The starting price of Samsung's new Galaxy S20 Ultra is $300 more than Apple's most expensive iPhone
- Samsung's Galaxy S20 Ultra starts at $1,400, making it more expensive than the entry-level iPhone 11 Pro Max, which begins at $1,100.
- The Galaxy S20 Ultra, which Samsung announced on Tuesday, comes with a larger screen, an additional depth camera, a camera sensor with a higher-resolution sensor, and 5G support, unlike the iPhone 11 Pro.
- It's a sign that Samsung is maintaining a premium approach with its flagship smartphones, while Apple has positioned its less expensive iPhone 11 as its primary new phone model.
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Samsung announced the Galaxy S20 Ultra on Tuesday - a high-end version of its new Galaxy S20 that comes with a whopping 108-megapixel camera, 5G connectivity, and a massive 6.9-inch screen.
But it'll cost you a pretty penny. The Galaxy S20 Ultra starts at $1,400, making it more expensive than Apple's most premium iPhone, the iPhone 11 Pro Max, which starts at $1,100. It's also pricier than Samsung's new Flip phone, which starts at $1,380, and is just $100 cheaper than Motorola's new $1,500 foldable Razr flip phone.
Compared to the iPhone 11 Pro Max, the Galaxy S20 Ultra comes with a larger screen, an additional depth camera, support for 5G connectivity, and a camera sensor with a significantly higher resolution.
The iPhone 11 Pro Max, for example, has a triple-lens camera system that consists of a wide-angle, ultra-wide-angle, and telephoto lens, all of which have 12-megapixel sensors. The Galaxy S20 Ultra, by comparison, has a 108-megapixel wide-angle camera, a 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera, and a 48-megapixel telephoto camera. The Galaxy S20's screen is also bigger than the iPhone 11 Pro Max's at 6.9 inches, while the iPhone 11 Pro's display measures 6.5 inches.
It's unclear how much the maxed-out version of Samsung's Galaxy S20 Ultra will cost. The entry-level model comes with 12GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, but it's configurable up to 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. The priciest iPhone 11 Pro Max, by comparison, comes with 512GB of storage and costs $1,450.
Samsung announced the Galaxy S20 Ultra alongside the $1,000 Galaxy S20 and $1,200 Galaxy S20 Ultra. The decision to keep the prices of its flagship smartphones at $1,000 or higher comes as smartphone makers are beginning to lower the prices of their main offerings. Apple, for example, positioned the $700 iPhone 11 as its flagship new smartphone, a departure from 2018 when it framed the $1,000 iPhone XS as its primary new device.
A report from NPD Group published in December also suggested that only 10% of consumers are actually spending $1,000 or more on a new smartphone.
That's not to say Samsung doesn't offer affordable smartphones - it still sells the Galaxy S10 for $700, and it also offers the mid-range Galaxy A line. But it's still sticking with a premium approach for its flagship phones, as evidenced by the Galaxy S20 and S20 Ultra.
