Samsung is not only known for its flagship Galaxy S and Galaxy Z phones, but it also makes a wide range of other, cheaper devices—which are actually decent options if you’re not looking to spend a lot of money on a phone. Now, the first budget phone for 2025 by Samsung is the Galaxy A16 5G, and there’s a few reasons why it’s cool.

Samsung has unveiled its latest addition to the Galaxy A series, the A16 5G. This is basically as entry-level as Samsung phones get without getting into the ultra-cheap Galaxy A0x range. The device sports a large 6.7-inch FHD+ Super AMOLED display, which is okay for a budget phone, if you take into account the refresh rate of up to 90Hz and a peak brightness of 800 nits.

For cameras, the phone includes a 50MP main sensor, a 5MP ultra-wide lens, a 2MP macro lens, and a 13MP front camera. The camera is never a strong suit of this particular category of smartphones, but these seem pretty okay for the occasional snap. Not great, but definitely not awful either. Under the hood, the Galaxy A16 5G is powered by an Exynos 1330 processor, one of Samsung’s entry-level SoCs. It’s paired with a long-lasting 5,000mAh battery that supports 25W fast charging.

What’s probably the biggest selling point of this phone, however, is the outstanding software support for a budget phone. Samsung is committing to six generations of software updates, including both One UI and Android OS upgrades, along with six years of security updates. It’s not immediately clear if it’s launching with Android 14 or Android 15, but six years of updates would mean that it would be updated all the way up to Android 20 or Android 21, and its lifespan would reach all the way up to 2031.

A lot of phones under $300 are lucky to get two major Android updates at most, so Samsung giving us six here (even if it’s one less than what they commit to for their flagship phones) is pretty good. The phone starts at $199.99, and it will be available through retailers and Samsung’s website starting on January 9th.

Source: Samsung