Samsung Galaxy S20 reservations open: 5G a no-show (for now)

Today Samsung revealed a sort of a teaser for potential customers of the Samsung Galaxy S20 that'll be shown in full for the first time on the 11th of February. This is the sign up bit of the system, with which users will eventually gain access to the ability to pre-order a phone. It's kind of like a screengrab of a video that, in turn, is a teaser for a trailer for a movie. It's very, very early on in a process which will eventually empty your wallet in a very, very big way.

The system today is mysterious, much like previous Samsung Galaxy phone releases have been in the last several years. This sign-up process suggests that you can "Reserve the next generation of Galaxy to lock in a limited-time exclusive deal." It does not go into extreme detail on what this special deal might entail.

In this pre-pre-order process, Samsung showed that the first wave of Samsung Galaxy S20 devices will be released with at least 5 different carriers in at least 6 ways. There'll be versions that work with Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, and U.S. Cellular – and there'll be an Unlocked version, too.

What's missing? The biggest question of compatibility in the whole smartphone universe here in the first half of 2020 – does it have 5G? Samsung's reservation system does not differentiate between models beyond that of carrier – and they do not suggest whether or not each different version of their next phones will have 5G connectivity or not.

This leaves the question of version numbers open – and gives us a bit of anxiety about whether we'll be paying extra for 5G connectivity when the time comes for prices to be revealed. We're still expecting the Galaxy S20 Ultra to be the best 5G smartphone on earth when it's shown for the first time – and it'll retain that title for... a few weeks? We shall see!