Samsung's phone upgrade program launched in Singapore and the UK

Samsung Concierge is what the program is called in Singapore. Customers are required to pay a one-time fee of S$38 and they are then eligible to upgrade their Galaxy handset to the latest model after 12 months have passed at no additional cost. Customers who enroll themselves in this program also receive a one-time 50 percent discount on out-of-warranty repairs made to the handset within the first 12 months. It's the same story for customers in the United Kingdom. Customers lease the handset directly from Samsung and are eligible for an upgrade after 12 months though it's not mandatory for them to upgrade to the newer model. Before customers can leave the program they must pay off the device in full. The program will be available from March 11 with the Galaxy S7 and the Galaxy S7 edge are released.

Clearly there's nothing holding Samsung back from expanding the phone upgrade program to more markets. A spokesperson for the company has said that Samsung will continue to assess and explore solutions that provide the best experience for customers in other market. What that basically means is that if it makes sense to do so, Samsung will launch the program in additional markets down the line.