The Samsung Galaxy S10 5G, the first 5G-capable smartphone in the United States, has arrived, and it's now available at Verizon.
It's priced at $1,299.99, but the carrier's promo shaves up to $650 off. That's half the cost of the smartphone.
Galaxy S10 5G Discount
To be exact, Verizon has announced a trade-in deal that lets customers get up to $450 off the Galaxy S10 5G. It also has another offer for those switching to its network, giving away a $200 Prepaid Mastercard. Putting two and two together, that adds up to $650 in savings.
The handset is available in two storage configurations: 256 GB or 512 GB. Normally, the former costs $1,299.99 upfront or $54.16 a month for 24 months, while the latter is $1,399.99 or $58.33 a month for 24 months. From any perspective, those are considered as premium price points, but Big Red seems to be aiming to make 5G accessible and affordable.
At that, buyers can get $450 off if they trade in any one of these phones:
• iPhone XS or iPhone XS Max
• iPhone XR
• iPhone X
• iPhone 8 or iPhone 8 Plus
• iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus
• Galaxy S9 or Galaxy S9 Plus
• Galaxy S8 or Galaxy S8 Plus
• Galaxy Note 9
• Galaxy Note 8
• Pixel 3 or Pixel 3 XL
• Pixel 2 or Pixel 2 XL
• LG G7 ThinQ
• LG V40 ThinQ
Those who don't any of the devices listed above can still get a $300 discount with other handsets, such as a Galaxy S7 or Galaxy S7 edge, iPhone SE, iPhone 5s, and even the original Pixel and Pixel XL.
Meanwhile, customers can get the $200 Prepaid Mastercard by switching to Verizon, purchasing a Galaxy S10 5G, and activating it on an Unlimited data plan.
The 5G smartphone comes in Majestic Black and Crown Silver, and it's already available for purchase at the Verizon's online store and physical shops. Also, it's an exclusive to the carrier for a limited time.
5G Ready?
The coverage of 5G isn't exactly widespread just yet. Verizon's networks offers 5G only in Chicago and Minneapolis at the moment, and the thing is, it's available only in select areas.
The carrier has promised to expand its reach to 20 more cities, though, namely Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dallas, Des Moines, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Little Rock, Memphis, Phoenix, Providence, San Diego, Salt Lake City, and Washington, D.C.
In other words, purchasing a Galaxy S10 5G despite the location limitations doesn't seem to be a bad idea since coverage is steadily increasing, after all. Not to mention that a connection to this network delivers jaw-dropping speeds, as demoed by Verizon's PR manager George L. Koroneos on Twitter.
This is 5G on the brand new Samsung Galaxy S10 5G in front of my hotel. It's crazy the difference a month makes. #FirstToRealTime pic.twitter.com/Syxc7HGrqn — George L. Koroneos (@GLKCreative) May 16, 2019
It's also worth mentioning that Verizon has technically offered a "5G phone" before the Galaxy S10 5G: the Moto Z3. It's a 4G device that can establish a 5G connection by way of a Moto Mod, which is yet another way to get into the 5G game.
Still, the Samsung handset is deserving of its title as the first 5G phone in the United States since it does offer 5G connectivity from the get-go without needing an accessory. At any rate, the takeaway here is that Big Red is going all out with the next-generation cellular network technology, paving the way by making it accessible as much as possible.
