Samsung Galaxy S10 5G pre-orders begin in the US as Verizon's 5G network expands

The wait for Samsung's massive Galaxy S10 5G is almost over in the US, as Verizon has opened up pre-orders for the phone, with in-store availability kicking off on May 16. Along with the opening of pre-orders, Verizon has announced the next 20 cities where it will deploy its 5G Ultra Wideband network.

The Galaxy S10 5G is Samung's biggest model in the new S10 family. It comes packing a mammoth 6.74-inch display that's likely to be one of the most enticing mobile phone displays for watching TV and movies. It houses not only powerful internals and the hardware necessary to support 5G, but also a 4,500mAh to keep that huge screen and demanding network connectivity powered on.

Learn all about 5G networks here
Check out our hands-on with the first 5G phone
Here's our review of the Moto Z3

All the pre-order details

It's no surprise that a phone like the Galaxy S10 5G is coming at a sky-high price. All of Samsung's new S10 models are expensive, and this model tops all of them. The Galaxy S10 5G price starts at $1,299 with 256GB of storage, and that goes up to $1,399 for the 512GB model.

Verizon has some incentives to make that price a bit more bearable. For one, the price can already be split over 24 monthly payments. Customers can also trade in their current phone for up to $450 of trade-in value through monthly credits. Customers switching to Verizon can also get a $200 prepaid MasterCard.

And, as is now typical for early orders new Samsung flagships, customers can also get some freebies with the new phone. This time around, the S10 5G will come with a VIP Kit comprised of Samsung Galaxy Buds and Samsung's Wireless Charging Battery Pack.

For now, the Galaxy S10 5G is exclusive to Verizon, but that's just for a limited time. it's due to come to AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile in the second half of 2019.

But the 5G though

There are some caveats to the 5G aspect, though.

Firstly, Verizon's 5G network is currently only available in Chicago and Minneapolis. And, it's only available to customers on Verizon's Above Unlimited or Beyond Unlimited data plans with an added $10 fee (currently the fee is being waived).

Verizon has announced the new 20 cities that will get its high-end 5G connectivity, but it's not clear yet when in 2019 they'll receive it. Here's the list of those cities:

Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dallas, Des Moines, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Little Rock, Memphis, Phoenix, Providence, San Diego, Salt Lake City and Washington DC.

Verizon plans to announce more cities later in 2019.

It's worth noting that this rollout is just for Verizon's 5G Ultra Wideband, and Verizon may have additional plans for rolling out wider 5G coverage using different bandwidths .