Samsung to hold January 14 event with industry expectation of Galaxy S21 rollout

Samsung is expected to launch a new line-up of its Galaxy S series smartphones and a slew of other products at a virtual event on January 14.

"The First Look 2021. Stay Tuned. More to Look. We invite you to the First Look 2021, where a new vision for screens begins," the media invite received by The National said.

The world’s largest manufacturer of smartphones is known for launching its premium S series phones every year in February, but the company is planning an early launch to stay ahead of its rivals and secure more market share, industry analysts said.

The South Korean company will release three new phones – the S21, the S21 Plus and the S21 Ultra, according to the latest industry leaks.

The standard model, the S21, will have a 15.7-centimetre flat display with a hole-punch selfie camera rooted in the top centre of the screen. Meanwhile, the S21 Plus and the S21 Ultra are expected to have curved displays ranging between 17cm and 17.5cm.

The new phones are expected to be available to consumers in the last week of January.

Samsung is strategically keeping the price of its upcoming series marginally lower to attract more customers.

The Galaxy 21 will start at $1,035, the S21 Plus will cost $1,278 and the S21 Ultra $1,644, according to Sofia-based smartphone tracker GSM Arena. The prices are for the standard 128GB configurations.

In comparison, the S20-series was launched in February this year at $1,217, $1,339 and $1,583, respectively.

The company is expected to ship its new phones without wall chargers in the box, a strategy that Apple adopted in October, citing environmental benefits. Users can purchase chargers separately.

The S21 will come with three cameras on the back, while Plus and Ultra will have four rear cameras. They will be tacked vertically on an extra bump, extending from the phone's frame, just like the new Note20 series.

Samsung is currently battling Apple and Huawei to retain its market dominance in the global smartphone market.

After experiencing a 28.9 per cent annual decrease in global sales in the second quarter, Samsung’s shipments grew 2.9 per cent to 80.4 million units in the three months to September 30, according to the figures compiled by the International Data Corporation.

“Samsung suffered in Q2 due to its dependence on offline retail, but Q3 saw a major recovery,” Shengtao Jin, an analyst at Singapore-based Canalys, said.

“Its momentum was fuelled … Samsung ramped up its launches of low- to mid-range devices and introduced other incentives, such as discounts and free online deliveries, to stimulate demand,” he added.

Industry leaks suggest that the S21 series could support the stylus S Pen, which was a popular feature in Samsung's Note series phones.