14 DAY TRIAL // We’re only a few days away from the unveiling of the new Samsung Galaxy S9, and while we already know pretty much everything about the device, what still remains an enigma is the sales schedule that the South Koreans plan to use for the flagship.
A report from The Korea Herald claims that the Samsung Galaxy S9 will go on sale on March 16 worldwide, while pre-orders will begin on February 28, three days after the February 25 event.
Previous reports indicated that Samsung could start taking pre-orders immediately after the launch event, while shipments would begin in early March.
Pre-order the phone to get it early
But according to the cited source, South Korean carriers, including SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus, have already been briefed on these dates, and they were told that customers who pre-order the Galaxy S9 would receive the device between March 9 and March 15. This means that whoever places a pre-order for the new Galaxy S9 will receive it ahead of store walk-in customers.
No details on the pricing have been disclosed, but it’s expected the Galaxy S9 to be slightly more expensive than its predecessor, though the device is still likely to cost less than $1,000.
As compared to the Galaxy S8, the new model arrives to the market substantially earlier, and it’s believed this is the result of Samsung trying to stay relevant following the debut of the iPhone X. The lack of new Samsung flagships and the debut of the substantially-overhauled iPhone X allowed Apple to close the gap to its rival even in South Korea, so bringing the Galaxy S9 to the market as soon as possible has become a priority.
The Galaxy S8 was announced last year on March 29, while sales started on April 28, so the new model is being launched more than a month earlier.
