Samsung and Microsoft have unveiled an unexpected new initiative in their partnership. It’s called Samsung Access, a new subscription that ties a Galaxy S20 handset to premium support and a Microsoft 365 Personal account.

“With Samsung Access, one simple monthly subscription gives you our latest phones—the Unlocked Galaxy S20 5G series—with the option to upgrade or cancel anytime,” the Samsung Access website explains. “Plus, you’ll get Premium Care coverage, 1 TB OneDrive cloud storage, and Premium [Microsoft] Office apps [via Microsoft 365 Personal].”

What makes this a particularly interesting deal is that you can cancel—or upgrade—at any time without risk. And from a cost perspective, it’s much less expensive than paying for a Galaxy S20 with Premium support from Samsung, plus Microsoft 365 Personal (which includes the 1 TB of OneDrive storage and premium Office apps) separately. (Unless of course you have a trade-in.)

The cost per month varies by handset, of course. If you choose a base Galaxy S20 5G, it’s $37 per month. A Galaxy S20+ 5G is $42 per month, and the Galaxy S20 Ultra 5G is $48 per month. Then you add $7 per month for Samsung Care and $3.33 per month for Microsoft 365 Personal. So the total cost would be about $49, $53, or $59 per month before taxes.

By comparison, these devices are normally $999.99 ($42 per month on a two-year plan), $1199.99 ($49.99), or $1399.99 ($58.33) respectively. Samsung Premium Care costs $11.99 or $19.99 per month per device depending on the device. And Microsoft 365 Personal is $69.99 annually (and billed at $5.84 per month).

There’s also a version of Samsung Access for smart TVs that bundles select new Samsung TVs with Samsung Premium Care and premium content, all for one low monthly payment. “You get your choice of a streaming or gaming service (up to a $120 value), included at no additional cost,” Samsung explains. “Choose from Showtime, Sling TV, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, YouTube Music Premium, YouTube Premium, or YouTube TV.”

Tagged with Samsung, Samsung Galaxy S20