Dealmaster: Breaking down the Galaxy S9’s pre-order situation

Samsung’s next big phone is nearly upon us. At first blush, the Galaxy S9 looks to be a decent, if unremarkable, update. The fingerprint scanner isn’t as awkward to reach as it was on the Galaxy S8, the speakers should be louder, and the adjustable aperture of the new camera could allow for better photos in low light. The Galaxy S9 won’t be a revelation when it arrives on March 16, but then again the Galaxy S8 wasn’t exactly a bad phone to begin with.

One thing that’s all but guaranteed, though, is that the Galaxy S9 will be very popular. The reach of Samsung’s advertising and sales channel in America remains unmatched by any smartphone maker that isn’t named Apple. Given the modest sales of Google’s Pixel phones, there’s little reason to think the Galaxy S9 won’t be far and away the highest-selling Android flagship of 2018, just as the last several Galaxy S phones have been.

That means plenty of people will be looking to get the new phone when pre-orders go live at 12am EST on Friday, March 2. The good news is that many of those Samsung fans will be able to save a little bit of cash by ordering early. The bad news is that, per usual, the mobile carriers of America haven’t made buying the phone an entirely uniform process. Shocking, I know.

So, to help you make sense of how much the Galaxy S9 will actually set you back, we’ve dug through the fine print and rounded up what you need to know below.

Note: Ars Technica may earn compensation for sales from links on this post through affiliate programs.

Samsung

For most people in a vacuum, buying an unlocked model directly from Samsung is the best value. The company will sell the Galaxy S9 for $719.99 outright, or $30 a month over the course of a 24-month installment plan. For the larger, dual-camera sporting Galaxy S9+, those prices jump to $839.99 outright and $35 a month for 24 months. Neither installment plan carries any special discount; they’re just options for those who can’t foot the bill upfront.

This is as cheap as either phone gets without additional promotions. And while this may go without saying, it’s worth remembering that buying unlocked allows you to take the phone to whichever carrier and whichever plan you want, rather than being locked into one service. An unlocked phone also means cleaner software, with no extraneous apps pre-installed by your carrier.

Throughout this roundup, you’ll see a recurring limited-time deal in which those who trade in select phones can receive “up to $350” in credit toward the purchase of a Galaxy S9 or Galaxy S9+.

Again, Samsung’s take on this seems the most straightforward: you just select the phone you plan to trade in with your purchase online, reserve your new device, and send the old one back to Samsung within 15 days. You’ll just have to create a Samsung account and make sure your old phone isn’t busted first. A Samsung representative says the company will apply the trade-in credit in the form of one instant payment, instead of splitting it up into monthly installment discounts.

Here is Samsung’s list of eligible trade-in devices and how much cash they’ll save:

  • Galaxy S8/ S8+, iPhone X, iPhone 8/8 Plus: $350
  • Galaxy S7/S7 Edge, iPhone 7/7 Plus, LG V30, Pixel 2/2 XL: $300
  • Galaxy S6/S6 Edge/S6 Edge+, Galaxy Note 5, iPhone 6/6 Plus, iPhone 6S/6S Plus, LG G6, LG V20, Google Pixel/Pixel XL: $150
  • Most other smartphones: $50

Best Buy

Samsung plans to sell the Galaxy S9 through Amazon, Walmart, Target, and the usual slate of big-name retailers, but Best Buy is the only one we’ve seen advertising a notable pre-order deal.

Like Samsung, Best Buy will offer the unlocked Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ for $719.99 and $839.99, respectively. You can also buy either phone on a two-year monthly payment plan using a Best Buy credit card.

Beyond that, the retailer will sell each phone through Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint. On Friday, Best Buy says it will take $100 off either phone—but only if you pre-order through one of those three carriers. An unlocked phone won’t be eligible. The discount won’t be applied all at once, either; instead, it’ll be spread out over the course of a 24-month installment plan.

A Best Buy representative said the company will then offer “up to $100” off for those who pre-order through Verizon, Sprint, or AT&T from March 3 to March 15. The “up to” bit means the discount will vary based on which device you go with, but the Best Buy representative could not give further specifics.

In any case, the retailer says it will offer the aforementioned “up to $350” trade-in deal, too. Its list of eligible phones is exactly the same as Samsung’s above, only it includes the Galaxy S8 Active at a $350 value, the Galaxy S7 Active at a $300 value, and the Galaxy S6 active for a $150 value. There’s also no fourth tier of “other smartphones” for a $50 credit.

T-Mobile

T-Mobile is the only one of the big four carriers that will sell the Galaxy S9 at its standard retail price. There, the Galaxy S9 will cost $720 outright or $30 a month on a 24-month installment plan, while the Galaxy S9+ will cost $840 outright or $120 down plus $30 a month over the same 24-month plan. Again, you’ll pay the same amount either way.

The magenta carrier says it will offer up to $360 off the Galaxy S9 or Galaxy S9+ through trade-ins. That’s $10 more than elsewhere. The discount is applied in the form of monthly bill credits spread out over 24 months, not a one-time payment. It only applies to those who use one of T-Mobile’s postpaid or business plans, too, not prepaid customers.

T-Mobile’s list of eligible trade-in devices is a little more generous than Samsung’s, though. Here’s how it breaks down, according to a T-Mobile representative:

  • $360 off: Galaxy S8/S8+/S8 Active, Galaxy S7/S7 Edge/S7 Active, Galaxy Note 8, iPhone 8/8 Plus, iPhone 7/7 Plus, iPhone 6s/6s Plus, LG V30, LG V30+
  • $200 off: Galaxy S4, Galaxy S5, Galaxy S6/S6 Edge/S6 Edge+/S6 Active, Galaxy Note 4, Galaxy Note 5, iPhone 6/6 Plus, iPhone SE, iPhone 5s, LG V20, LG G6, LG G5

Verizon

Here is where things get dicier. Verizon will sell the Galaxy S9 for $799.99 outright or $33.33 a month for 24 months and the Galaxy S9+ for $929.99 outright or $38.74 a month for 24 months. Those are fairly significant price hikes for phones that will probably come with more bloatware. (Though, if history is any indication, these carrier-exclusive models will likely be updated faster than their unlocked counterparts.)

Verizon says it will take “up to $500 off” either device, but, naturally, it’s not just a straight discount. The company says $150 of that $500 will come in the form of a prepaid MasterCard card, but only those who switch service to Verizon with their purchase will be eligible. You’ll have to claim the card online here, then the carrier will mail it sometime “within eight weeks.”

The other $350 refers to Verizon’s take on the trade-in offers noted above. This, too, will be paid back in the form of monthly bill credits, not as a one-time payment. Here’s what a Verizon representative said the company will accept for trade-ins:

  • Galaxy S8/S8+, Galaxy Note 8, iPhone X, iPhone 8/8 Plus: $350
  • Galaxy S7/S7 Edge/S7 Active, iPhone 7/7 Plus, iPhone 6s/6s Plus, Google Pixel 2/2 XL, Google Pixel/Pixel XL, LG G6, LG V30, Motorola Z2 Force, Motorola Z Force: $300
  • Galaxy S6/S6 Edge/S6 Edge+/S6 Active, Galaxy Note 5, iPhone 6/6 Plus, HTC 10, LG G5, LG V20, Motorola Z Droid, Motorola Z2 Play: $200
  • Galaxy S5, Galaxy Note 4, Galaxy Note Edge, iPhone SE, HTC M9/M9+, LG G4, LG V10, Motorola Z Play, Motorola Turbo 2: $100

Verizon is advertising other deals beyond that. It says those who buy a Galaxy S9 can also get 50% off a Samsung Tab E or Tab S3 tablet with a two-year payment plan. It’ll also take $150 off one of Samsung’s Gear S3 smartwatches, again provided you buy the watch on a two-year payment plan. The latter deal does come in the form of a one-time instant discount.

AT&T

AT&T’s offers follow a similar path as Verizon’s. The company will sell the Galaxy S9 for $790.20 outright or $26.34 a month on a 30-month AT&T Next plan and the Galaxy S9+ for $915 outright or $30.50 a month on that same 30-month plan. So, again, you’ll pay more here than you do with Samsung. That 30-month plan is a half-year longer than most other installment plans, too.

Like Verizon, AT&T says it’ll give a $150 bill credit to those who port over a new line from another carrier with their purchase. (So, it’s a no-go for existing AT&T users.) It says business plan customers can get a $150 credit by purchasing a Galaxy S9 with a new line of service, too.

The $350 trade-in deal applies here as well, but an AT&T representative says the carrier will apply that credit all at once, not through ongoing monthly installments. The carrier also says it’ll take at least $200 off if you trade in any smartphone with a “catalog value” greater than $20, which the AT&T representative described as “almost any phone released in the past two years or so.”

Here’s how the whole thing breaks down:

  • Any Samsung Galaxy S8 phone, Galaxy Note 8, iPhone X, iPhone 8/8 Plus, LG V30, Google Pixel 2/2 XL: $350
  • Any Samsung Galaxy S7 phone: $300
  • Any smartphone with a “catalog value of at least $20:” $200

AT&T says new customers can stack the trade-in credit with that $150 bill credit.

Sprint

Sprint will charge $792 for the Galaxy S9 and $912 for the Galaxy S9+ outright. Those prices move to $33 a month and $38 a month, respectively, if you choose to pay in a 24-month installment plan. Again, you’ll give up a bit more than the standard price of the phones.

Much like Verizon and AT&T, Sprint says it’ll give a $150 Visa gift card to those who switch their number to the carrier with their pre-order.

And much like everyone else, Sprint says it’ll give up to $350 in trade-in credit with a pre-order. That will be paid back via monthly bill credits, only here it’s done over the course of 18 months rather than 24 or 30. Sprint’s list of eligible phones is about what you’d expect by now:

  • Galaxy S8/S8+, iPhone 8/8 Plus, iPhone X: $350
  • Galaxy S7S7 Edge/S7 Active, iPhone 7/7 Plus, LG V30+: $250
  • Galaxy S6/S6 Edge/S6 Edge+/S6 Active, Galaxy Note 5, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6/6 Plus, LG G6, LG V20, Google Pixel/Pixel XL: $150

That trade-in credit can stack with the $150 gift card. For what it’s worth, Sprint also runs a “Galaxy Forever” program in which its Galaxy phone users can upgrade to a newer Galaxy model after 12 monthly payments. A Sprint representative said the cost of the Galaxy Forever program is part of the reason why it’s priced the Galaxy S9 a bit higher than Samsung and T-Mobile.

Others

Xfinity Mobile

Comcast’s nascent mobile service will sell the Galaxy S9 for $719.99 outright or $30 a month over $24 months and the Galaxy S9 for $839.99 outright or $35 a month over 24 months. That’s the same as Samsung’s own going rates.

Comcast says it’ll give a $250 Visa gift card to anyone who buys any new Samsung phone (not just the Galaxy S9 or S9+) through its service and opens up a new line. The company says it will also give $200 to those who trade-in an older phone toward the purchase of a Galaxy S9. A Comcast representative said this “could be more depending on the device,” though. The company did not specify exactly which devices are eligible for the promotion, but of note is that the trade-in value is returned in the form of a one-time check, not through monthly installments or a carrier credit.

US Cellular

If you fall within US Cellular’s coverage map, you can get the Galaxy S9 for $759 outright or $25.30 a month on a 30-month installment plan and the Galaxy S9+ for $919.50 outright or $30.65 a month on a 30-month plan. Again, there’s a premium there.

The regional carrier says it will give $350 in trade-in credit to those who send in a Samsung Galaxy S6 or higher, iPhone 6 or higher, Galaxy Note 8, Galaxy Note 5, LG, G6/G6+, LG V30/30+, or LG G20. There are no tiers—an iPhone 6 gets just as much credit as an iPhone 8, according to a US Cellular representative. All of this is paid back through monthly bill credits, though.

If you don’t use the trade-in deal, US Cellular says it’ll offer $250 off the price of the phone through monthly bill credits. You can’t stack the two offers. But to get either deal, you need to sign up for US Cellular’s unlimited plan and “Device Protection+” plan.

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