Would you rent a smartphone for a smaller monthly payment than if you financed it with monthly installments? That could be a choice next month as Samsung launches the Galaxy S25 series. During a press conference this week, Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Han Jong-hee said that they plan to apply a subscription service to Galaxy smartphones starting next month.
We’re dealing with translations from a Korean news outlet here, but the idea is basically as follows. Samsung first introduced an “AI Subscription Club” service for its expensive appliances last year and saw what it believes to be some early success. And by “subscription,” our understanding is that this is really a rental program because appliances are expensive and many people can’t afford them. The idea, thanks to early appliance success, is that people may want to do the same with expensive phones, like the Galaxy S25 Ultra (Did you reserve one yet?).
Samsung is planning to launch this “AI Subscription Club” with the Galaxy S25 series to give sales a boost. The name sure makes it sound like they are going to ask you to subscribe to AI on the phone, but that’s not what is being suggested by this article and Samsung. They are calling it the “AI Subscription Club” because the devices (including those appliances) have AI built-in, but it’ll be a rental program like Samsung launched with appliances.
Of course, being a part of this AI club could lead to features others don’t have access to or perks that might make it more appealing. I’m just guessing there, but they need to have a pitch beyond just renting devices at lower prices, right? Or maybe they don’t?
I’m struggling to see users jumping at the idea of paying a monthly fee to rent a phone. It’s jut not something we do in the US and I can imagine it being a tough sell here. I could be completely wrong too, and maybe some might like the idea of paying a lower monthly fee with the idea that maybe they can ditch the thing and upgrade regularly.
Since the details of this program are not available for Samsung’s phones yet, we’re really sitting here waiting to find out more.
Thoughts?
// ETnews
This post was last modified on January 8, 2025 9:48 am