Samsung is bringing its Galaxy A smartphone series to the US after years of denying North American consumers, the company’s official press release says.
Three Galaxy A models will be available for US customers: the Galaxy A50, A20, and A10e.
The Galaxy A50 offers a 6.4-inch, Infinity-U Super AMOLED display with Full HD+ (2340 x 1080p) screen resolution, an octa-core processor (two quad-core SoCs unspecified), 4GB of RAM, 64GB of internal storage with a 512GB-capable microSD card slot, a front-facing 25MP selfie camera with f/1.7 aperture, three rear cameras (25MP with f/1.7 + 5MP with f/2.2 + 8MP with f/2.2), the coveted trending optical, in-display fingerprint scanner, and a 4,000mAh battery with fast charging capabilities.
The Galaxy A50, in addition to the in-display fingerprint scanner, also offers the Ultra-Wide Angle Lens that many love about the new Galaxy S10 series. From the detailed specs of the Galaxy A series that leaked earlier this Spring, the Galaxy A50 will come in Black, White, and Blue color variants and be made out of 3D Glossy Plastic.
The Galaxy A20, a step down from the Galaxy A50, offers the same 6.4-inch screen size but provides an Infinity-V display instead of the Infinity-U, a 13MP rear camera, 32GB of storage, and a 4,000mAh battery. The Galaxy A10e offers a smaller 5.83-inch display with an 8MP rear camera, 32GB of storage, and a 3,000mAh battery.
The Galaxy A50 has an MSRP of $349.99, with the Galaxy A20 at $249.99 and the Galaxy A10e at $179.99. One of the best parts about the Galaxy A series is that consumers can still get the trending in-display optical fingerprint scanner and Ultra-Wide Angle Lens while still living on a budget.
There is one glaring omission from the Galaxy A series, though: that is, the lack of water and dust resistance. Older Galaxy A handsets such as the Galaxy A5 (2017) and Galaxy A7 (2017) had IP68 water and dust certification.
Samsung hasn’t yet mentioned if the newly-revamped Galaxy A series will carry IP68 certification, but perhaps the company has removed it to make these devices more budget-friendly. Perhaps water and dust certification could come to the higher mid-tier devices such as the Galaxy A70, A80, and A90.
Samsung said back in September that it looked to revamp the mid-tier Galaxy A line with premium features found on its Galaxy S and Galaxy Note flagships. Due to the recent turn of events in the financial market, consumers are increasingly interested in more budget-friendly devices.
The normal strategy for Samsung has been to hold off top innovative features for their flagships to encourage consumers to spend more money, but Samsung’s new approach is designed to meet customers where they are in the hopes that Samsung can make a profit wherever they can, whether on a flagship or budget device. Money is money, regardless of which smartphone it comes from.
In April, Samsung announced that its Galaxy J series would merge with the Galaxy A series, making the Galaxy A line more competitive in price than it had been before.
So far this year, specs have leaked for the Galaxy A90, A80, A70, A60, A50, A40, A30, A20, and A10. The Galaxy A70 and Galaxy A60 are expected to feature 6.7-inch displays with 6GB of RAM and 4,400mAh-4,500mAh batteries. The Galaxy A90 and Galaxy A80 are expected to be the very beasts of the series, though whether or not a phone arrives to market is always at the discretion of the OEM.
The Galaxy A50 will arrive to market on June 13th, while the Galaxy A20 and Galaxy A10e will arrive to official retailers in a matter of weeks.
