3 reasons you should (and shouldn't) pre-order the Samsung Galaxy S20

With the Galaxy S20, S20 Plus, and S20 Ultra now announced, one of the apex phones of the year has finally landed. With three power-packed variants to choose from, there’s plenty to consider before parting with your cash. That includes one crucial question: should you pre-order the Samsung Galaxy S20 now?

First, the dates that matter. Pre-orders are open now, with the estimated shipping date set for March 6. You can check out all the deals and dates here. With that in mind, let’s take a look at what sounds great and what doesn’t for pre-ordering the Samsung Galaxy S20 and its impressive variants. Don’t take that risk without reading more!

3 reasons you should pre-order the Samsung Galaxy S20

Pre-order bonus: Galaxy Buds Plus, Samsung credit and more

Depending on your location, Samsung has pre-order bonuses for you. The South Korean giant is paying out either credit up to $200 or offering free accessories with each purchase. The most attractive option for both promos is the new Samsung Galaxy Buds Plus. The second-gen buds were announced alongside the Galaxy S20 family and offer a handful of upgrades over Samsung’s first true wireless buds.

In the US, you’ll get Samsung instant credit for “eligible products” including the Galaxy Buds Plus, Samsung TVs, and more at the rate of $100 for S20, $150 for S20 Plus, and $200 for S20 Ultra. Put that towards the Galaxy Buds Plus, or get something else complimentary — your money, your choice. Check out the terms and conditions at the official Samsung online store.

Read more at Soundguys: Best true wireless earbuds

The big deal for Europe is Galaxy Buds Plus true wireless earbuds bundled directly. They’re included with Galaxy S20 Plus and S20 Ultra pre-orders (but not the vanilla S20, just to be clear) and can be claimed via the Samsung Members app between March 10 and April 12, 2020.

For those grabbing that offer that’s $150 of value included for a set of earbuds with double the battery life of the older and already very good edition. It’s a tasty sweetener if you need to upgrade your phone anyway, and should prove to be one of the better true wireless earbuds out there.

Trade-in value: Huge $$$ off

Samsung’s trade-in program is already the best in the market and Samsung is following that winning strategy further with trade-in pre-order promos.

With the right phone to swap, Samsung may give you as much as $700 off the Galaxy S20 Ultra and S20 Plus, and Galaxy S20 too. That includes some of the most recent Samsung Galaxy phones for $700 off, and Apple iPhones up to $600, while even a Google Pixel 4 can get you $600 off.

That kind of insane trade-in value should give you a lot to think about for making the upgrade to 5G and Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 power.

Rivals aren’t at this level and won’t be for months

The Galaxy S20 range will sit in an unusual spot in early 2020: it’s going to be the only major, bleeding-edge Android flagship available to buy in the US for months.

Huawei’s P40 series (estimated to be coming out in a month or two) can’t be sold with Google Mobile Services and was always destined to skip the US regardless. Sony, LG, and Motorola had new flagships planned for MWC, but these brands haven’t held a candle to Samsung’s continued run of great phones in recent years, and that’s unlikely to change. Plus, with MWC now canceled, many OEMs’ launch plans are in disarray.

The next major competitor to Samsung will be from Apple’s 2020 iPhone range. Until then, however, the S20 looks destined to sit atop the smartphone ladder relatively unchallenged.

3 reasons not to pre-order the Samsung Galaxy S20

Not exactly a bargain: that’s Galaxy Z Flip money!

The Galaxy S20 range comes in at the top of the pricing range for Android smartphones. Super-premium, high-end, and with Samsung backing: a sound recipe for a great phone. However, pre-ordering a $1,000+ phone isn’t for everyone. Samsung knows that of course, which is why there are some bonuses, but the sticker price is still up there.

At the very top end, the S20 Ultra has a $1,400+ price-tag. That puts it within the range of foldables, which brings us to the next point.

If you’re ponying up $1,400, it may be worth looking at the Galaxy Z Flip. Samsung’s second foldable phone after the hit-and-miss Galaxy Fold was announced at the same time as the S20 series priced at $1380. The Z Flip is not quite in the same ballpark in terms of powerhouse specs, but for fun, fashion, and future-feels, the Galaxy Z Flip has it all. It looks better than the Motorola Razr and has trick features that give the fold useful touches.

No reviews, yet

Just to get personal for a second: I take a fastidious approach to buying new tech and am equally careful with where my money goes. I almost never jump in without checking what detailed reviews have to say about the next big thing. The last time I did buy without waiting was for the Google Stadia Founders Edition. That didn’t go well.

With that in mind, I’ll be waiting for reviews that dig into the detail of the Galaxy S20 series beyond quicks hands-on impressions, and you might want to do the same. Reviews, like those here at Android Authority, offer a deeper insight into the camera, battery life, performance, display quality, and little things that matter so much when buying a new smartphone. The Pixel 4, to pick a notorious example, is a great camera phone with weak battery life. For power users, that’s a crucial factor, and the extent of the Pixel 4’s battery woes only became fully clear after hours of testing.

Knowing how well each Galaxy S20 model performs with its new chipset and comparatively solid battery spec will be a key decision for me.

The price will drop over time (eventually)

Samsung’s premium Galaxy range holds its value pretty well so this is a much smaller reason not to pre-order. The most recent Galaxy Note 10 Plus with 512GB of storage started at $1,200 back in August 2019, and aside from Black Friday deals, it has only now dropped down to $999.

The Galaxy S10 with 128GB of storage, the S20 equivalent from 2019, remains in production and that line is all now seeing $150 price-cuts, as follows:

• Samsung Galaxy S10e – $599 (was $749 at launch);
• Samsung Galaxy S10 – $749 (was $899 at launch);
• Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus – $849 (was $999 at launch);

Just following that line of thinking, if the S10 has only dropped $150 off a year later, your S20 won’t be losing much off the sticker price any faster. Even with all that said, if you can hold off upgrading your phone for six months or so, we’ll almost certainly see some decent Galaxy S20 deals start to drop from retailers and carriers.

Will you be placing a Samsung Galaxy S20 pre-order? Let us know in the comments!