Samsung Galaxy S5 Release: 9 Things to Expect From U.S. Pre-Orders

As the Samsung Galaxy S5 release date approaches in the U.S. consumers are eagerly waiting for a Galaxy S5 pre-order to find out what colors carriers will offer and the specific day the new phone will go on sale.

Buyers are also eager to know the Galaxy S5 price, which is likely to be $200 to $250 on contract but like the rest of the official U.S. Galaxy S5 release details, remains un-announced.

We do expect to see Galaxy S5 pre-orders in the U.S., even though carriers are currently only taking names to register interest in the device. T-Mobile announced that over 300,000 users signed up for the Galaxy S5, but it is worth noting that this is also a contest, so record-setting numbers are not that surprising. The T-Mobile sign up page even says, Galaxy S5 pre-order in the page header, so we’re just waiting on the carrier and others to flip a switch and start taking Galaxy S5 pre-orders on U.S. Carriers.

For users that want to get the device on the Galaxy S5 release date, a pre-order is an exciting milestone, especially now that the Galaxy S5 passed through the FCC for all the major carriers.

While we wait for carriers to start pre-orders and fill us in on the rest of the Galaxy S5 release date details, we want to share what buyers can expect from Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile, AT&T and US Cellular.

Galaxy S5 Pre-Orders Confirmed Soon

We expect to see Galaxy S5 pre-order announcements on the major U.S. carriers in the next two weeks. AT&T started Galaxy S4 pre-orders two weeks before the release and Verizon took orders nearly a month’s before the device shipped.

With a global Galaxy S5 release date on April 11th and U.S. carriers committed to an April Galaxy S5 release window, we should see official announcements start very soon.

We’ll share the news as soon as we get it, but we also expect to see Twitter accounts for the carriers sharing information early.

Pre-Orders Come With a Warning

If you are waiting for more information like the Galaxy S5 price, before committing to a pre-order you won’t need to make a snap decision when the carriers announce the Galaxy S5 pre-orders.

At the very least expect a day between the announcement and the time Verizon Galaxy S5 pre-orders start, and at the most we could see AT&T Galaxy S5 pre-orders come as much as two weeks after an announcement. This would follow the format of the Galaxy S4 launch in 2013.

The Samsung Galaxy S4 will be available for pre-order starting tomorrow. https://t.co/JAgjpA2yls 4G LTE

— Verizon News (@VerizonNews) April 24, 2013

Simply put, carriers love to get as much attention out of these announcements as possible. By announcing a Galaxy S5 pre-order date and then taking pre-orders days or weeks later they can turn one event into multiple days of attention.

Sane Galaxy S5 Pre-Order Starting Times

While Apple loves to start pre-orders late at night, as in 3 AM Eastern, don’t look for the same type of late night timing for Galaxy S5 pre-orders.

Verizon started taking Galaxy Note 3 pre-orders at 9 AM Eastern, and we see other carriers opt for a similar approach when it comes to non-iPhone devices.

It may be an early start for West coast buyers, but it won’t be as bas as waiting up until 3 AM like most of the iPhone buyers do.

Limited Sizes and Colors

Samsung announced four Galaxy S5 colors and two storage capacities for the new smartphone, but U.S. buyers won’t likely get to choose from every combination.

T-Mobile already lists the charcoal black and shimmering white options, with no sign of electric blue and copper gold. While the other carriers are keeping product pages under wraps, don’t expect to see every color option on day one. We may see electric blue or copper gold appear as a carrier exclusive.

A leaked document shows T-Mobile plans to sell the 32GB Galaxy S5 online, which is good news after we found their online product page only lists the 16GB model. It’s not clear if other carriers will offer the 16GB and 32GB models, but we could see some focus on a cheaper 16GB model.

No Need to Pre-Order, But Chance for Early Delivery

It is unlikely that there will be a sell out on the Galaxy S5 release date that would make pre-ordering a necessity, but there is a nice benefit to pre-ordering at the front of the line.

Typically pre-orders arrive one to two days before the in-store release date, which means faster access to the Galaxy S5. We saw the Galaxy S4 arrive early for AT&T and for Verizon.

If you want the device before the in-store Galaxy S5 release, pre-order it.

Push for New Plans

With every new smartphone release this year expect to see a bigger push to switch to a Jump, Next or Edge plan that offers faster upgrades to future devices.

With these plans users pay for the device in monthly installments, sometimes with a downpayment, and can trade in for a new device well ahead of the two-year mark that comes with most contracts.

Some of these plans are a good deal thanks to lower monthly plan rates, but run the math on your account before taking a carrier up on these offers as no matter how you go, the carrier plans to make money.

Able to Pre-Order Off Contract As Well

For users that need to keep an unlimited data plan we expect carriers will offer an off-contract Galaxy S5 pre-order as well. We saw off-contract pre-orders from AT&T in 2013. Pre-orders will likely be online only, but carriers will have support staff on hand to help those with special cases.

We don’t know the Galaxy S5 off-contract price for sure, but based on contest forms it looks like Sprint plans an Off Contract Galaxy S5 price of $649 and T-Mobile of $620 to $630.

Galaxy S5 + Gear Fit Bundles

Samsung already confirmed that the Gear Fit release date is in April, and AT&T announced that it will sell the Gear Fit, so it makes sense that we will see bundles to pre-order the Gear Fit.

 

Last year Verizon offered a Galaxy Gear and Galaxy Note 3 bundle, and this year it would not be a surprise to see the Gear Fit bundled with the new smartphone on this carrier either.

Just don’t expect a price drop for buying a bundle. More than likely the only advantage of a bundle will be adding both items to your cart in one click.  

Galaxy S5 Pre-Order Deals

One thing that is almost certain is a Galaxy S5 pre-order deal from some retailer. This may be Walmart, a retailer that is well known for knocking $15 to $30 off the price of new smartphones on the release day.

We saw a Galaxy S4 pre-order at Walmart on sale last year for $168, and it would not surprise us to see something similar. We might also see Sam’s Club opt to give users a  bundle deal or discount of some kind.

Users that signed up for Best Buy’s $50 off any smartphone deal, should make sure they take the retailer up on the offer, though it might mean a slightly longer wait.