Did Samsung decide that the iPhone 11 is not even worth competing with?

Samsung just released its 2020 flagship line — the Galaxy S20. While the S20 Ultra goes all over the top in specs, camera capabilities, and price, you have the more “regular” models that dial things back a little and cost a bit less.

These are the Galaxy S20 for $999.99 and Galaxy S20+ for $1199.99. Now, looking at those numbers, there are two things that immediately jump at you. For one, even the cheapest Samsung flagship is still pretty expensive. And two, Samsung doesn’t seem to have a phone that answers Apple’s iPhone 11, which is a weird decision.

The iPhone 11 hit the market strongly with a starting price of $699.99 — $50 cheaper than last year’s iPhone XR. And Apple’s marketing cleverly positioned it as “THE iPhone”, while the Pro versions were mentioned as a spinoff edition for powerusers only.

This puts Samsung at a bit of a disadvantage. Its latest “mainstream phone”, if that’s what the smallest Galaxy S20 is to be considered, still costs $300 more than Apple’s mainstream device.

Yes, you could make the argument that Samsung’s handset offers more tech, like an AMOLED screen with a 120 Hz refresh rate, twice the base storage, 5G connectivity, and three cameras. This is all really cool, but the mainstream user doesn’t always care for those things. It is a bit confusing that Samsung chose not to release a cheaper device that’s better capable of rivaling the iPhone 11 in its price slot.

Even the Galaxy S10 line isn’t a proper answer

OK, you might say, the Galaxy S10 line is still there and it was properly discounted. But even that’s a bit sketch. The S10 starts at $749.99, so it’s just $50 more than the iPhone 11. However, it still carries the stigma of being “the older Samsung”, where the iPhone 11 is “the newest iPhone” still. And it’s not like Samsung spent any extra time marketing the S10 after its new pricing — everything is full-on focused on the Galaxy S20 line.

So, this all leads me to one particular thought:

In 2020, Samsung doesn’t even care about competing with the iPhone

At least not directly. If you don’t understand somebody’s motives, look at the results of their actions. With the way the Galaxy S20 is positioned, it doesn’t even care about pulling customers away from the $699.99 iPhone 11. It sits there boldly waving its $999.99 price-tag as if it’s proclaiming “only Samsung fans need apply”.

With the decisions and product positions, it seems that Samsung has the confidence that its products can stand on their own and they don’t need to be “an answer” or “a clapback” for whatever else its major competition has. Or at least it wants to set itself apart in that manner.

That is commendable, but the following months will show whether customers are willing to go with this new model, or if they would rather push back, refuse to upgrade, or jump ship.