The rumoured Samsung A22 5G could make 5G affordable for the masses at US$180

Samsung is allegedly bringing 5G to the sub-$200 market according to the South Korean news website, Daum, in the form of the Samsung Galaxy A22 5G. The A-series is a budget-friendly line of phones often used to compete against Xiaomi, Oppo/Vivo/Realme, and Huawei in India, Asia, and the South Pacific, with the current Galaxy A21 model sitting just above the entry Galaxy A11.

Modem and equipment manufacturers are heavily pushing 5G technology into handsets, and with nearly all flagship devices in 2020 having 5G. This has created a scenario where its inclusion is a selling point for lower-priced devices despite the currently small coverage areas and lack of network improvement for most users.

A flagship phone would still be relevant and widely used over the next three or so years as networks improve. But the argument is weaker for entry-level devices where the device has either been replaced at that age or isn’t performant enough in applications to take advantage of the extra 5G network speed.

Daum expects the A22 5G to launch in the second half of 2021, which could put it slightly later than the release period of the A21 and means it would be a whole year before Samsung has an answer to the budget 5G phones released by their Chinese competition. There are no specifications available yet, but its predecessor is also behind the competition with specifications including a 720p display, 3 GB RAM, 32GB storage, and a low-end variant of Samsung’s Exynos SoC.

Buy the Samsung Galaxy A21 on Amazon.