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Galaxy S6 release date is April 10th, and US pre-orders start tomorrow

Galaxy S6 release date is April 10th, and US pre-orders start tomorrow

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The S6 Edge will run about $100 more

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Samsung today announced that the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge will be available on US carriers starting April 10th, the same time as they are scheduled to be available for sale across the world. Additionally, customers in the US will be able to pre-order the phones starting tomorrow, March 27th, with certain AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon Wireless, U.S. Cellular, and Best Buy locations having the phones on hand for in-person demos starting tomorrow.

Update: Read the review of the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge.

The Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge coming to the US will largely be the same as the model available globally. They have 5.1-inch, qHD Super AMOLED displays, 32, 64, or 128GB of internal storage, Samsung's octacore Exynos processors, and 16-megapixel cameras with optical image stabilization. Unfortunately, US customers will only be able to choose from black, white, or gold color options — the striking emerald green S6 Edge and navy blue S6 are not coming to the US, at least not at this time.

AT&T has listed pricing in a blog post, but oddly (and annoyingly) only on its Next installment plans. The 32GB version of the Galaxy S6 starts at $22.84 per month for 30 months on AT&T's Next 24 plan, which works out to about a $685.20 off-contract price. The Galaxy S6 Edge is $27.17 per month for 30 months, which makes the Edge about $130 more for the off-contract price.

T-Mobile is charging roughly the same for the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge: the former will run $28.33 per month on a 24 month plan, while the latter will cost $32.49 per month for the same time span. That works out to $679.92 and $779.76, respectively. However, T-Mobile is sweetening the deal with a free year of Netflix, which is worth $107.88 on its own, making it pretty attractive if you're already a Netflix subscriber.

If those plans don't have you confused, Sprint's options might. The carrier is offering the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge through its leasing plans, which pair the 32GB S6 with unlimited talk, text, and data for $80 per month. Upgrading to a 64GB or 128GB model will cost $5 or $10 more per month, respectively. If you're interested in the S6 Edge, leasing plans will cost about $5 more per month across the board. Sprint's plans are different from the other carriers in that you don't actually own the phone after two years — your only option is to surrender it for a new device or keep paying in perpetuity.

Fortunately, Sprint's prepaid brand Boost is a little more straightforward: a 32GB Galaxy S6 will cost $649.99. Boost is not offering the S6 Edge.

Verizon won't actually accept pre-orders until April 1st. According to CNET, Verizon will offer the S6 for $200 after rebate with a new contract, or for $24.99 per month for 24 months. The S6 Edge will be $300 with a two-year contract, or $29.16 per month for the same 24 months. Full retail pricing is $600 for the S6 and $700 for the S6 Edge.

Update: This article has been updated to clarify that AT&T's pricing is based on 30 installments, not 24. We regret the error.

Verge Video: Hands-on with the Galaxy S6 edge