Samsung Galaxy S9, S9+ tipped to be costlier than ever

As the Samsung Galaxy S9 series launch creeps closer, more details regarding the smartphones emerge. Unfortunately though, the pricing part escaped the leaks and rumors. While it was assumed that the upcoming flagships would be priced higher than last year's Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+, the exact pricing details were not available. Now, we have come across a new report that sheds some light on that aspect.

ETNews, the South Korean publication has claimed that the Samsung Galaxy S9 duo will be the most expensive Galaxy S smartphones to date. As per its report, the price of the Galaxy S9 smartphone may start at KRW 9,50,000 (approximately Rs. 56,600) in South Korea. For comparison, the Galaxy S8 was launched at KRW 9,35,000 (approximately Rs. 55,700) in Samsung's home country. There is no information on the phone's pricing in global markets.

The report blames the increased purchase cost of components and exchange rate fluctuations behind the price hike. We are not sure how authentic this report is but it does contradicts a recent statement made by Samsung Chinese President Quan Guixian. He said that manufacturers are increasing the prices of their phones, the Galaxy S9's selling price will be the lowest in the world.

While his statement doesn't give away any specific numbers of figures, it does forces us to think whether the Galaxy S9 will be cheaper than the Galaxy S8. If this speculation turns out to be legit, the next flagship from Samsung will fall in the sub-50K category.

Now, it is up to you, what do you want to believe. If we were to guess, we don't think the Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ will cost less than their predecessor. Going by the existing rumors, the smartphones will come with some significant upgrades in the camera and biometric authentication department. So it would've been really difficult for Samsung to lower the prices of its new flagships.

Apart from the expected pricing details, ET News also suggests the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ will go up for pre-order on March 2 in South Korea. Reliable tipster Evan Blass, on the other hand, predicted that pre-orders for the smartphones would begin from March 1.