Samsung phones at the Olympics: 20 years of sports-themed smartphones

(Image credit: Samsung/TechRadar)

The Tokyo Olympics are finally here, a year after they were expected (and after a busy summer of sporting events, depending on where you live). If you are a fan of

android phones

Where

Samsung smartphones

, we've got something for you, because celebrating high-level athletic prowess doesn't just affect the sports world.

Since 2000 - coincidentally the same year

mobile phone throw was created

as a sport - Samsung officially started sponsoring the Olympics and as a result started releasing phones bearing the five-ring mark.

Samsung phones have changed a lot over the past 20 years (well, 21, but with the Tokyo Olympics technically a 2020 event, and 20 being a good round number, we're sticking with that). Smartphones were only created relatively recently, and many of Samsung's old Olympic phones are true blasts from the past.

So, to reminisce about two decades of sports and smartphones, we dug up all the old Olympic-themed phones, both functional and smart, to take you on a trip down memory lane. To be clear, the Winter Olympics versions are not listed here. Expect this article in early 2022.

Here's how to watch the Olympics

Sydney 2000 - Samsung SGH-600

The Samsung SGH-600 feature phone released in 1999 is in a museum, but to commemorate the Sydney Olympics, Samsung released a version with a small Olympic logo on the flip cover.

This phone had a 65 hour battery life, a 96 x 32 resolution screen and all the basic functions of your phone. The keys were hidden by a flip-up shell, as some early feature phones did.

Although Samsung states that three million SGH-600 units were sold, it is unclear how many Olympic-themed versions were made. It seems, however, that the handset was designed to add prestige to the Samsung name, more than to sell special versions of the device.

Athens 2004 - Samsung SGH-i530

(Image credit: Samsung)

Going back four years (you can see what we did there), the 2004 Greek Olympics had the SGH-i530 as a sponsored phone. As the name suggests, it's part of the same series as the SGH-600, but it's a real flip phone.

The phone had a 176 x 162 main display with a 128 x 96 outer display when folded and the phone has 32MB of RAM and a 96 hour battery life. Running Samsung's PalmOS, the handset was exactly what you'd expect from a flip phone, except the main screen was also a touchscreen.

It's not clear that the Olympic-branded version of the i530 was ever powered on. sale, although a few thousand would have been distributed during the games to officials and athletes. But with a subtle Olympic Ring logo on the front cover, the device sported its sporting flags less prominently than other handsets on this list.

Beijing 2008 - Samsung SGH-i688

(Image credit: Samsung)

Samsung's Olympic Games phones can be seen as benchmarks of changes in the mobile industry, and the SGH-i688 is an example of that, as it's the first device on this list that doesn't have a keypad. It is a full-fledged touchscreen mobile.

With a 320 x 240 screen, 3MP rear camera and 0.3MP front camera, 128MB of storage and 230 hour battery life, it was a real powerhouse compared to what came before - although it may not compare to your modern mobile.

It was also Samsung's first Olympic phone to move the five-ring branding to the rear of the device, placing it next to the Samsung logo on the handset's removable rear.

Although it was the flagship Olympic device, Samsung also released the slider E848, which featured the P318 and the U308 touchscreen that it would have used while gaming as well as the i688.

London 2012 - Samsung Galaxy SIII

(Image credit: Samsung)

When the Samsung Galaxy S line was launched in 2010, it was only a matter of long before we saw the Olympic versions of its members, and in 2012 the

Galaxy SIII

(or S3, as Samsung alternates between the two) was used.

This Android phone had a 4.8-inch HD display, 2GB of RAM and up to 64GB of storage, an 8MP rear camera and a 1.9MP front camera, and a 2100mAh battery. There was also a physical home button, a feature that feels old fashioned these days.

The famous Rowan Atkinson (you might know him as Mr. Bean) was seen using this phone during the opening ceremony of the Olympics, and Samsung also explained how it could be used for contactless payments during the ceremony.

No Olympic version of the phone was sold to fans, which is a shame, but it was distributed to athletes and celebrities. The Olympic version of the phone had a huge blue and red "Team GB" lion on the back, in an eye-catching display.

Rio 2016 - Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge

(Image credit: Samsung)

The Brazilian Olympic Games had a connection with the

Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge

, the popular curved edge-screen phone, and a dark blue version of the handset has actually gone on sale in a few regions.

This phone had a 5.5-inch FHD+ screen, 12MP rear and 5MP front cameras, a 3600mAh battery and ran Android 6 software. It wasn't the first Samsung phone with a screen that tapered around the edges, because the S6 Edge started this trend.

The Olympic S7 Edge is quite rare in this list, in that it actually went on sale for people to buy, although like the others it was also given out to athletes. With the dark blue color, light blue trim and small Olympic rings, it's probably also the classiest entry on this list.

Tokyo 2020: Samsung Galaxy S20 Plus

(Image credit: Samsung)

Back when the Olympics were yet to take place in 2020, a golden version of the

Samsung Galaxy S20 Plus

was unveiled to tie into the games.

This phone was supposed to have the same specs as the original S20 Plus, namely a 6.7-inch FHD+ display, quad rear cameras, a 4,500mAh battery, and an Exynos 990 chipset.

We say "intended for" because, once the Olympics were postponed, the phone would have been canceled - it was only going to go on sale in Japan anyway.

Tokyo 2021: Samsung Galaxy S21

(Image credit: Samsung)

In the end, it's the

Samsung Galaxy S21

which got the 'Olympic version, and we're glad it gave Samsung the opportunity to revamp that garish all-over gold. It's a more refined purple model, admittedly with a gold camera bump, and it has a small white rings logo on the back.

As with the standard Galaxy S21, the device has a 6.2-inch screen, three rear cameras, a 4,000mAh battery and an Exynos 2100 chipset.

This actually went on sale, but exclusively through Japan's Docomo network - so you can't buy it outside of the country. Sorry, Olympic Games fans.

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Tom Bedford

Editor, Phones

Tom's role on the TechRadar team is as a writer specializing in phones and tablets, but he also covers other technologies such as electric scooters, smartwatches, fitness trackers and more.

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