Samsung Galaxy S30 series: What we know (Sept. 26)

Believe it or not, we are in the final quarter of 2020. That means we are only a few months away from the launch of the next entry in Samsung’s flagship smartphone line, tentatively known as the Samsung Galaxy S30 series .

Since it’s early morning, there aren’t too many solid rumors about the devices to be found. However, that doesn’t mean we don’t have at least a few believable rumors. We can also make confident assumptions about certain aspects based on the history of the lineage. What we know so far is recorded in our summary below.

As usual, make sure you bookmark this page so that you are always up to date with the latest information on the Samsung Galaxy S30 phones!

Samsung Galaxy S30 series: name and release date

In 2020, Samsung changed its naming scheme for the Galaxy S series in several ways. It jumped from 10 to 20 for its numbering and also introduced the ultra moniker. These big changes make it difficult to infer what the company might call the next iteration in the series.

Connected: Samsung Galaxy S Series: A History of the Biggest Name in Android

Our money rests with the company that will branding the Samsung Galaxy S30 in 2021. Some will argue that Samsung could use Galaxy S21 instead, but we’re not sure. Our four main reasons for this are:

• Samsung has already jumped from S10 to S20. It probably won’t revert to single point starts for this version.
• S30 is a far more marketable name than S21.
• S21 branding would lead to confusion with the Galaxy A series, which uses all of the AX1 numbers (A01, A51, A71, etc.).
• Huawei set the precedent when it jumped from the P10 to the P20 and then moved on to the P30 and P40.

At the moment there is no concrete information to prove that it will be one or the other.

As for the release date, it is almost certain that Samsung will announce the Galaxy S30 series in February 2021. During this period, the company has launched every iteration of the Galaxy S series since the Galaxy S9. Of course, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic could push the release further through 2021, but it is certain that Samsung plans to launch the new phones in February.

Models and designs

As mentioned earlier, the Moniker Ultra was introduced with the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra this year. With the successive introduction of the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, we assume that Samsung will also want to bring a Galaxy S30 Ultra onto the market.

There will also be a vanilla Samsung Galaxy S30. So the question remains whether there will be a Galaxy S30 Plus or not. Samsung hasn’t released a Plus model in the Note 20 range, so it is possible that the company could phase it out in 2021. However, there is a rumor that Samsung will stick with three variants of the 2021 Galaxy S phones (see the next section for more on this).

Connected: Samsung Galaxy S20 buying guide

If we assume that there will be three models in the Galaxy S30 series, we can also assume that they all look very similar. Hopefully Samsung will spend a little more time designing the phones than it does with the 2020 models, however. In a word, their designs were boring. Thankfully, the Galaxy Note 20’s designs were much better, so the Galaxy S30 phones are almost certain to deviate quite a bit from the Galaxy S20 formula.

Verifiable designs for the latest Galaxy S phones usually leak in December or January. Hence, you’ll have to wait a bit until we have a good idea of ​​what the phones will look like.

Samsung Galaxy S30 Series: Specifications and Features

As we are still early in the release cycle, many of the spec rumors we found seem far-fetched or contradicting rumors from more reliable sources. Keep this in mind when you search for Samsung Galaxy S30 series news on the internet.

However, we don’t need rumors for some specs. We can be reasonably certain that the Galaxy S30 series will include the Qualcomm Snapdragon 875 chipset. Samsung has a long history of introducing the latest Qualcomm flagship silicon to the Galaxy S series, and there aren’t any believable rumors to suggest it won’t happen again in 2021. Unfortunately, the company will almost certainly still be using its own Exynos processors for models outside of North America.

Connected: Samsung Exynos Processor Guide: Everything You Need To Know

We can also assume that none of the Galaxy S20 series specifications will be downgraded. That means no phone should have less than 12 GB of RAM, less than 128 GB of internal storage, or less than a screen resolution of 1440p and a refresh rate of 120 Hz.

However, we have rumors of a handful of credible-looking specs. The biggest leaks that we trust so far are related to the battery capacities of the three adopted models of the Galaxy S30 range. The rumors suggest that Samsung may skip updating its announced battery capacities for the Galaxy S30 and Galaxy S30 Ultra, leaving 4,000 mAh for the former and 5,000 mAh for the latter. The Galaxy S30 Plus recorded a slight increase from the announced capacity of the Galaxy S20 Plus of 4,500 mAh to 4,800 mAh.

It doesn’t look like the Galaxy S30 and Galaxy S30 Ultra are charging the battery. The Galaxy S30 Plus could, however.

We also have conflicting rumors about the Galaxy S30 Ultra’s camera system. Rumor has it that there will be a 150MP primary sensor paired with a 64MP telephoto shooter, a 16MP ultra-wide camera, a 12MP macro sensor, and a 3D ToF camera. However, we do not believe that this is true. Another rumor has it that the S30 Ultra could stick with the 108MP sensor on the S20 / Note 20 Ultras and instead offer two telephoto lenses, one of which is likely part of a periscope zoom setup. That makes more sense for us as the industry is apparently moving ToF sensors away in flagships.

Prices and availability

Every year since the introduction of the Samsung Galaxy S9, the company has increased introductory prices for its phones. One would expect this trend to continue in 2021 with the Samsung Galaxy S30 series.

However, we are not sure if this will be the case. There are three main factors that lead us to believe this:

• Rumor has it that the Galaxy S20 series sales figures were deeply dissatisfied with the numbers.
• Samsung has had more success globally with its mid-range line of Galaxy A devices, which are being priced for the move.
• All credible scientific data suggests the COVID-19 pandemic will persist well into 2021.

When you combine these three pieces of information, it is highly recommended that Samsung lower, or maintain, prices for the Samsung Galaxy S30 series, not increase them.

One way to get around this is for Samsung to make the vanilla Galaxy S30 for the same price or cheaper than the $ 999 price tag on the Galaxy S20. This could make it easier to access the Galaxy S30 series. The Galaxy S30 Plus and Galaxy S30 Ultra could be more expensive for those who can afford the best specs and features. This is a similar approach to what Samsung did with the Galaxy Note 20 phones.

Regardless, it is very likely that the Samsung Galaxy S30 series will be available worldwide in March 2021.

That’s all we know about the Samsung Galaxy S30 series so far. Make sure you bookmark this page so that you are always up to date with the latest rumors!