Samsung Galaxy A Series: New lineup starts at $110 and two models have 5G
Starting at just $ 110, the low-priced Samsung Galaxy A series phones for the United States, released on Wednesday, are more user-friendly for shoppers on a budget. And they arrive as consumers wait for Apple to present its own cheaper smartphone, likely a successor to the 2016 iPhone SE. So yes, as the global economy collapses and more than a million people have been diagnosed with the novel coronavirus. The bets of Samsung, we will always need new phones – even if we are not willing to pay as much for them.
Samsung announced Wednesday that six smartphones in its A Series range – some new and some previously announced – will arrive in the United States. The range, which has been popular in recent months, is known to be cheap compared to the company’s flashy Galaxy s and Galaxy Note phone devices. The four 4G LTE phones range from $ 110 for the Galaxy A10 to $ 400 for the Galaxy A51. Samsung even introduced two 5G models, the $ 500 Galaxy A51 5G and the $ 600 Galaxy A71 5G, offering Samsung two of the cheapest 5G phones in the United States. (The 5G models will cost £ 429 and £ 519 respectively in the UK, which translates to around 850 AU $ and 1030 AU $.) Here how series a compares.
All devices sport Samsung’s curved screens and fast charging capabilities. High-end models have more – and better – camera lenses than cheaper phones and come with other enhancements like larger batteries and more internal storage. Most notably, they all come with 3.5mm headphone jacks.
The Galaxy A01 and A51 will hit the market Thursday at Verizon, while the rest, including the 5G models, will arrive this summer. Samsung previously unveiled the A01, A11 and A51 phones for other markets, but on Wednesday it is the first time that it presents its 5G models and its new Galaxy A21.
Samsung phone news comes as the world fights the new coronavirus epidemic. The virus, which causes a disease called COVID-19, was first detected in the Chinese city of Wuhan at the end of last year. In March, the World Health Organization called COVID-19 a pandemic, and the virus has since changed the way we live. Entire cities and countries around the world have issued closings, closing stores, canceling events, and ordering people to stay at home to help contain the coronavirus. Millions of people have lost their jobs in one of the worst economic downturns in recent decades.
Samsung
A telephone slowdown
Smartphone manufacturers, led by Samsung and Apple, have raised prices in recent years. But people who are looking at their budget are unlikely to be spending $ 1,000 on a new phone right now. Even before the pandemic, people were pushing back by waiting longer to upgrade their phones or opt for cheaper devices. But the coronavirus is hurting production and sales, while slowing the expansion of 5G wireless technology.
Smartphone deliveries saw their biggest decline ever in February – down 38% to 61.8 million units, according to Strategy Analytics – as COVID-19 ravaged China, one of the largest markets world and an essential manufacturing center. For the entire year, phone sales are expected to hit a 10-year low. Mobile phone deliveries, which include flip phones, are expected to fall 13% to 1.57 billion units in 2020, while smartphone shipments are expected to drop approximately 11% to 1.26 billion units , according to CCS Insights.
Samsung became Monday one of the first tech companies to show how COVID-19 is impacting businesses. The company said sales for the March quarter would increase from the previous year, but not be as strong as Wall Street had expected. He did not specify his preliminary results but will give more information later this month. It probably benefited from strong sales of memory chips, but saw its activity on smartphones decline.
Yet smartphones have long been considered essential, even for people who cannot afford the latest expensive gadgets. Some purchases that would normally take place in early 2020 will be postponed until later this year, Counterpoint Research analyst Neil Shah predicted. “The United States is expected to recover quickly in the second half from a deployment standpoint,” he said.
Cheaper 5G devices
There is an opportunity for companies that make cheaper phones, especially when it comes to 5G. The first 5G devices to access the ultra-fast network were expensive. Last year’s Samsung Galaxy S10 5G cost $ 1,299, while its 4G-compatible S10 started at $ 900. This year range of Galaxy S20 phones all come with 5G and start at $ 1,000.
Samsung Galaxy A90, his first 5G series A phone, sold 749 euros (around $ 830) when it went on sale in Europe in October. The company’s new A51 and A71 5G phones are even cheaper and are closer to the level announced by companies like the Chinese giant TCL.
TCL, better known for its TVs, announced Monday that it would sell its first TCL brand 5G phone in the U.S. for $ 399 (£ 399, about AU $ 800) later this year. The company hopes prices will help it immediately attract buyers as it tries to build its brand outside of its BlackBerry and Alcatel labels.
Apple, for its part, should present its new, cheaper iPhone every day. It is believed that this device will build on the beloved iPhone SE of 2016, but it shouldn’t have 5G connectivity. The iPhone SE 2020 can cost $ 399 (probably £ 399 or AU $ 699), the same amount as its predecessor four years ago.
Samsung A Series Specifications
As for Samsung, its two new 5G phones will be difficult for many companies in the United States to match. The A51 5G will cost $ 500 when it goes on sale this summer. It features a 6.5-inch Infinity-O FHD Plus Super AMOLED screen, an array of four cameras with a 48-megapixel main lens, and 15-watt fast charging support.
The A71 5G will cost $ 600. It sports a 6.7-inch FHD Plus Super AMOLED Plus Infinity-O screen, a matrix of four cameras with a main lens of 64 megapixels and a fast charge of 25 watts. Both have 128 GB of internal storage, 6 GB of RAM, 4,500 mAh and on-screen optical fingerprint sensors. They also come with microSD slots, allowing you to add up to 1 TB of additional memory.
Samsung
The LTE version of the Galaxy A51 has many of the same features as its 5G sibling, but comes with a smaller 4,000 mAh battery; only 4 GB of RAM instead of 6; and expandable memory up to 512 GB. It costs $ 400 and goes on sale at Verizon Thursday before arriving at Sprint on Friday. It will arrive later at other carriers and retailers. The 4G LTE versions of the A71 and A51 are already on sale in the UK and Australia, from £ 329 and AU $ 749.
AT&T plans to transport the A51 in early May. When available, customers will be able to order online and benefit from AT&T home delivery with virtual configuration in select markets.
The other phone on sale at Verizon on Thursday is the low-end Galaxy A01. It costs $ 110 and has a 5.7 inch Infinity-V HD Plus screen. It has two rear cameras, a 13-megapixel main camera and a 2-megapixel depth lens. The front selfie camera measures 5 megapixels. The Galaxy A01 has a 3000 mAh battery with fast charge and comes with 16 GB of internal memory and 2 GB of RAM. The memory can be extended to 512 GB via a microSD card. It will arrive at other carriers in the coming weeks.
Two other phones will hit the market this summer: the Galaxy A11 at $ 180 and the Galaxy A21 at $ 250. The A11 includes a 6.4-inch Infinity-O HD Plus display, a 4000 mAh battery, 32 GB of internal storage and 2 GB of RAM. It comes with three rear-facing lenses – a 13-megapixel wide angle, a 5-megapixel ultra wide and a 2-megapixel depth – and an 8-megapixel selfie camera facing forward.
The A21 sports a 6.5-inch Infinity-O HD Plus display, a 4000 mAh battery, 15-watt fast charge support, 32 GB of internal storage and 3 GB of RAM. The device has a front camera of 13 megapixels and four lenses on the back: a main camera of 16 megapixels, an ultra wide of 8 megapixels, a macro of 2 megapixels and a camera of depth of 2 megapixels. The A11 and A21 can be extended to 512 GB of memory via a microSD card.
AT&T Cricket Wireless and AT&T Prepaid will be wearing Galaxy A01 and A11 smartphones this year. He has announced that he will announce pricing and availability in the coming months.
Originally posted April 8 at 6 a.m. Pacific time.
Update, 9:30 am: Add AT&T availability.
