Samsung Galaxy S5 vs S4 launch price comparison
All of South Africa’s mobile networks are poised to launch the Samsung Galaxy S5 at 11:11 today (Friday, 11 April 2014) on their various contract offerings.
Unlike last year, contract prices have been officially revealed by the operators ahead of the launch date, which has led to comparisons being made to the launch prices of the Samsung Galaxy S4.
Some contend that the deals on the Galaxy S5 are not as good as those that were available for its predecessor.
The table below compares the launch prices of the Samsung Galaxy S5 to those of the Galaxy S4, showing only those contracts common to both devices.
Amounts in brackets are used to denote value that was included in the contracts for the Samsung Galaxy S4 where they differ from this year’s Galaxy S5 contracts.
| Samsung Galaxy S5 vs Galaxy S4 launch pricing comparison | |||||
| Package | SGS5 | SGS4 | Data | Minutes/Airtime | SMS |
| FNB (+ Cell C) | R399 | R299 | 0 (100MB) | 0 (100) | 0 (100) |
| Telkom Mobile SmartPlan 100 | R449 | R449 | 150MB+2GB on-net (1GB) | 100 | 5 for 50 |
| Vodacom Smart S | R469 | R469 | 450MB (325MB) * | 75 | 200 (150) |
| Cell C Straight Up 100 | R469 / R499 | R399 | 100MB / 500MB (1GB) | 100 | 100 |
| Cell C Straight Up 200 | R549 | R499 | 1GB | 200 | 200 |
| Vodacom Smart M | R549 | R499 | 550MB (370MB) * | 120 | 300 (240) |
| Vodacom Smart L | R699 | R649 | 750MB (500MB) * | 250 | 500 |
| * Vodacom Smart S, M, L includes 250MB bonus data | |||||
As can be seen from the table, only Telkom Mobile’s SmartPlan 100 and Vodacom’s Smart S comes in at the same price as they did at the launch of the Galaxy S4, though there are differences in the included value.
FNB, which is the cheapest deal available on the Samsung Galaxy S5, is R100 per month more than its deal on the Galaxy S4 last year and includes no cellular contract this time around.
Cell C’s deals also cost more, for less data this year.
It is worth noting that the exchange rate is not what it used to be. When the Samsung Galaxy S4 launched last year (25 April 2013), you could get a US Dollar for around R9.10. Today it’ll cost you R10.45.
The R10,200 recommended retail price of the Galaxy S5 is also much higher than that of the Galaxy S4’s at launch (R9,000). Incredible Connection is asking R10,500 for its Galaxy S5 pre-order this year, while the Galaxy S4 was R8,500 on pre-order last year.
The following table, which is included to give a more complete picture of the deals on offer, shows that where MTN had a contract last year for R399 per month, this year its cheapest offer is R489 per month.
| Samsung Galaxy S5 vs Galaxy S4 launch pricing comparison | |||||
| Package | SGS5 | SGS4 | Data | Minutes/Airtime | SMS |
| FNB Cell C | N/A | R299 | 100MB | 100 | 100 |
| FNB | R399 | N/A | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Telkom Mobile SmartPlan 50 | R419 | N/A | 75MB+500MB on-net | 50 | 5 for 50 |
| Telkom Mobile SmartPlan 100 | R449 | R449 | 150MB+2GB on-net (1GB) | 100 | 5 for 50 |
| MTN Anytime 200 | N/A | R399 | 200MB | R200 + 30 on-net | 200 |
| Vodacom Smart S | R469 | R469 | 450MB (325MB) * | 75 | 200 (150) |
| Cell C Straight Up 100 | R469 / R499 | R399 | 100MB / 500MB (1GB) | 100 | 100 |
| MTN My MTNChoice 100 | R489 | N/A | 300MB | 100 | 100 |
| Vodacom Smart S + 1GB | R549 | N/A | 1474MB | 75 | 200 |
| Cell C Straight Up 200 | R549 | R499 | 1GB | 200 | 200 |
| Vodacom Smart M | R549 | R499 | 550MB (370MB) * | 120 | 300 (240) |
| MTN Anytime 350 | N/A | R499 | 350MB | R350 + 60 on-net | 350 |
| MTN My MTNChoice 200 | R609 | N/A | 300MB | 200 | 100 |
| MTN My MTNChoice 350 | R759 | N/A | 300MB | 350 | 100 |
| Vodacom Smart L | R699 | R649 | 750MB (500MB) * | 250 | 500 |
| * Vodacom Smart S, M, L includes 250MB bonus data | |||||
More Samsung Galaxy S5 news
Samsung Galaxy S5 accidental damage warranty in SA
Samsung Galaxy S5 trade-in deals
Samsung Galaxy S5 contract pricing in South Africa
Samsung Galaxy S5 SA pre-order price, pre-registrations open
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