Samsung is ready to roll out a new upgrade program called “Access” starting from the Samsung Galaxy S20 lineup. That’s according to recent reports stemming from an announcement made by the company.
The new program, as might be expected, currently only applies to users looking to pick up a Samsung Galaxy S20, S20 Plus, or S20 Ultra. It also won’t be accessible to those who already own a Galaxy handset on the previous upgrade program Samsung offered. That is, those users won’t be able to trade up to the new program, with the benefits of trading the handset in.
That means that Access users who happen to already be on Samsung’s upgrade program will need to start fresh. But Access will deliver a handful of fresh benefits and will let users upgrade their handset every nine months. The sole caveat here is that they’ll need to trade in the device they currently have on Access.
What perks do Samsung Access users get aside from a new phone?
Aside from the aforementioned ability to trade up to a new Galaxy handset every nine months, Samsung’s new Access program offers a few other trade-related perks. That’s without consideration for extra additional benefits as part of the premium subscription service.
Namely, users can also trade-up early if they’d like, for a small additional fee. If users want to upgrade their smartphone earlier than the nine-month cutoff, they just need to pay an extra $100. The same fee applies if they’d like to cancel their Access Plan before the required three-month minimum has been met. So there isn’t any canceling early without paying a $100 fee either.
On top of that, subscribers to Samsung Access will gain a Premium Care membership. Premium Care provides users with a lowered price for cracked screen repairs, to begin with. But it also includes equipment sanitization and curbside assistance, where available. No-touch, next-day delivery is on offer for replacement devices via the Premium Care membership too.
Finally, a paid Microsoft 365 subscription is part of the Samsung Access bundle as well, helping users get the most from their Galaxy flagship. That, of course, includes premium-tier access to Microsoft’s Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Skype. Plus, users get a full 1TB of Microsoft’s OneDrive cloud storage to keep associated files safe and accessible from anywhere.
How much does Access cost per month?
Since Samsung Access is a subscription plan, users will need to pay monthly for their devices and extra perks. The cost is, of course, less expensive than any of the individual inclusions though. So it still represents a reasonable value for those who might be interested.
Samsung is currently only offering three handset brands in the program. And those each come at a different cost, reflective of their price points. For the Samsung Galaxy S20, users can expect to pay $37 per month. That cost jumps to $42 per month if program subscribers are interested in the Samsung Galaxy S20 Plus. Finally, the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra will run at $48 per month.
There’s no word yet as to whether the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 series will be added as well. But it stands to reason this plan will be available for all Samsung flagships going forward.