Samsung is releasing a 5G phone that won’t break the bank
Rumour has it that Samsung’s new Galaxy A90 5G is going to be released in Korea tomorrow
If you want 5G connectivity, you currently have to pay a premium, but Samsung has confirmed an earlier leak by unveiling its first mid-range 5G handset. The phone will be part of the Galaxy A Series and will act as a more affordable plunge into the 5G market for the average customer.
The Galaxy A90 5G will be released in Korea tomorrow (4 September) and will then “expand to additional markets thereafter,” the company wrote in a press release. Supposedly the phone will reach the US by the end of the year but a firm date, along with the UK release, is yet to be confirmed.
Of course, the A90 isn’t the first 5G handset Samsung has offered, but it’s the first one that does so without breaking into four figures. The 5G versions of both the Galaxy S10 and Note 10 Plus will set you back at least £1,099. With 5G is in its infancy and many cities still waiting to be connected, these high costs of entry will only act as a further deterrent for customers.
In the run-up to tomorrow’s launch in Korea, rumoured prices stand at around 900,000 KRW which translates to around £610. This dramatic drop in pricing suggests that Samsung is committed to expanding 5G beyond its most expensive products. That being said, “mid-range” in tech terms is in constant fluctuation. The previous Samsung A80 will set you back almost £600 which many would argue doesn’t fall into the “mid-range” category at all.
That said, 5G isn’t the only way Samsung justifies the cost. As well as using the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 processor used by the fastest Android phones on the market, backed by a generous 6 or 8GB of RAM, Samsung is including a triple camera setup consisting of a 48-megapixel primary sensor, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide-angle lens and a 5-megapixel depth sensor.
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The 6.7in screen is a Super AMOLED number packing a 1,080 x 2,400 resolution – a bit lower than the QHD numbers on Samsung’s flagships, but still perfectly acceptable. You’ll get 128 GB of internal storage, but a microSD card slot lets you expand this by an extra 512GB on the 6GB RAM version if you like.
Hopefully, this is just the beginning for cheaper 5G handsets. While it’s a step in the right direction, £600 is still £31 more than the flagship Samsung Galaxy S7 cost when it launched just three years ago.