Galaxy S21 Launch Price 999,900 Won... First Time Below 1 Million Won

Galaxy S21 Launch Price Drops by 240,000 KRW Compared to Galaxy S20
Strategy to Boost Sales and Counter iPhone 12

Galaxy S21 Rendering Image (Source: WinFuture)

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] The retail prices for the Galaxy S21 series have been finalized. By lowering the prices to the lowest 990,000 KRW range, they have dropped by more than 240,000 KRW compared to the previous model.

According to the telecommunications industry on the 13th, Samsung Electronics confirmed the retail prices for the Galaxy S21 series as follows: ▲ Galaxy S21 at 999,900 KRW ▲ Galaxy S21 Plus at 1,199,000 KRW ▲ Galaxy S21 Ultra 256GB at 1,452,000 KRW ▲ Galaxy S21 Ultra 512GB at 1,599,400 KRW.

The strategy is to compete by lowering the Galaxy S21’s retail price to below 1 million KRW. Considering that the previous Galaxy S20 was priced at 1,248,500 KRW, Galaxy S20 Plus at 1,353,000 KRW, and Galaxy S20 Ultra at 1,595,000 KRW, the new prices are about 150,000 to 240,000 KRW cheaper. The pre-order performance of the Galaxy S20 series, which was only 60-80% of the previous model, also had a significant impact on the price reduction.

Samsung Electronics is known to have lowered some specifications while excluding the charger and wired earphones as they reduced the Galaxy S21’s retail price. The displays of the Galaxy S21 and Galaxy S21+ support FHD+ resolution, which is lower than the previous model’s (QHD+), and they come with 8GB of RAM. The Galaxy S20+ had 12GB of RAM.

This is the first time that a Samsung flagship 5G smartphone has been priced below 1 million KRW. Although the Galaxy S20 FE, released in October last year, was priced at 899,800 KRW, it had lower specifications than the regular flagship models.

Apple’s iPhone 12 series, priced as low as 950,000 KRW, also likely influenced Samsung’s pricing strategy. According to market research firm Strategy Analytics, Apple recorded a 19.2% share of the 5G smartphone market just two months after the iPhone’s release last year, surpassing Samsung Electronics’ 15.1% and rising to second place.

Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics will hold the Galaxy Unpacked event at midnight on the 15th Korean time to unveil the Galaxy S21 series and new products such as the Galaxy Buds Pro. Pre-orders will start on the 15th, and the official release is scheduled for the 29th.