Samsung has officially confirmed the release date of its highly anticipated Galaxy S10 5G.
Not only is it going to be the company's first 5G smartphone, but it's also set to be the very first 5G handset on the market.
Galaxy S10 5G Release Date Revealed
In a press release, Samsung says that the Galaxy S10 5G will launch in Majestic Black, Royal Gold, and Crown Silver on April 5 in South Korea, which doesn't come as a surprise considering that it's the manufacturer's home country.
It's scheduled to "expand to additional markets after." Exactly how soon that is isn't clear, but it shouldn't be too long until it lands on U.S. shores, though when it does, it's going to be an exclusive to Verizon first before becoming available from other major carriers such as AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile.
According to the Samsung-centric website SamMobile, the brand's carrier partners in the country have already begun accepting preorders and have slapped a price tag of 1.39 million won (about $1,231) on the 256 GB model and 1.55 million won (about $1,366) on the 512 GB model, which won't come in Royal Gold, it seems.
Move To 5G
South Korea's 5G network is expected to go live on April 5, coinciding with great timing with the Galaxy S10 5G's release date. Technically, it has already been up and running since Dec. 1, but there weren't any commercially available devices that could support it then, so the official rollout was put on hold.
Also, the South Korean government and mobile operators have had some issues to iron out regarding the cost of 5G data, delaying the launch of the network even further. Now VentureBeat reports that the South Korean government has finalized pricing plans of 5G connectivity in the country. For the curious, the prices boil down to between roughly $50 and $110 per month, with no unlimited data plans in the pipeline just yet.
Meanwhile, in the United States, Verizon is planning on rolling out 5G to Chicago and Minneapolis on April 11. It also intends to expand its coverage to over 30 more cities by the end of 2019. This push makes sense because the carrier does have exclusive rights to the smartphone in question for the first few months in the United States, as mentioned earlier.
