Samsung could be working on yet another affordable mid-range 5G smartphone for 2021. According to a new report coming from Korea, the Galaxy A22 5G may arrive in the second half of next year as the most affordable 5G phone yet from the Korean giant. The report suggests a retail price of around KRW 200,000 (roughly $180).
Samsung is reportedly opting for the joint development and production (JDM) method for this phone. This essentially means the company will outsource product development and production to a third-party manufacturer – China-based Wing Tech and Hwachin, in this case. However, Samsung will still be involved in some of the decision makings, including the selection of major specifications and parts.
This method is different from the original design manufacturer (ODM) method, where the third-party manufacturer is responsible for everything from design to specs and development of the product. Samsung has used the ODM method in the past and has had to face backlash from consumers and suppliers alike for poor product quality. The JDM method will help the company to maintain quality while reducing the manufacturing cost.
According to the report, Samsung has now entirely switched to the JDM method for its affordable phones. Nearly 20 to 30-percent of the smartphones the company launched this year were JDM phones. And it appears to be well on course to continue that next year as well.
The Galaxy A22 5G will be the cheapest 5G phone from Samsung
The Galaxy A42 5G is the current cheapest 5G offering from Samsung. Announced in September, the device arrived with a price tag of £349 (~$460) last month, a full £80 cheaper than the Galaxy A51 5G. The company is now expected to lower that price point even further with the Galaxy A32 5G early next year. This device is rumored to debut at around 299 euros (~$360).
The Galaxy A32 5G will likely remain the most affordable 5G phone from the Korean behemoth in the first half of the year until the Galaxy A22 5G arrives. A Geekbench listing earlier this month revealed that the Galaxy A32 5G would use a MediaTek Dimensity 720 processor. It is a 7nm chipset featuring two Cortex-A76 CPU cores running at 2GHz and six Cortex-A55 cores running at 2GHz. A Mali-G57 MC3 GPU handles the graphics duties.
The Galaxy A22 5G, meanwhile, is said to be powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 700 processor. This chipset has its two high-performance ARM Cortex-A76 cores operating at a maximum clock speed of 2.2GHz while the six Cortex-A55 cores top up at 2.0GHz. It comes with an ARM Mali-G57 MC3 GPU and an integrated 5G modem.
MediaTek has designed this chip with “5G for masses” in mind. So you should be expecting a mediocre performance at best. It will mostly power phones under the $250 price segment, which is where the Galaxy A22 5G will debut. The upcoming Samsung phone will battle with low-cost 5G phones from the likes of Huawei, Xiaomi, OPPO, and Vivo in this price segment.