Samsung's special Olympic Edition Galaxy S21 5G is now on sale (Update)

Update: June 2, 2021 (8:25 AM ET): The Samsung Galaxy S21 Olympic Games Edition is now available to purchase in Japan. The phone will be sold by NTT Docomo in the games’ host country for 112,464 yen (~$1,026).

Original article: May 19, 2021 (8:17 AM ET): It seems the Tokyo Olympics is finally happening later this year. In honor of the games, Samsung is launching a unique Galaxy S21 5G model.

Dubbed the Olympic Games Edition (h/t Android Headlines), the refreshed Galaxy S21 5G packs the same internals with a different lick of paint. Its exterior sports a much deeper purple colorway bordered by gold trimmings. Its rear plate also sports the customary five Olympic rings and a Docomo logo — the Japanese operator offering the phone.

As it’s a standard Galaxy S21 5G, there’s nothing out of the ordinary in terms of specs. It packs a 6.2-inch AMOLED screen, a Snapdragon 888 SoC, and a triple camera array at the rear. Buyers also get 8GB of RAM, 256GB of internal storage, and a 4,000mAh battery.

Samsung’s no stranger to commemorative and limited edition handsets. The Galaxy Note 10 Plus Star Wars Special Edition leaps to mind. The S20 Plus also saw an ultra pink version in the form of the BTS Edition.

Notably, the S20 Plus was originally planned to commemorate the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Those planned were cancelled when the games were delayed last year.

Although the games are set to kick off in July, the Galaxy S21 5G Olympic Edition is coming “after early June.” No price is paired with the announcement. Even if you did want one, it’s likely the phone will see a release limited to Japan. However, we wouldn’t mind seeing that dark purple paint appear on more Samsung smartphones in the future.