A Samsung S24 Ultra smartphone during a Samsung Unveiled event in Las Vegas, Nevada, US, on ... [+]
Google isn’t the only company that is repeatedly discounting its flagship hardware, Samsung has been on a similarly aggressive path when it comes to slashing the price of the Galaxy S24.
Right now, Samsung has dropped the price for higher storage options of the Galaxy S24 Plus and Ultra models. That means you can pick up the 512GB option, on either model, for the price of the 256GB unit—knocking $120 off both phones.
This is alongside enhanced trade-in values for old devices, which are up to $600 and $750 for the Plus and Ultra respectively. These are two of many sales, discounts, vouchers and deals Samsung has offered since the devices launched in January.
Last month, Samsung exclusively told me that it was giving away the Galaxy S24 and S24 Plus for free with qualifying TV purchases. It also bundled in its new Galaxy Tab S6 Lite with Galaxy S24 purchases in April.
A month before that the Korean company knocked 10% off all Galaxy S24 handsets under its “7 days” promotion, alongside repeated seemingly random price cuts over the last six months, and giving away a year’s free subscription to Disney Plus for select Galaxy owners. Throughout all of this Samsung has been running a 5% discount on all purchases if they’re made through its official app.
Samsung is no stranger to aggressive marketing practices and targeted discounts to unsettle rivals. Back in 2015, the company ran an audacious “test drive” campaign that let iPhone users swap their Apple handsets for a Galaxy Note 5, for a month, to see if they liked Samsung’s take on Android. As I reported at the time, it was popular and convinced at least some iPhone users to cross the floor.
Samsung is still taking potshots at its iOS arch-nemesis. The test drive scheme morphed into a “try galaxy” app that can be installed on iPhones, so iPhone users can see what the Galaxy AI experience is like. This a key difference between the two ecosystems because Apple has yet to release its suite of AI tools. Samsung also just released a new video poking fun at Apple’s poorly received iPad advert—another popular pastime of the Korean firm. Old tricks die hard.
I suspect these repeated discounts from Google and Samsung have been popular because neither company is stopping. With Samsung’s summer Galaxy Unpacked Paris event in July, the company will almost certainly have more serious deals up its sleeve.
Expect to see the Galaxy Ring freely used in bundles with the new foldable phones and existing S24 lineup, alongside aggressive trade-in prices for old iPhones. I wouldn't be surprised if the Galaxy S24’s price took a hit at the July event, perhaps something close to the $200 off we tend to see during the Black Friday sales. The pre-order prices for the new Z Fold 5 and Flip will likely be similarly generous.
All of this is happening in tandem with a massive generative AI rollout from tech’s major manufacturers. There is an intense battle to assimilate as many people into their respective ecosystems as possible because companies believe that AI-powered features might lead to paying subscribers, for those very same features, in the future. Just look at Samsung’s warning that its Galaxy AI suite of tools is only free until the end of 2025.
If AI is an inflection point in the history of technology, on par with the invention of the web, as some believe, then the aggressive pricing of hardware, which acts as a gateway to it, makes complete sense.
