Samsung opens unlocked Galaxy S8, Galaxy S8+ pre-orders in US

Samsung today announces that pre-orders for the unlocked Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ are now finally open in the US. The South Korean maker officially released its latest flagships last month on all the major carriers. It unveiled the devices at a special event in late-March, offering the carrier models for pre-order shortly after.

Samsung is making the unlocked Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ available to pre-order through its online store and Best Buy. Customers who buy one now can get their unit on May 30. Both flagships will be readily available in an unlocked trim on May 31.

"By combining the freedom that Unlocked by Samsung provides, with the innovative and groundbreaking features of our latest flagship phones, we are giving consumers even more choice and convenience for their mobile needs," says Samsung Electronics America CEO and president Tim Baxter.

So, how much does an unlocked model cost? Samsung currently lists the 64GB Galaxy S8 for $729.99 on its website, while the 64GB Galaxy S8+ can be had for $824.99. The model number is SM-G950UZKAXAA for the former and SM-G955UZKAXAA for the latter. The prices match those of the unlocked models available for pre-order through BestBuy.

So, what's the benefit? Well, if you get an unlocked model you'll be able to use it without any issues on carriers in the US and abroad, as it is not tied to a specific network and, thus, you can use different SIM cards in the US and when you travel to another country. You also don't get any of the bloatware that ships with the models carriers like AT&T and Verizon sell.

However, there is something to keep in mind here. The unlocked Galaxy S7 line received Android 7.0 Nougat last week, compared to carrier-branded models in US which got the software update earlier. Hopefully this will not happen to the Galaxy S8 crop, but you probably shouldn't get your hopes up right now.

Samsung has enjoyed great success with the Galaxy S8, announcing that pre-orders for its latest flagships beat the Galaxy S7 by 30 percent, which is its "best ever" performance yet. The new line is expected to sell over 50 million units in a year.