Never shying away from branded collaborations, Samsung is teaming up with Starbucks – no, not the Battlestar Galactica character – to launch a new line of phone cases and headphones.
Made from an “eco-friendly material”, the phone cases will be for the Galaxy S22, S22 Plus and S22 Ultra, as reported by 9to5Google (opens in new tab) who translated the original post from Korean (opens in new tab). The cases reflect the Starbucks art style as they are inspired by the company’s brand. Certain items will be for certain phone models as they take into account their respective hardware.
The Galaxy S22 and S22 Plus will share two cases inspired by the aprons baristas wear. Yes really. One will have a simple Starbucks logo, while the other will have a slogan that says “Count stars in your galaxy”. the S22 Ultra will have two cases with extra holes for the phone’s camera lenses. Both have a back handle: one will be a caricature of the company logo while the other has a fake receipt.
In addition to the phone cases, Samsung and Starbucks have designed two cases for the Galaxy Buds 2. The first is a very simple looking green case with the Starbucks logo printed on the case. The second case is much more adorable: it looks like a coffee mug complete with latte art.
It is unknown if the collaboration will be released outside of South Korea. The schedule will be released on June 28 via Starbucks Naver Store (opens in new tab). 9to5Google reports that the drop will be limited, so if you have a way to send them, make sure you act fast.
We asked Samsung if there is a possibility that the range will be released internationally and what exactly is “eco-friendly material”, but we didn’t get an answer to any of the questions. It should be mentioned that the The S22 Ultra has similar looking cases (opens in new tab) Made of silicone with a handle on the back. This silicone material has been referred to as eco-friendly.
limited collaborations
Mentioned earlier, Samsung has a history of releasing fun collaborations. For example, in May, Samsung launched a special edition charging case for Galaxy Buds 2 in Poké Ball form. The sad truth is that many of these collaborations don’t come out of South Korea.
There are some that internationalize like last year Galaxy Watch4 collaboration (opens in new tab) with the luxury brand Maison Kitsuné and the Galaxy S20 Plus BTS phone starting in 2020. But for whatever reason, 2022 saw Samsung being meaner with launching overseas collaborations.
Whatever their reasoning, we expect Samsung to release the gorgeous coffee cup case outside of South Korea. If you’re interested in other cool collaborations, we’ve written about China getting a Naruto-style phone.