Update (October 2026): Samsung never released a phone called Galaxy S11. It skipped the name and announced the Galaxy S20, S20+ and S20 Ultra on February 11, 2020 (on sale from March 6, 2020). Here is how the rumors and wishes below turned out:
- Price: the Galaxy S20 5G started at $999.99 in the US, close to the $1,000 we expected.
- Camera: the S20 Ultra got a 108MP main camera, and the S20 and S20+ got a 64MP telephoto camera.
- Headphone jack: removed on all S20 models.
- Battery: 4,000mAh on the S20, 4,500mAh on the S20+ and 5,000mAh on the S20 Ultra.
- Chip: 7nm (Exynos 990 or Snapdragon 865), not the rumored 5nm.
- 5G: all three models came in 5G versions, but none of them was cheap.
The rest of this article shows what we knew and hoped for in July 2019, while everyone was waiting for the successor of the Galaxy S10.
In this article
Samsung Galaxy S11 release date and price
Samsung usually releases its Galaxy S phones once a year, so we expected the Galaxy S11 to come out in February or March 2020.
The Galaxy S10 cost $900. We expected the Galaxy S11 to cost a little more, because the Galaxy S10 was already more expensive than the Galaxy S9. Based on the usual price increases between Galaxy S generations, we expected around $1,000 for the cheapest version, and more for models with more storage.
Galaxy S11 leaks and rumors
The launch was still far away in 2020, but there were already rumors, leaks and speculation about the phone on the web.
- Camera sensors: on May 9, 2019, Samsung announced new 48MP and 64MP camera sensors. This could be a hint of what we would see on the back of the Galaxy S11, as Samsung wanted to improve its smartphone photography.
- 5nm chip: according to Sina, the Galaxy S11 might be the first phone with a tiny 5nm chipset, which could make it faster than other phones.
- No in-display camera: Oppo and Xiaomi were already teasing cameras under the screen, but a source said Samsung would wait for the technology to “mature” first. Until then, it would keep using punch-hole cameras, just smaller ones.
- Code name “Picasso”: according to the leaker Ice Universe, Picasso was the code name Samsung used internally for the Galaxy S11.
Galaxy S11 R & D code: Picasso pic.twitter.com/AOtMq61Rou
— Ice Universe (@UniverseIce) May 19, 2019
What we wanted to see in the Galaxy S11
1. Better camera specs
The Samsung Galaxy S10 has three rear cameras: a 12MP main sensor with a regular lens, a 12MP second sensor with a telephoto lens for distance shots, and a 16MP third sensor with an ultra-wide lens.
Three lenses are normal for a smartphone camera, but the resolution of each one is much lower than on many other phones. Phones like the Honor 20 Pro have a 48MP main camera, a big step up from 12MP. Even affordable phones sometimes come with four lenses (the extra one is usually a time-of-flight or macro sensor for close-up shots). To stay competitive, Samsung needed to improve the camera in the Galaxy S11.
We heard that Samsung was working on a 64MP smartphone camera that could end up in the Galaxy S11. If that was true, the new phone would beat its competitors easily.
2. Headphone jack
If you’re thinking “the Samsung Galaxy S10 does have a 3.5mm headphone jack”, you’re right, but it may be the last one with it.
Newer Galaxy phones like the Samsung Galaxy A80 dropped the headphone jack, so it seemed Samsung was following many other phone makers in removing the physical headphone port.
Many people still use wired earphones, so we would love to see the jack stay in future Samsung phones, especially as Samsung was one of the only high-end phone makers still including it.
3. A different front camera design
The Galaxy S10 was one of the first phones with a “punch-hole” front camera: the selfie camera sits in a cut-out inside the screen, in the corner.
In theory, this replaces the notch at the top and gives you more screen. In practice, the punch-hole takes just as much space, because the thin strip of screen between the camera and the edge isn’t really used.
We wanted the Galaxy S11 to try something different. Samsung itself said it planned to drop the punch-hole for a camera under the screen, but that could still be a few Galaxy S phones away.
4. A bigger battery
The Galaxy S10 has a 3,400mAh battery. That’s fine, but it won’t last into a second day, especially if you use your phone a lot.
We hoped the Galaxy S11 would last longer. It would need a bigger battery anyway to power all its new technology, but we wanted a serious improvement, perhaps 4,000mAh or more.
5. More launch colors
The Galaxy S10 comes in a few colors, mostly Prism White and Prism Black. We always love a phone with a bold design, and Samsung phones often looked a little dull.
We weren’t asking for the wild back patterns of a Huawei or Honor phone, but it would be nice if the Galaxy S11 launched in more colors.
Some Galaxy S10 colors, like yellow, green or red, were only sold in certain regions. If Samsung offered these colors in all regions from day one, we would like the design a lot more.
6. Affordable 5G
We expected a Samsung Galaxy S11 5G. There was a Samsung Galaxy S10 5G, after all, and by the time the S11 launched, 5G would be available in many countries.
However, the Galaxy S10 5G is even bigger than the Galaxy S10 Plus, so it’s huge and expensive. At the time, no affordable 5G phones were on the way, so Samsung could really get ahead if the Galaxy S11, or a Galaxy S11e, had a low price and worked on 5G networks.
- Before the S11, Samsung’s next big phone was the Galaxy Note 10, which launched in August 2019.
Samsung’s next big idea after that was a foldable phone that flips like an old clamshell phone: read about Samsung’s clamshell foldable concept.
