Samsung Galaxy A17 5G Brings A Big Display & Long Battery Life To Budget Phone Buyers
If your New Year's resolution to be more thrifty with your device purchases in 2026, then you'll be happy to know that Samsung is rolling out a couple of affordable new products. One is a $199.99 smartphone, the Galaxy A17 5G, and the other is a the Galaxy Tab A11+ tablet priced at $249.99. What's more, both are being released in the United States.
That's especially notable for the Galaxy A17 5G, as ultra-affordable handsets are all-too-often limited to select international markets. However, Samsung says its latest budget Android phone will be available AT&T, T-Mobile, Metro by T-Mobile, Verizon, Samsung Experience stores, and retailers and carriers nationwide next week.
So, what do you get for $199.99? It starts with a big 6.7-inch FHD+ Super AMOLED display with up to a 90Hz refresh rate. Sure, many of today's smartphones can hit 120Hz, but we won't scoff at 90Hz for a phone that costs two Bennies.
It also has a reasonably big battery at 5,000 mAh. According to Samsung, it only takes 30 minutes to achieve a 50% charge via Super Fast Charging support.
The Galaxy A17 5G is powered by Samsung's own Exynos 1330 processor built on a 5-nanometer manufacturing process. It's not a powerhouse like, say, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, but it is a mid-range SoC with an octa-core CPU featuring two Arm Cortex-A78 cores and six Cortex-A55 cores, with a Mali-G68 MP2 GPU sitting shotgun.
For camera duties, there's a 13-megapixel lens on the front, and a triple-camera array on the back consisting of a 50MP wide-angle lens, 5MP ultra-wide lens, and 2MP macro camera arranged vertically.
"The versatile camera system delivers in a wide range of conditions, plus new optical image stabilization helps you capture more stable, blur-free videos and brighter photos, even in low light conditions. Galaxy A17 5G is crafted to capture the moments you’ll cherish in stunning quality that lives up to the memory," Samsung says.
Not too shabby for what's effectively a $200 phone (starting price). Availability for the Galaxy A17 5G begins on January 7. The $199.99 starting price gets you 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, and Samsung will also offer expand storage options up to 2GB.
Samsung Galaxy Tab A11+ With 90Hz Display Arrives Next Week
Also coming to town next week is Samsung's new Galaxy Tab A11+ tablet. As the model name implies, it sports an 11-inch screen. Display specs include a 1920x1200 resolution, 90Hz refresh rate, and 480 nits of brightness.
This one is also powered by an octa-core chip, though Samsung opted for MediaTek's MT8775 clocked at up to 2.5GHz. It also sports 6GB of RAM + 128GB of storage and 8GB + 256GB options, a big 7,040 mAh battery, a 5MP front camera, an 8MP rear camera, a microSD cardslot, a 3.5mm audio jack, Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth 5.3 for wireless connectivity, and USB-C.
Samsung's also touting the tablet's AI capabilities. This is the first Galaxy Tab A-series tablet to support Circle to Search, and pressing the power button gets users quick access to Gemini.
The Galaxy Tab A11+ will be available on January 8 with an optional 5G version to boot.
