to axe the Galaxy S24 Plus subsequent 12 months. Afterward, these rumors
by different leaksters, so it’s fairly unclear if the rumour is substantiated or not.
But, what this specific rumor made me personally suppose, wouldn’t it really be a terrific thought for Samsung to really do away with the Galaxy S Plus flagships, that are seemingly amongst its least widespread flagship telephones?
Truly, I’ve had this sense for just a few years now, and as the one who had the chance to overview each the Galaxy S22 Plus and Galaxy S21 Plus right here at PhoneArena (in addition to about to completely overview the Galaxy S23 Plus in just a few weeks’ time), I’ve had first-hand impressions with these two current flagships, however my expertise doesn’t solely go this far.
I’ve really used the Galaxy S8+, Galaxy S9+, Galaxy S10+, and Galaxy S20+ for lengthy durations of time as my each day drivers of their heyday, and though I’ve since moved to greener orchards, the destiny of the Galaxy S Plus flagship remains to be considerably pricey to me. Yep, the nostalgia glasses are beckoning me on a regular basis.
There’s merely not any want for such a tool, which has been rendered largely out of date by the extra thrilling Galaxy S Extremely. Furthermore, the extra compact common Galaxy S flagship shares the identical basic {hardware} and options, so that you’re solely left with a barely bigger battery and show. This merely doesn’t minimize it in 2023, and the Galaxy S Plus units of current years lack that “oomph” issue.
Samsung Galaxy S Plus: what occurred?
The roots of the concept for a extra succesful “Plus” system stem all the way in which again to greater than half a decade in the past, when Samsung started experimenting with curved shows and bigger telephones.
First of its variety was the Galaxy S6 edge+, a 2015 flagship system with a dual-curved show that was supposed to check the waters and measure how the common client would react to extra futuristic screens.
The litmus testing was clearly constructive, as a result of a 12 months later Samsung gave us the Galaxy S7 edge, a extra refined model that was totally “Plus” besides in title.
Galaxy S10+, one of many all-time greats in Samsung’s lineup
Later, Samsung’s Galaxy S8+, S9+, and S10+ all have been one of the best telephones it had in its arsenal at their time, solely rivaled by the Galaxy Observe flagships. With the most important batteries, shows, and probably the most superior options, they have been very nicely set aside from the extra compact and barely much less spectacular common Galaxies.
After which… the Galaxy S20 sequence occurred, which gave us three telephones: a Galaxy S20, a Galaxy S20 Plus, and a Galaxy S20 Extremely. The latter was a brand new breed of Galaxy flagship, with extra unique options than the opposite two, a far more spectacular digital camera and a price ticket besides.
The cat was out of the bag: the Galaxy S20 Plus was decreased to a merely enlarged model of the common Galaxy S20, with nothing thrilling occurring for it and did not differentiate itself from Samsung’s extra formidable flagships. This was the precise second when the spirit of the Galaxy S Plus flagship died and have become simply one other cookie-cutter Samsung telephone.
The elephant within the room: Do Galaxy S Plus telephones promote nicely?
That’s the important thing half that may finally put the kibosh on the Galaxy S Plus mannequin. Factor is, we actually don’t know for positive. Samsung does share gross sales numbers for its flagship telephones, however has hardly damaged these down by system mannequin.
In relation to the Galaxy S22 sequence as an entire, it was just lately revealed that Samsung had bought lower than 30 million items by the top of 2022 falling behind its aim of 33 million gross sales. The South Korean big aimed to promote 14 million Galaxy S22 telephones, 11 million Galaxy S22 Extremely units, and eventually, some 8 million Galaxy S22 Plus items, however finally, the maths didn’t take a look at.
Samsung and Apple made the identical mistake
Are you able to consider every other telephone that’s considerably just like the Galaxy S22 Plus however doesn’t actually promote nicely? Ding, ding, the iPhone 14 Plus instantly involves thoughts. As a consequence of one purpose or one other, Apple’s large reasonably priced iPhone isn’t the smash-hit success it was destined to be. Fairly counter-intuitively, it turned out that buyers don’t actually fawn over massive telephones that lack the super-premium options of a big flagship. The iPhone 14 Plus shares only a fraction of the important thing options of the iPhone 14 Professional Max, which definitely ideas the scales in favor of the latter a lot that I’m really frightened about the way forward for Apple’s iPhone Plus units.
The identical logic could be utilized to Samsung’s Galaxy S Plus flagship as nicely: individuals don’t appear to be eager on massive telephones that lack the additional options, polish, and class that they’ll get out of a real flagship. Just like the iPhone 14 Professional Max. Or the Galaxy S22 Extremely.

Galaxy S23 Plus renders by PhoneArena
Are Samsung’s Galaxy S Plus flagships dangerous telephones?
No. They’re simply sidelined and overshadowed by the competitors, in addition to Samsung’s personal lineup of telephones. The interior cannibalization is sort of extreme there.
Let’s take the most recent Galaxy S22 for example. Except for the Extremely flagship and its extra compact variation, the Galaxy S Plus additionally has a Galaxy A73 and Galaxy A53 to fret about, which supply nearly the identical performance at a a lot lower cost tag, thus delivering increased worth. The Galaxy S21 FE was one other comparable telephone that positively has received many over for its trigger, and to high it off, Samsung’s foldable Galaxy Z Flip 4 could be had for roughly the identical worth, however has method increased “wow” issue hooked up to it.
And there’s the exterior competitors, which seemingly delivers higher worth than the Galaxy S22 Plus. The Google Pixel flagships, regardless of all of the horror tales about high quality management points, are a terrific different as nicely, and so are many amongst Motorola’s high telephones. And at last, there’s the iPhone 14 Professional, which absolutely made a dent in Samsung’s gross sales.
Last ideas: What would the perfect Galaxy lineup appear like?
Samsung can probably optimize its flagship lineup and scale back the variety of flagships it launches originally of every 12 months. Its foldable releases, normally constituting two separate units, will need to have clearly proven that such a state of affairs will not be solely potential, but in addition fascinating, because it permits for higher advertising and marketing and focusing on particular teams of customers with every system. For instance, an everyday Galaxy S telephone with a extra compact design would win over shoppers that desire a smaller telephone, whereas power-users (and most tech-savvy individuals) would naturally be enamored with the head-turning and super-advanced massive Extremely flagship.
Two flagship telephones overlaying the 2 important use circumstances are an optimum technique, and in such a configuration, a Galaxy S Plus doesn’t actually match that nicely. For all different area of interest situations, Samsung definitely has many extra units that would fill the footwear of its Galaxy S Plus telephones, and that’s why these must go.