Echoing a theme that will be repeated a lot more this year, Samsung has announced a very inexpensive 5G phone. The Galaxy A32 5G is debuting in Europe first, starting at €279 for a 64GB version or €299 for 128GB. There’s no official word yet on whether it will come to the US.
The A32 5G offers a 6.5-inch 1600 x 900 display, a 5,000mAh battery, and a side-mounted fingerprint reader. Its rear camera array includes a 48-megapixel main camera, an 8-megapixel ultrawide, a 2-megapixel depth-sensing camera, and the obligatory 5-megapixel macro camera. Around front, it offers a 13-megapixel selfie camera.
Samsung doesn’t say what processor the phone is using, only that it’s a 2.0GHz octa-core chipset, but 9to5Google suspects it’s a Dimensity 720. And unlike the flagship phones debuting today, the A32 5G will offer a microSD card slot for storage expansion. Samsung Germany says the phone will be available starting on February 12th. Color options include (get ready for it) “awesome black,” “awesome white,” “awesome blue,” and “awesome violet.”
2021 should see no shortage of affordable 5G phones. We’ve already reviewed the OnePlus Nord N10 5G, which just came to the US for $299. The arrival of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 480 5G chip also paves the way for even cheaper, sub-$200 devices. We’d still like to remind you that 5G alone isn’t a good reason to buy a new phone, but it’s getting more and more likely that any new phone you consider this year will offer 5G, regardless.
