Samsung Galaxy S6 Price: 10 Things to Expect

We’ve seen a ton of Samsung Galaxy S6 rumors emerge though only a few of them have mentioned the elusive Galaxy S6 price. With that in mind, we want to take a look at what we expect from Samsung and the Galaxy S6 price tag.

Samsung Galaxy S6 rumors have been swirling around since the beginning of the year. They’ve touched on the Galaxy S6 specs and its high-powered hardware. They’ve mentioned the Galaxy S6 launch date which is all but confirmed for March 1st. They’ve outed possible Galaxy S6 release date information. And they’ve hinted at the Galaxy S6 design. Many of these rumors have been very specific and we’ve seen tons of details firm up ahead of launch.

While we’ve seen a ton of rumors hint at specs, dates and design, we haven’t seen many Galaxy S6 rumors point to one of the device’s most important details: The Samsung Galaxy S6 price.

Over the past two months, we’ve seen Galaxy S6 rumors start to narrow but the Galaxy S6 price remains very mysterious just about a week out from the Galaxy S6 launch date. We’ve seen a couple of rumors pop up this year but we haven’t seen anything emerge for the United States. The Galaxy S6 is still very much a mystery and prospective buyers are looking for answers and some guidance.

In the buildup to the Galaxy S6’s announcement, we’ve been taking a look at its most important details and making some predictions of our own. Recently, we offered up our expectations compared to a few different phones including the iPhone 6 and Galaxy S5. Today, we want to take a look at what we expect from the Galaxy S6 price, an important piece to the puzzle and something that could sway some consumers one way or the other.

Familiar Galaxy S6 Price

We expect the Samsung Galaxy S6 price, the on-contract price, to fall in line with what we’ve seen in previous years. Samsung’s Galaxy S historically has matched the price of its biggest competitor, the iPhone. Apple’s iPhone 6, the base 16GB model, is priced at $199.99 on-contract and we can’t see Samsung and its partners pricing it much higher than that.

The Galaxy S6 should be metal. And yes, it will come with powerful features. But so does the iPhone. So does the HTC One series. Both of those phones are priced at $199.99 on-contract in the United States. A steeper price tag, say $250 on-contract, could, in our eyes, scare tons of buyers away. Samsung can’t risk that this year. Not with the iPhone 6 selling millions of times over. Not with its mobile business struggling. And not with a number of other top Android devices nipping at its heels.

At the very most, we could see some carriers (Sprint, Verizon) push it up to $250 like they did last year with the Galaxy S5 but that’s about as expensive as we think it’s going to get. (It’s worth mentioning that Verizon’s $250 Samsung Galaxy S5 price comes with a $50 rebate. We could see the same here with the Galaxy S6.)

Galaxy S6 Edge Price More Expensive

Samsung’s rumored to have a Galaxy S6 Edge with a curved display up its sleeve. Unlike the Galaxy Note Edge, the Galaxy S6 Edge is expected to have a bent display that goes down both the right and left sides of the phone. The Galaxy Note Edge display bends over the right side.

The Samsung Galaxy Note Edge, a Galaxy Note 4 variant, is $100 more expensive than the Galaxy Note 4. Samsung is charging a premium for the curved technology on the phone. The company itself has even said that the curved display is aimed at the high-end segment of consumers. We don’t expect anything different here.

We’d expect the Galaxy S6 Edge to be more expensive than the Galaxy S6. A $100 premium similar to the Galaxy Note Edge’s price point is logical, something that could put it in and around $300 or $350 on-contract.

More Storage? More Expensive

Galaxy S6 rumors point to the arrival of 32GB, 64GB and 128GB models. If U.S. carriers release multiple models, and there’s no guarantee that they will, expect the price to be set accordingly. In the world of smartphones, more storage leads to a greater cost.

We would expect there to be at least a $50 difference between the storage variants. This is similar to what Samsung and its U.S. partners did when they offered 16GB and 32GB versions of the Galaxy S4. The 16GB Galaxy S4 was priced at $199.99 while the 32GB model (with microSD slot) was priced at $250 on-contract.

Expensive Off-Contract Galaxy S6

Don’t expect Samsung and its carrier partners to drop the device down to Nexus-style off-contract pricing. Not going to happen. Not even the Nexus 6 features Nexus-style off-contract pricing.

Instead, we expect the Galaxy S6 to cost upwards of $600 off-contract. That’s the standard right now for marquee phones like the iPhone 6 and it’s a standard that Samsung’s adhered to in years past. Anything cheaper than $600 would come as a shock.

Very Expensive Off-Contract Galaxy S6 Edge

We expect the Galaxy S6 Edge off-contract price to be very expensive. If Samsung’s curved Galaxy S6 model is $100 more on-contract like we think it will be, we expect the off-contract price to be somewhere between $700 and $800.

 

That’s probably going to price a ton of people out but that’s alright with Samsung. This is a premium phone that comes with a premium price point. Expect nothing less.

Similar Galaxy S6 Prices in U.S.

Don’t expect to see a U.S. carrier, or retailer, try and get away with charging $100 more than their competitors. We almost always see major U.S. carriers and major U.S. retailers offer flagship Android phones for in and around the same price. For instance, Best Buy usually charges the same as carriers do on-contract.

Sprint’s tried to get away with charging $50 more on-contract though it always seems to drop the price back down to the same level as an AT&T and Verizon once its scheme is discovered.

Immediate Galaxy S6 Deals

The Samsung Galaxy S6 is heading into an extremely competitive market, one that’s filled with the iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, and a number of solid budget alternatives including the LG G3. We didn’t see a ton of Galaxy Note 4 deals emerge right off the bat but we did see a few Galaxy Note 4 deals emerge thanks to carriers like T-Mobile.

We do not expect to see the Galaxy S6 price slashed upon release but we would not be surprised if a carrier offered a BOGO deal or a trade-in deal or some other kind of deal to try and attract attention. We also wouldn’t be surprised if a retailer like Amazon or Walmart knocked a little bit off of the on-contract price. Walmart’s been known to undercut its competitors and Amazon typically drops the price a few weeks after a device’s arrival.

We also wouldn’t be surprised if third-party resellers on eBay offered discounts on the Galaxy S6 in the days and weeks after its arrival.

Refurbished Deals in Months

We expect to see more Galaxy S6 deals emerge several months after the Galaxy S6 release date including deals on refurbished models. AT&T is currently offering a refurbished Galaxy Note 4 for $250. That’s not a huge steal but it’s a deal nonetheless.

Some Catches

We expect the Galaxy S6 price to feature some catches. The Verizon Galaxy S5’s $199.99 price is a mirage. The device is actually $250 on-contract with a $50 rebate. We’d expect carriers to do something similar here with a popular phone like the Galaxy S6. There’s too much incentive. People will often to forget to send those in.

Those buying the Galaxy S6 should also expect a higher upgrade fee at carriers like Verizon. We also expect carriers to offer incentives to Galaxy S6 buyers moving to plans like AT&T Next and Verizon Edge.

Galaxy S5 Price Drop

Finally, expect the Samsung Galaxy S5 price to drop from $199.99 down to a cheaper price point. Probably $99 on-contract. The Galaxy S5 is still a very good phone and carriers will use it as a budget alternative to the Galaxy S6.