One of Samsung’s smartphones from its upcoming Galaxy A series has been benchmarked online via Geekbench, where the device has been identified by the model number SM-A505FN, i.e., the Samsung Galaxy A50. The series is expected to be slightly renamed and carry double instead of single digits as a result, but technically the unit discovered in the benchmarking tool will be a direct sequel to the Galaxy A5 (2017) which was released nearly two years ago. The hardware and software have been drastically updated since the previous model, with Geekbench revealing the inclusion of an Exynos 7 Series 9610 chipset coupled with 4GB of RAM, as well as Android 9 Pie on the software side.
Background: The Exynos 7 Series 9610 SoC was introduced earlier this year as the world’s first 10nm chipset built on a FinFET process. It features an octa-core architecture and incorporates its own LTE modem providing up to 600Mbps download and 150Mbps upload speeds, as well as 2×2 MIMO and Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity. The component is designed for the mid-range smartphone market but so far the chipset has yet to be used in a commercially-available device. This will possibly make the Samsung Galaxy A50 among the first, if not the first smartphone to employ this new silicon. The Samsung Galaxy A series is expected to go through a slight rename and according to trademark applications which emerged earlier this year in Europe, the lineup should also include new Galaxy A10, Galaxy A30, Galaxy A70, and Galaxy A90 models. The Samsung Galaxy A50 might not be the only one from the upcoming series to make use of the Exynos 7 Series 9610 chipset but details regarding the other models are currently missing. Now, the last Samsung Galaxy A5 model was released in January 2017 and since then the series was seemingly discontinued in favor of its spiritual successor, i.e., the Galaxy A6 (2018), which was unveiled in May and brought to the U.S. in September. But as yet there doesn’t seem to be a Galaxy A60 in the renamed lineup, and Samsung might re-brand the mid-range smartphone using the A5, or more precisely the A50 suffix, going back to its roots. Regardless, a recent leak suggested that the Samsung Galaxy A50 should launch in variants featuring 64GB and 128GB of storage, and employ a handful of colors including blue, black, pink, silver, and white.
Impact: The upcoming lineup will cover the OEM’s entire mid-range spectrum and the Galaxy A50 should be positioned right in the middle in terms of both specs and pricing. Reportedly the device won’t have a display notch but other models in the series equipped with slightly better components will make the switch to a notched design. The Korean OEM also has another budget-oriented series in the works, referred to by the “Galaxy M” series, which expected to replace the Galaxy On models traditionally sold online only. It’s unclear when the launch of the Samsung Galaxy A50 will take place exactly, but if the coming weeks won’t accommodate any official announcements from the OEM then CES in early January or, at the latest, MWC near the beginning of March should be a relatively safe bet.