Samsung Galaxy S22 price rumor is good news

News
By Jordan Palmer
published

Samsung's upcoming phone might start at $799 like its predecessor

Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra front and back on table
(Image credit: LetsGoDigital)

Update: The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra has also been tipped to have 1TB of onboard storage, meaning it could challenge the iPhone 13 Pro.

As we start looking forward to 2022, our attention is shifting to Samsung and the Galaxy S22. Rumor has it that Samsung's latest flagship will launch in early February, bringing the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip to a large portion of the US market.

But a new report from SamMobile claims that Samsung aims to keep the Galaxy S22's starting price at the same $799 that the Galaxy S21 debuted at earlier this spring. That's an admirable goal, because for $799, the Galaxy S21 is a stellar device. Although the OnePlus 9 and Pixel 6 both cost less, the S21 remains a great value even before you factor in carrier and trade-in deals.

SamMobile didn't specify if the Galaxy S22 Plus (or Pro) or S22 Ultra will also keep the same prices as their S21 counterparts ($999 and $1,199, respectively). We find it hard to imagine Samsung raising the price on the middle child, but with all of the rumored features coming to the Galaxy S22 Ultra, the top-tier phone could cost a bit more than this year.

Of course, if the Galaxy S22 sticks to the $799 price point this report claims, then that leaves the Galaxy S21 FE in a strange spot. Rumors suggest the budget flagship will cost $699, just $100 less than the newer (and arguably better) Galaxy S22. 

We've spoken at length about how Samsung should have dropped the Galaxy S21 FE from its plans months ago, but the Korean phone maker has pushed ahead — likely hoping to capitalize on the good will that the Galaxy S20 FE built. Remember, however, that the S20 FE came out at hundreds less than the base model Galaxy S20 in 2020.  A $599 price for the S21 FE would make more sense.

With the Galaxy S21 series' aggressive price cuts — remember, the phone debuted at $200 less than the Galaxy S20's original price — the Galaxy S21 FE could be a tough sell. The Galaxy S21 already came in a plastic body to cut costs, so that leaves the question of what else Samsung would cut for the FE version. We imagine the total RAM might get knocked down to 6GB, but that leaves little else that wouldn't compromise on the phone's overall quality.

Right now, we believe that Samsung will announce the Galaxy S21 FE at CES 2022 in January and the Galaxy S22 in early February. The highlight of the latter is, of course, the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, which we have yet to get our hands on. That's not to mention the rumored Galaxy Note-ified Galaxy S22 Ultra, which might include a built-in S Pen like the retired Galaxy Note series.

Jordan Palmer
Jordan Palmer
Phones Editor

Jordan is the Phones Editor for Tom's Guide, covering all things phone-related. He's written about phones for over six years and plans to continue for a long while to come. He loves nothing more than relaxing in his home with a book, game, or his latest personal writing project. Jordan likes finding new things to dive into, from books and games to new mechanical keyboard switches and fun keycap sets. Outside of work, you can find him poring over open-source software and his studies.

1 Comment Comment from the forums
  • Giroro
    The Galaxy S21 was one of the most, if not the most unappealing flagship ever brought to market. It turned it's back on every single thing that made people like the galaxy line, while simultaneously doubling-down on all bad ad-filled privacy-invading "samsung-exclusive" junk software that makes a growing number of people avoid the brand like the plague.
    It doesn't matter how many pointless cameras you tack on, nobody wants to pay $800 for a phone with FAR fewer features and worse functionality than the outdated $600 phone that its replacing (especially when the better phone can be bought used for <$200).

    So, I have a feeling that "basically the exact same phone at the exact same price" is not going to be a winning strategy for Samsung.
    Samsung will never have another successful phone until they understand that they have no brand loyalty, and that people only tolerated the branding back when their hardware used to have a competitive edge over apple.

    Also, they need to go back to building phones that can fit inside a human hand, again, preferably with a flat bezel that isn't made out of annoying touchscreen. It doesn't matter how good the processor is if you need 2 hands and a desk just to type out a text. All we want is an S7 with USB-C, security updates, and 5G. Why is that so hard to figure out?
    Reply