galaxy S5 contest suggests that the full retail price of the Galaxy S5 will rest somewhere in the vicinity of $600 to $700. That’s not surprising because Galaxy S devices typically start at around $650 off-contract. This puts them on par with the iPhone which starts at $650 off-contract as well.

Galaxy S5 Powersaving-L

MVNO Ting says that it hasn’t been able to nail down the price of the Galaxy S5 but that “signs point” to it being in the $600 range. In other words, it’s probably going to be expensive off-contract in the U.S. On-contract is another story.

The only clue that we have is that TELUS in Canada is targeting a $250 two year on-contract price for the Galaxy S5. Canadian pricing is usually different than pricing in the United States so this serves only as a gauge of price, rather than a confirmation of price.

Samsung and its carrier partners have, in the past, put the Galaxy S on sale starting at $199.99 on-contract. A report from Bloomberg suggests a possible price drop but that remains unconfirmed.

“Where Can I Buy It?”

This is a question that we can answer, completely. The Galaxy S5 will be available through carriers online and in physical carrier stores around the country. It will also be available through these retail locations in the future:

  • Amazon
  • Best Buy
  • RadioShack
  • Sam’s Club
  • Target
  • Walmart

RadioShack is currently taking names down in a pre-registration process that will give consumers first dibs on the device when orders begin later this year.

“What Colors Will It Come In?”

On stage, Samsung talked about four different Galaxy S5 colors. The device will be coming in black, white, blue and gold. Problem is, the company did not say which colors would be going where or if all four colors would be available upon release.

In the past, we’ve seen Samsung hand exclusives to carriers most recently with the rose gold Galaxy Note 3 that landed on Verizon. That color is not available through other carriers in the U.S.

Samsung Galaxy S5 blue

Samsung borrowed a cue from the HTC One with this blue color.

While we can’t answer this question completely, we can offer a partial solution. T-Mobile’s website lists the Galaxy S5 in both black and white, a sign that those colors will be available at launch. The blue and gold variants are nowhere to be found.

In the UK, Vodafone holds an exclusive over the gold Galaxy S5. This makes an exclusive inside the United States more likely though the notion remains unconfirmed.

At the very least, expect white and black.

“How Much Storage Does It Have?”

Rumors pointed to 64GB and 128GB versions of the Galaxy S5 but the real Galaxy S5 will only be coming with 16GB and 32GB of internal space. Fortunately, it comes with a microSD card slot that can handle up to 128GB microSD cards.

Thanks to a leak, we know that T-Mobile will be carrying both the 16GB and 32GB models. This is a big upgrade from the Galaxy S4 which arrived on T-Mobile in 16GB form only. This does not confirm both models for other U.S. carriers though it does make it more likely than it would have been if the leak pointed to a 16GB model only.

The Galaxy S5 beats the Galaxy S4 on available storage, and both include a Micro SD card slot.

The Galaxy S5 beats the Galaxy S4 on available storage, and both include a Micro SD card slot.

Thankfully, the Galaxy S5 is said to have more internal space than the Galaxy S4. It’s still not an ideal amount of space but it’s better than what Samsung offered last year.

“Will There Be Any Deals?”

Devices like the Galaxy S5 are expensive and thus, friends, family and readers alike want to know if there will be any deals in store for the Samsung Galaxy S5.

Well, we haven’t seen any emerge just yet but that doesn’t mean that there won’t be any. Deals typically don’t emerge until after the pre-order and price emerge.

While we can’t offer a definitive answer, we can say that just about every Android smartphone, from the least talked about device to the flagships have seen day one details. Last year, we saw immediate price cuts for the Galaxy S4. We even saw the iPhone 5s price drop on release day thanks to Walmart.

“Is Another Galaxy S5 Coming Later This Year?”

In the buildup to the Galaxy S5’s launch, rumors pointed to two Galaxy S5 models. One model would be made out of plastic while the other would be a premium model and would be constructed out of metal.

Well, the metal Galaxy S5 hasn’t arrived yet though there are rumors that suggest a premium model is still coming. Reports have pegged its launch for the months after the initial Galaxy S5 release. Samsung’s CEO recently shot down those rumors but that doesn’t put the nail in the coffin. While we think that these is a less of a chance now, there is still a chance that we could see a metal Galaxy S5. It’s probably not worth putting every egg into the basket at this point though.

While a metal Galaxy S5 launch is in doubt, there is a very good chance that we’ll see a Galaxy S5 mini and a Galaxy S5 zoom arrive later this year. The Galaxy S5 zoom and its supposed 19MP camera were caught in benchmarks the other day.

So to answer this question, we can’t say for sure, but it looks like more Galaxy S5 models are on the way.

“How Does It Compare to Other Devices?”

Finally, we tend to get this extremely vague question. People want to know how the Galaxy S5 stacks up next to the other big name devices on the market. It’s only natural.

See how the Galaxy S5 stacks up to the best smartphones on the market.

See how the Galaxy S5 stacks up to the best smartphones on the market.

While we haven’t been able to go in-depth just yet, we have been able to briefly compare the Galaxy S5 to other big name smartphones ahead of launch.

Those who want to dive deep ahead of the Galaxy S5’s arrival should not only check out our big comparison to see how the Galaxy S5 compares to the best smartphones all at once, but also our breakouts below that show a deeper look at each phone for buyers who are looking at the Galaxy S5 and one other phone.

Galaxy S5 vs iPhone 5s

Galaxy S5 vs Nexus 5

Galaxy S5 vs Galaxy S4

Galaxy S5 vs Galaxy Note 3

Galaxy S5 vs Galaxy S3

Galaxy S5 vs HTC One

1 Comment

1 Comment

  1. Bitch ass niggas

    04/10/2014 at 8:31 pm

    F this shit

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