Samsung’s latest and greatest Android smartphone is hitting shelves April 11th across the pond in the UK, but unlike Sony’s Xperia Z2 it’s yet to go up for pre-order in the UK. While that’s of course annoying for Samsung fans, they’re going to be writing that particular wrong very soon. Both Samsung and Carphone Warehouse have come out and announced that the device will go up for pre-order in the UK starting March 28th. With the device launching April 11th, that gives Samsung a two-week period to entice people into putting their names forward for their latest flagship.
Pricing has yet to be announced, but we’re pretty certain that Samsung’s latest flagship isn’t going to come cheap. Much like Sony’s direct competitor, the Xperia Z2 the Galaxy S5 is packed full of technology and we’re sure that Samsung is more than willing to charge a premium for. As Android Central have noted, there is a SIM-Free price of the Galaxy S5 from Unlocked Mobiles in the UK at £550, which is neither cheap nor expensive, for a device of this cost. What we need to remember is that contracts have long distorted our view of how much something actually costs when it comes to smartphones.
It looks like this Spring is going to be a very crowded release window for smartphones, with Sony’s Xperia Z2 launching and HTC’s all new One apparently launching the same time as well. That makes three massive phone launches in a small window. There’s no doubt that these devices will be making up the backbone of Android device sales for 2014, so it’ll be interesting to see how pre-orders of the Galaxy S5 go in the UK, a region Samsung is very powerful in. Hopefully, the Galaxy S5 won’t be launching on all the major networks with costly monthly plans and that the SIM Free price does turn out to be £550.