Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge: Australian pricing and availability
Both the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge are on their way to Australia, with pre-orders starting on March 30 ahead of an April 10 on-sale date.
After revealing the Galaxy S6 and the S6 Edge back at the start of March, Samsung is working towards a global launch for both phones. This will see the new flagship and its Edge variant available in Australia -- and much of the world -- from April 10.
With the controversial removal of expandable memory from the S6 and Edge -- no more plugging in a Micro SD card -- Samsung is offering three different storage tiers across both phones: 32GB, 64GB and 128GB. Consumers will also get 100GB of storage on Microsoft's OneDrive when they purchase an S6 or S6 Edge.
The Galaxy S6 is priced at AU$999 for the 32GB version, AU$1,149 for 64GB and AU$1,299 for 128GB.
The Galaxy S6 Edge will cost AU$1,149 for the 32GB, AU$1,299 for 64GB and AU$1,449 for 128GB.
Locally, the S6 and Edge can be pre-ordered online from 5pm on March 30 and in-store from March 31. Only the black and white versions will make it to Australia, with the platinum gold, blue and green offerings staying overseas for the moment.
The two phones share much of the same technical specs, both sporting a 5.1-inch AMOLED Quad HD screen, with a Samsung Octacore processor and 3GB of RAM. Both phones will ship with Android 5.0. The Galaxy S6 Edge is mildly slimmer and lighter than its sibling (132g versus 138g) but actually packs in a slightly larger battery: 2,600mAh versus 2,550mAh.
You can read more in our extensive hands-on thoughts with the Galaxy S6 or the Galaxy S6 Edge .
Both phones are Category 6 LTE devices and Samsung has confirmed that they will support all 4G Carrier Aggregation offerings currently in Australia, including Telstra's 4GX and Optus' 4G Plus.
Both phones will also support Tap and Pay functionality for Westpac and Commonwealth bank customers from launch. Prasad Gokhale, vice president of IT and mobile for Samsung Australia said the company was in discussions with other banking providers in Australia working towards a "broader, community based strategy" for expanding NFC payment options.
Provider Pricing
Optus: The Galaxy S6 will be available on a variety of plans from Optus. The 32GB model of S6 will be on the AU$80 plan with no handset repayments and 6GB of data. That's a minimum cost of AU$1,920 over 24 months. Other models with varying memory will cost more depending on the plan.
The S6 Edge will cost an additional AU$5 in handset repayments on the AU$80 plan, still with 6GB of data. Total cost for the 24 month contract is AU$2,040. Again, differing models will have differing levels of handset repayments.
Optus is also leveraging its Netflix partnership, offering a six month Netflix subscription to anyone pre-ordering either the Galaxy S6 or the S6 Edge on a AU$60 per month plan or above.
Virgin: Virgin is also offering the 32GB GS6 for AU$0 in repayments of a AU$80 plan, but with 4GB of data. The total cost is, obviously, still AU$1,920 over the 24 month contract. The 32GB GS6 Edge will cost AU$5 a month on the same plan making it AU$2,040 for the two years. Other models will attract other handset fees depending on the plan.
Virgin does of course offer data rollover on its postpaid plans.
Telstra: The Galaxy S6 has been confirmed by Telstra as being Blue Tick compliant, meaning it's recommended for regional and rural areas.
As announced today, Telstra has upped its data allowances across its Accelerate plans. This means that the 32GB Galaxy S6 on the AU$95 a month plan -- with no additional handset charges -- will get 6GB of data for the contract. That's a total minimum cost of AU$2,280 for 24 months.
The 32GB S6 Edge costs an additional AU$4 a month on the same plan, making your 24 months of 6GBs of data a minimum of AU$2,376.
New customers also get a six month subscription to the Presto streaming service.
Vodafone: For the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge, Vodafone has compiled one of the most confusing pricing and bonus data structures that we've ever seen. The 32GB GS6 will cost AU$3 per month in handset repayments on the AU$80 plan. That's a minimum cost of AU$1992 over the 24 month contract. You normally get 4GB of data but Vodafone is offering a 2GB data bonus for people signing up to the service before May 5. According to Vodafone this is an offer for people signing up in-store.
However, there's also a 1GB bonus offer for people who sign up online before April 9. This appears to, somehow, stack with the in-store offer, making for a total of 7GB. We asked Vodafone for a clarification on this and were told that "if you buy the AU$80 plan online, you receive 7GB of data. If you buy in-store, you receive 6GB".
You'll get the same deal on the 32GB Edge, but handset repayments go up to AU$8, making for a total minimum cost of AU$2,112 for 24 months.
Updated April 1, 4.55 p.m. AEDT: Added Vodafone carrier pricing.