Reportedly, Samsung will offer unlocked Galaxy S20 5G variants – which is a stark difference from the Galaxy Note 10+ 5G and the Galaxy S10+ 5G phones that the company offered last year. The company may only do this in Europe since the report only mentions Europe. The phones may come unlocked in the US, too, but with all four major carriers deploying 5G differently, it could make things tougher for Samsung.
Many customers prefer getting an unlocked smartphone, rather than a carrier-locked one. An unlocked phone gives them the freedom to jump between carriers and switch out SIMs if they’re travelling. The unlocked models won’t be limited to Samsung.com, either. According to the report, many retailers across Europe have already listed the Galaxy S20 5G models. The device is yet to launch and will be announced in a few weeks. An unlocked phone also doesn’t come with the carrier’s bloatware installed.
The US May Not Get Unlocked Galaxy S20 5G Models
As mentioned earlier, carriers in the US are doing 5G differently. Some carriers are doing mmWave, while others are first doing low-band, mid-band, and high-band carrier aggregation. The lack of standards will make it difficult for Samsung to offer an unlocked 5G smartphone that can support SIMs from all four US carriers. However, it’s not impossible to do.
Fans will have to wait for the announcement in February to find out for sure if the Galaxy S20 will have an unlocked version or not.
