Samsung slims down the Galaxy A16 with a larger display
Samsung's Galaxy A16 smartphone gets a larger screen in a slimmer body, with six years of OS updates.
BTTR is independent, but we may earn money when you purchase through links on our site.
The best thing about the announcement of the Galaxy A16 this week wasn't the slimmer body or the larger display.
It's the fact that it's the first announcement from Samsung I've seen in a long time that doesn't focus on Galaxy AI.
This is a $349 phone, with a 6.7-inch FHD+ (1080 x 2340) AMOLED display. Because of that budget price point, the processor isn't going to support the more demanding functions of Galaxy AI.
This is a good thing! With a few minor exceptions, most of the "AI functions" across smartphones are terrible.
So instead of focusing on Galaxy AI, Samsung has looked to deliver on the things people actually need in a budget phone.
The A16 is half a millimetre thinner than the A15, yet has that larger display. There's a triple camera array, including the same 50MP + 5MP + 2MP array as last year's model.
There's 4GB RAM and 128GB of on board storage, with a MicroSD card slot for up to 1.5TB of extra space. I can't imagine the phone would be fast to deal with that much data though.
A 5,000 mAh battery should give you plenty of juice, with 5G connectivity bundled in as well. The phone supports 25W fast charging, which helps managing the battery life even easier.
Perhaps the biggest surprise here is the fact Samsung has committed to six generations of One UI and Android OS updates, which pushes it through to 2030 if my maths is correct.
Typically these budget phones don't offer that kind of shelf life, so I'm interested to see how this is going to play out.
Pricing and availability
The new Galaxy A16 5G is available in Blue Black for $349 (5G) at selected retailers.
Nick Broughall
