The Samsung Galaxy S5 is arguably one of the most anticipated phone releases this year, announced on this week with a release date of the 11th of April, we quickly saw the 4 largest carriers in Australia quickly confirm they would be offering the phone on their network, now you can get an idea of outright pricing with exporters in Europe and the UK and Mobicity here in Australia opening up pre-orders for Samsungs latest super-phone.
Despite rumours circulating prior to the release of the Galaxy S5 that Samsung was going to attempt to price the Galaxy S5 at a cheaper price point than the Galaxy S4, it seems that isn’t the case, at least if pre-order pricing is any indicator.
Mobicity is offering the Galaxy S5 for $899.95 + Delivery for the 16GB model, which you can pre-order in ‘Charcoal Black’, ‘Shimmery White’ or ‘Electric Blue’ but not ‘Copper Gold’ which they say they can’t guarantee availability for. Much like the iPhone 5s the Gold could be ‘The’ colour to get when it finally hits the streets. Mobicity expects to be able to begin shipping the phone on the 11th of April.
Other Australian importers, DMavo, Kogan, Millennius and Techrific haven’t put the phone up on their websites, but will surely join the party quite soon.
The other option is to import your phone, although after the kerfuffle that beset the Galaxy Note 3 on release with the phone having region locking built-in, it’s undetermined as to whether the Galaxy S5 will suffer the same fate. But still, there are options out there if you want to import the phone, although it’s always prudent to remember the $1000 GST Free threshold when ordering anything from outside of Australia.
Over in Europe the 16GB model of the Galaxy S5 is up for pre-order on Amazon Germany for €699 in Black, White and Blue, while their Spanish cousins are offering the phone in Gold as well for €729 – both will of course require a delivery fee on top.
In the Uk Exporters Clove and Handtec have the 16GB Galaxy S5 up for pre-order, remember when ordering from the UK you won’t pay any VAT so the ex VAT price is what you will pay. Clove is offering the phone in Black or White for £458.33 + Delivery, while Handtec has the Black, White and Blue model for £454.99 + Delivery, but they’re asking £479.99 + Delivery for the Gold version.
If you’re looking to purchase the Galaxy S5 outright, the only question now is whether you pre-order from one of these vendors or wait to see what outright pricing will be like on a local scale.
Will you be importing a Galaxy S5? From where?
My Samsung Galaxy S4 had a RRP of $899.00 but if you shopped around and did some price matching, and wait a little, you could easily save a few hundred dollars. This is what I like about Android and Windows Phones. Try it with an iPhone and you would be lucky to save $20.00 on a good day.
Wish I had a disposable income.
I used to think camera quality was less important in choosing a smartphone but after putting up with the woeful Moto G camera, I now make it a primary consideration. I like the specs of the S5’s camera.
wait for vodafone 12 month plan.
We will just have to wait and see what the actual retail price would be on the 11th of April.
The Galaxy line is turning into the “are you an idiot, but don’t want an iphone” line.
Why would anyone pay $900 for the S5 when the Nexus 5 is available at $400 for a pretty equivalent spec, but with better OS update times? Samsung must be concentrating on the marketplace that doesn’t know that.
Friends don’t let friends waste $500 …
Same reason why people by iPhones for $1000+
What about those non idiots that actually value battery life. Being able to use your device because it actually has battery charge still is pretty important to some people. Who are the real idiots here?
The Nexus 5 and the S4 have very similar battery life – I don’t hear people complain about that. The whining about battery on the N5 is not from those who actually own them; unless you either have a battery hog app on your phone, or use it hard most of the day.
And if you are that much of a power glutton, get a backup external battery for $20.
Gsm arena rate battery life in hours using 1 hour of phone calls, 1 hour of web browsing and 1 hour of video for each day of use. The rest of the time the phone is in standby. I don’t consider this a definitive test (usage scenarios will differ per individual) but it is the most rounded independent battery test I’ve come across. Nexus 5 = 40hrs, SGS4 =63 hrs, over 50% longer battery life. Just because you say they have the same battery life doesn’t make it true. Why buy a portable/mobile device if I have to buy a… Read more »
Hmm, well the quote from that lot is “The Nexus 5 will do for the occasional movie or browsing binge and will hold on really well in the call making department and it should last you for at least a full day even if you are a heavy user.” – sounds to me that it does the job, even under their tests. Don’t forget, the processor in the N5 is beefier than the S4, and the wireless charging means leaving it recharging is no hassle. Personally I’ve never had a problem with battery life with the phone. It sips power… Read more »
We can talk about whether the battery life is sufficient or not. You claimed they ‘have very similar battery life’ which the facts I provided clearly dispute. Personally there are very few phones I would consider buying currently because most don’t offer what I consider sufficient battery life. Samsung’s top of the line galaxy’s have always been a minimum for me, the xperia Z phones are even better and the G2 phenomenal. People are entitled to consider the Nexus 5’s battery sufficient, that’s a personal view, but the SGS4 clearly offers substantially better battery life than the N5, the SGS3… Read more »
Both claim 17 hours talk time – so yep, I feel saying they have similar battery life is entirely valid. Other things depend on exactly which apps you use, and how.
Both last a day with typical usage levels.
One is half the price of the other.
Even if the S5 comes in with two days battery life in real scenarios, is that going to be worth the difference in price? Given that 99% of people recharge overnight, I can’t say it will.
I never did understand the $1000 threshold.
I thought that the nexus 5 from the play store would be without gst but that was included.
You’ll pay Duty as well as GST on the item if it’s over $1000.
All Australian stores need to advertise with GST included, this includes Google Store. Ps, I love me Nex5. Sammy’s got nothing on it
The only real thing that SGS5 has over the N5 is microSD support.
Pay double the price of an N5 just to have microSD, no way.
Totally agree, you got other ways to get around that though with the N5 😉
Kit Kat has made a mess of SD support – check out the news stories.
One of google’s stupidities that annoys me, but it also means that the S5’s microSD support is less useful relative to a USB OTG thumb drive.
Some would say better battery and camera. Because both are horrid on my n5
I’ll never understand this badmouthing of the N5 camera. I’ve got a 1m wide canvas print on my wall – taken with the N5 camera. Its fine, plenty good enough to spend the money getting printed out. The results you can get are easily up with a point’n’click from 5 years ago.
Battery is fine too, lasts a day with ease.
Don’t forget my most looked for feature, superior battery life too.
Considering the phone isn’t even out, nor any independent tests run on the battery life, it’s a bit early to start saying it has superior battery life.
I don’t bet but I’d be willing to make an exception on this point. Once it’s released independent tests will reveal that just like the S4 the S5 will have superior battery life compared to the Nexus 5.
I want to pre order but I ultimately have the ability to upgrade with Optus and get it through them (then ROM it with a bloatless OS from Singapore) haha I wonder the time different between Carriers and Mobicity…. anyone have an idea?
God, $900 and up for a mobile phone.
Screw that for a joke.
Galaxy S range have always been that price on release… iphones were up to a grand… They are hardly mobile phones now.. Computers with cell access ultimately. This is 2x faster than my laptop Im using now and it’s worth more than 2 grand when it came out. If you don’t want to pay for this type of phone by a Nokia 5110 🙂
*face palm* Fools and their money are easily parted.
it’s about choices. I thought Android is about that?
not everyone one wants a Nexus 5 (considering Nexus line isn’t even the best seller of the Android phones). no need to call anyone a fool and let’s just respect each other choices.
In saying that, if I have that kind of cash and wanting a new phone, I would be looking at the note series instead of the S5. looks horrid to me.
? Not really sure what you’re rejecting from my comment. This article is on to the S5 which as everyone knows is the top of Samsung’s line along with the Note. Android has phones from 199 onward up to the top which is where this phone sits and SELLS.. Everyone can get what they like but the price of this phone is justified is my point..! nexus range is an affordable middle ground phone with out many whistles but Samsung like their whistles and even add tastles lol
Sorry just picked that wasn’t for me haha