Verizon's Samsung Galaxy S20 5G model leaks out as release date nears

We've actually known that the S20 (SM-G980) model won't support mmWave networks before Samsung announced the series, even in its SM-G981U reincarnation that supports lower 5G bands like those on T-Mobile or AT&T. Back in January, we found the S20 listed at the FCC as a device that "operates in the following bands: Multi-band LTE, 5G NR (n71, n5, n66, n2, n41)."

At the same time, the S20+ (G986U) listing at the FCC, for instance, ratcheted the 5G bands up quite a bit to "Multi-band LTE, 5G NR (n71, n5, n66, n2, n41, n260, n261)." The last two are what Verizon and , revently, AT&T use for their mmWave 5G networks, of course, so we knew beforehand that the first S20 batch won't be making it to Verizon's shores. 

The n261 band, in particular, is Verizon's 28GHz spectrum that delivers the blazing fast 5G speeds that get touted in marketing materials but has trouble penetrating thick walls and even your hand if there weren't a bunch of antennas around the frame of all mmWave handsets.

While the leaked image of Verizon's Galaxy S20 5G doesn't really tell much on its own, except that Cloud White will be one of the colors that it will be available with at the carrier, the implications are several.

In fact, you can buy the unlocked Galaxy S20 from Samsung right now, and use it on Verizon right away, as the carrier supports it as BYOD gear activated on its network. Or, you can wait until next month or June to get the real S20 5G model. 

We asked Verizon to confirm the exact release timing and our favorite press person George Koroneos confirmed that "It will be available in the first half of 2020." Given the Evan Blass leak, the Galaxy S20 availability on Verizon shouldn't be that far off, and we wouldn't be surprised to see it land in the carrier's roster as soon as next month.