Samsung Galaxy A17 5G Review: Sleek but Samey

Greatest Costs Immediately: Samsung Galaxy A17 5G

Regardless of being considered one of its most vital sequence for gross sales figures, Samsung snuck the Galaxy A17 onto the cellphone market virtually like it needed nobody to note. 

Nonetheless, the Galaxy A17 is right here and can problem to be the go-to funds Android smartphone for many individuals around the globe. We’ve raided the piggy financial institution at Tech Advisor towers to purchase one so we will check it out in your behalf. 

Observe that the Galaxy A17 is available in each 4G and 5G fashions, however I’m testing the latter right here. Apart from connectivity, there are a few different minor variations between the 2, which I’ll level out as we go. 

The A17 5G is available in at £199 for the one mannequin out there. That’s the identical because the Galaxy A16 5G (and the A15 5G), and we’ve already seen it on sale for £169 a number of occasions. Oddly, it’s not out there within the US but. 

So, is it the very best funds cellphone of 2025? Let’s discover out. 

Design & Construct 

• Signature Samsung type 
• Barely thinner and lighter than the A16 5G
• Plastic again

Samsung has all the time performed a very good job of constructing its cheaper Galaxy A telephones feel and look good. At a look, you usually wouldn’t discover that one is an A-series and never a flagship S-series. 

The A17 5G seems to be very like its predecessor with a number of small tweaks. It retains the acquainted type of Samsung telephones, although it’s a little bit thinner and lighter this yr.

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At 7.5mm and 192g, it feels suitably svelte and light-weight, particularly in comparison with some rivals and equally sized flagships, which often exceed 8mm and 200g.

As soon as once more, the cellphone options no metallic in its exterior building. A plastic body and glass fibre again are paired with a Gorilla Glass Victus entrance. Nonetheless, the cellphone feels good and I just like the shimmering impact of the again panel within the trendy Blue color. 

Gray and Black full the pretty business-like lineup of colourways, and the cellphone retains its IP54 ranking for fundamental mud and splash safety. It might be good to see Samsung enhance this subsequent yr. The IP68 discovered on flagships presents safety towards water submersion and all mud particles, so there’s loads of room for enchancment.

Elsewhere, Samsung has swapped the person porthole-style cameras on the again for a “linear digicam cluster” akin to the Galaxy A36 and A56. I choose the previous type, however the cellphone nonetheless seems to be good total. 

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Final however not least is the Key Island 2.0, which Samsung says is “revamped” however I’m undecided how precisely. It’s nonetheless simply the intentional bump the place the facility and quantity buttons sit. 

It’s a pleasant characteristic and helps you discover the buttons, which is vital because the fingerprint scanner is embedded within the energy button. 

Display & Audio system 

• 6.7-inch, 90Hz AMOLED show 
• Teardrop selfie notch 
• Missing stereo audio system 

Issues are unchanged on this division from the A16 5G, that means you get a big 6.7-inch AMOLED display screen with a 90Hz refresh price and a Full HD+ decision. 

As we famous final yr, the colors are vibrant and the refresh price helps to maintain issues clean. You may want 120Hz, however that’s not essentially the only option on a funds cellphone with regard to efficiency and battery life.

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Oddly, the cellphone is caught at 60Hz by default with the excuse of battery life, however this defeats the purpose of getting it. Be sure you change the Movement smoothness setting to Excessive within the show part of the Settings menu for a far superior expertise.  

The show presents wonderful distinction and will get decently vibrant, so you’ll be capable to use it in a variety of conditions. I measured it at 357 nits with an expert colorimeter at full brightness and adaptive measurement switched off, however it will possibly theoretically hit 800 nits in excessive brightness mode (HBM). 

The draw back to the display screen is that Samsung has caught with a chunky bezel, notably the chin under the panel, plus a teardrop digicam notch that appears dated. These are the sorts of belongings you don’t discover at a look in comparison with Samsung’s costlier Galaxy telephones, however could also be causes to splash out on them.

Chris Martin / Foundry

If you would like an affordable Galaxy cellphone, although, these are superb to dwell with, they usually do turn out to be much less apparent after every week or two. If you would like a extra premium expertise, then you must contemplate the CMF Telephone 2 Professional, which has a thinner bezel, increased brightness, a pinhole digicam and a 120Hz refresh price. 

One other factor the identical because the A16 is the shortage of stereo audio system. You’ll should depend on the mono speaker on the backside edge, which produces sound with affordable readability however lacks any actual depth.

It’s one other factor I’d prefer to see improved on the A18, because it shouldn’t price Samsung a lot so as to add, creating a greater expertise for media consumption. 

Specs & Efficiency 

• Samsung Exynos 1330 chip 
• 4GB of RAM 
• 128GB of storage 

The similarities to the A16 proceed after we take a look at the core specs. The cellphone nonetheless has the entry-level Exynos 1330 processor with simply 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. Nevertheless, that is the principle improve in comparison with the 4G mannequin, which options the extra fundamental MediaTek Helio G99.

Different markets seem to have a number of fashions to select from, together with these with extra reminiscence and storage, however only one is on the market within the UK. If earlier generations are something to go by, it’ll be the identical story for any potential US launch.

Chris Martin / Foundry

The saving grace for storage is that you could make use of the Micro-SD card slot so as to add as much as 2TB extra, although it will take up one of many Nano-SIM slots, so it’s solely a dual-SIM cellphone if you don’t want to make use of a reminiscence card. 

Disappointingly, the UK mannequin I’m testing doesn’t help eSIM, which is a giant disgrace in 2025. 

It’s no shock to search out that I discovered efficiency to be the identical because the A16. That’s to say, it runs okay when there’s nothing too sophisticated happening within the background, however frequent pauses and stutters in transitions are belongings you’ll should get used to. 

As talked about above, ensure that the display screen is making use of the 90Hz refresh price in order that the person expertise is smoother. 

Chris Martin / Foundry

You shouldn’t count on a lot from a funds cellphone on the subject of gaming, however I used to be shocked to search out that Asphalt Legends ran fairly properly, even after I upped the settings to 60fps and a few increased high quality choices. Simply don’t count on the likes of Genshin Impression to run easily – that’s not what the cellphone is designed for.

Delving additional into the spec sheet, I’m nonetheless struggling to search out something completely different to the Galaxy A16 5G. This cellphone remains to be restricted to Wi-Fi 5 (albeit dual-band) and Bluetooth 5.3. It’s possible you’ll not discover, but it surely simply goes to indicate how little Samsung has performed to this system. 

Samsung Galaxy A17 5G benchmarks

Cameras 

• 50Mp rear primary digicam 
• Ultrawide and macro lenses 
• 13Mp selfie digicam 

The Galaxy A17 5G comes with a triple rear digicam system and, of yeah, it’s the identical because the A16 5G. Three rear cameras would possibly sound thrilling, however don’t get your hopes up an excessive amount of. 

The 50Mp primary unit is joined by 5Mp ultrawide and 2Mp macro cameras. The latter is actually simply there to bump up the numbers, as we’ve seen from so many funds telephones over time.

Chris Martin / Foundry

Positive, the principle digicam can take first rate sufficient images, however that’s primarily the case for those who take pleasure in capturing through the daytime and ideally outdoor when the climate is nice. 

When the situations are beneficial and with a little bit of persistence, you’ll get images completely ok for sharing on social media, with good element and hues. 

Taking pictures in decrease mild has improved with the addition of OIS (optical picture stabilisation), which is likely one of the solely upgrades I can discover on all the spec sheet. That is additionally discovered on the cheaper A17 4G’s primary digicam. 

It is best to nonetheless keep away from utilizing the zoom choices within the digicam app, although. You would possibly get away with a easy 2x (these are simply digital crops), however the 4x and 10x choices are simply a completely pointless, grainy mess. 

As talked about already, the macro digicam is actually simply there so the cellphone appears fancy with a triple rear array. You may see some examples under of how mediocre outcomes are.

The 5Mp ultrawide is okay if you really want it, however the A17 realistically solely has one rear lens that’s value utilizing, and even then, solely when the lighting is nice.

In the meantime, the 13Mp front-facing digicam is fairly first rate, once more you probably have ok situations, and has a barely wider view possibility if you have to match extra in, however it’s not an enormous distinction. Selfies are stable, however unspectacular.

Battery Life & Charging 

• 5000mAh battery 
• 25W charging 
• No adapter included 

I’m very a lot sounding like a damaged report at this level, however the battery and charging specs are equivalent to the A16 5G. Samsung actually hasn’t put a lot effort into upgrading this cellphone. 

You get an affordable however not excellent 5000mAh battery and 25W charging, which was quick, however very a lot isn’t nowadays.

Chris Martin / Foundry

As soon as once more, you will get two days of lighter use from the Galaxy A17 5G, which is stable however not precisely groundbreaking. The cellphone does see an enchancment in our common PCMark for Android Work 3.0 battery benchmark, now hitting 12 hours and 24 minutes.

That’s up precisely two hours on its predecessor, however nonetheless doesn’t stand out as a very spectacular outcome. 

With regards to charging, you will get the A17 5G to twenty-eight% in quarter-hour and 54% in 30 – you probably have the fitting charger. Samsung doesn’t embody one within the field, only a cable. 

Choosing the right charger is tougher than it’d seem, as merely getting one which is USB-C and 25W or increased isn’t essentially sufficient. For instance, I used a 67W charger by Xiaomi and solely noticed 16% in quarter-hour and 32% in 30. 

It doesn’t assist that Samsung doesn’t even point out 25W charging on the official A17 web page, not to mention the charging kind. Study extra about USB-C charging speeds and requirements in our full information. 

Software program & Apps 

• Android 15 
• One UI 7 
• Upgradable and lengthy help 

A yr on from the Galaxy A16, there’s one other quantity on the software program variations, so that you get Android 15 and One UI 7 – the latter being Samsung’s person interface excessive of the core Android OS. 

One UI 7 is a pretty large replace in comparison with model 6, with a simplified and cleaner look, together with varied background enhancements to make life with a Galaxy cellphone extra gratifying.

Chris Martin / Foundry

Samsung’s UI has by no means been my favorite pores and skin, however I acquired on with One UI 7 simply superb and options just like the Now Bar assist. It is a small bar on the backside of the lockscreen (see above) to offer you real-time or contemporary data, corresponding to what music is taking part in or a sports activities rating. 

There are additionally nicer animations (although the A17 struggles with some) and pure language search within the settings. There are additionally some options, corresponding to Galaxy sharing and Samsung Cross, which may make it simpler to ship recordsdata and never have to recollect your passwords. 

Chris Martin / Foundry

Nevertheless, there’s usually a Google model of all these apps and options already put in on the cellphone, so you could properly need to use them as an alternative. In my opinion, they are all higher.

Gemini is included within the suite of Google apps, providing you with entry to among the best AI assistants round. That is lucky as a result of the A17 doesn’t include any Galaxy AI options in any respect – not even fundamental instruments corresponding to Writing Help. It’s one of many main variations in comparison with costlier Galaxy telephones.

You may entry Gemini with an extended press of the facility button on the facet, and Circle to Search can also be included right here, which is only a lengthy press of the house button away.

Chris Martin / Foundry

Apart from Samsung’s largely duplicates of Google apps, there’s a little bit of bloatware right here, however nothing too unhealthy. A choice of Microsoft apps, together with the likes of Temu, Spotify, Monopoly Go and ClearPay, can virtually all be uninstalled if you want. 

My A17 obtained the replace to One UI 8 (based mostly on Android 16) in direction of the tip of testing (seen within the images). It’s a extra refined replace than the bounce from One UI 6 to 7.

Chris Martin / Foundry

It’s spectacular to see Samsung get it out to such an affordable cellphone rapidly, and the A17 5G shall be supported for a complete of six years for software program updates. And that features OS variations, not simply safety patches. 

Whereas it’s a giant plus level, it additionally signifies that predecessors which might be solely a little bit approach into their lifespan stay tempting choices. 

Worth & Availability 

It’s a very good job, contemplating how comparable the Galaxy A17 5G is to its predecessor, that Samsung has stored the worth the identical. 

At £199, it’s comfortably within the funds class, and it’s the identical value as even the Galaxy A15 5G from 2023.

There’s only one mannequin right here within the UK with 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, although there look like others with increased capacities in different markets. As talked about earlier, the cellphone isn’t out there within the US but, however I’d be shocked if it doesn’t seem quickly. It’s more likely to are available at $199. 

You should buy the Galaxy A17 5G in all three colors from Samsung’s official retailer, in addition to retailers like Amazon, Argos, AO, Currys, Laptops Direct, Very and extra. 

Should you don’t want 5G, then the Galaxy A17 4G is on the market for £139.

Take a look at our checklist of the very best funds telephones proper now.

Chris Martin / Foundry

Must you purchase the Samsung Galaxy A17 5G? 

Sometimes, our reply to this query for Samsung’s massively widespread funds Galaxy A telephones is a giant sure. Nevertheless, it’s not that easy this time. 

Whereas it’s good to see Samsung maintain the identical value as two generations in the past, there’s been virtually no innovation or enchancment to this cellphone in comparison with the Galaxy A16 5G. 

In truth, in virtually 15 years of reviewing telephones, I can’t consider one other cellphone so much like its predecessor. Samsung has modified the look of the digicam module on the again, added OIS to the principle digicam and made the handset a little bit thinner and lighter. 

However when it has the identical display screen, processor, core digicam specs, battery, charging, reminiscence, storage (and I might maintain going), this doesn’t really feel worthy of an annual refresh. 

And whereas I like the brand new blue color and Samsung presents lengthy software program help, the latter is true of the Galaxy A16 5G. It begs the query: why would you purchase this newer mannequin?

In the end, it could come right down to availability, with the Galaxy A16 5G already discontinued from Samsung’s official retailer. Reductions on the A17 5G are additionally more likely to be widespread, however for those who see its predecessor at a considerably cheaper value, it stays a greater worth buy.

Should you don’t want 5G, then the Galaxy A17 4G might make for a discount at £139 and the CMF Telephone Professional 2 is properly value a glance for those who’re not tied to Samsung.

Specs

• Android 15 with One UI 7
• Six years of OS and safety updates
• 6.7-inch, FHD+, AMOLED, 90Hz, flat show
• Facet-mounted fingerprint sensor
• Exynos 1330 processor
• 4GB RAM
• 128GB storage
• MicroSDXC card slot (as much as 2TB)
• 50Mp, f/1.8 primary digicam, OIS
• 5Mp, f/2.2 ultrawide digicam
• 2Mp, f/2.4 macro digicam
• 13Mp, f/2.0 front-facing digicam
• Mono speaker
• Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
• Bluetooth 5.3
• 5000mAh battery
• 25W charging
• 164.4 x 77.9 x 7.5 mm
• 192g
• IP54
• Colors: Black, Blue, Gray