Good phones are getting cheaper and cheap phones are getting better, but is that true?
In any case, there is still a huge appeal for low-cost devices around the world, especially in developing countries. For that very reason, the best-selling Android smartphone of 2023 was actually the $200 Galaxy A14.
Combined with the 4G and 5G versions of the same phone, this actually became the third best-selling phone last year.
Naturally, this will be the successor to the Galaxy Galaxy A15 (which is very likely to be the best seller) android mobile phone 2024) is a very important device.
However, if you take a look at the spec sheet of the just-released Galaxy A16, that’s not the case. Or you can just take a quick look at it.
Galaxy A16: Samsung decided the world’s best-selling Android smartphone should look worse than its 2015 smartphone.
Believe it or not, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 14 Pro and Motorola Moto Edge 50 cost the same as the Galaxy A16. But when you put it next to a Samsung phone, it looks like a $1,000 phone.
It makes you wonder if the Galaxy A16 would have looked better and more premium if it had two equally sized top and button bezels. At least this will make it look more “outdated” than just old.
And no, I’m not directly comparing the two phones. I’m just making a point about how big the A16 is.
Samsung will give the Galaxy A16 6 years of OS updates, but does it matter that the phone already looks 6 years old? In fact, the A16 will look 20 years old in 2030, while Moto The same cannot be said about the Edge 50 Fusion or Xiaomi Redmi Note 14 Pro.
Samsung is marketing the new Galaxy A16 as a 6-year phone, but is that true?
Galaxy A16 next to Motorola Moto Edge 50 Fusion. These two prices are the same.
The Galaxy A16 starts at €250 in Europe (it will be available in the US for $200) and comes with 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. Compared to the 8/256GB and even 12/512GB combinations offered by similarly priced Motorola and Xiaomi phones (from 2023 and 2024), this seems… criminal.
Dated design aside, the base version packs 4GB of RAM and a subpar Exynos/MediaTek chip, so we don’t need a full spec sheet to tell you what’s wrong “under the hood.” . Galaxy A16.
The Galaxy A16, which goes on sale around this time for €250/$200, at least if you know there are other phones out there (and you know they’re available in your region) is in an impossible position.
With great budget phones from Motorola and Xiaomi, we can’t recommend the Galaxy A16 enough
I won’t go into too much detail or make a full comparison, but there are some options in the 200-300 euro price range that have a much better processor, camera, and design, with performance comparable to the Galaxy A16 in virtually every area. There are many mobile phones. It also has premium features such as IP68 waterproofing and fast charging.
- Galaxy A35 (minimum 240 euros in Europe, $260 in the US)
- Motorola Moto G85 (minimum 220 euros in Europe, $290 in the US)
- Motorola Moto Edge 50 Fusion (minimum 270 euros in Europe, not available in the US)
- Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 / Xiaomi Poco M6 Pro (minimum 170 euros in Europe, not available in the US)
- Xiaomi Redmi Note 14 Pro (not yet available worldwide – can be imported in Europe and the US for as low as 250 EUR/USD)
Galaxy A16 turns out long-term software support doesn’t mean much if the phone doesn’t have the hardware to support new software
that’s right. The Galaxy A16 requires just one less OS update than the Galaxy S24 Ultra, which has a processor that’s 250-1,000% faster depending on the benchmark you’re looking at (CPU, GPU, NPU). Yes, that’s “1000” percent. It’s not a typo.
Samsung’s marketing focuses on “6 years of OS updates,” but isn’t this promise meaningless if your phone is slow when you first take it out of the box? The reason I say that is because this is the case with the Galaxy A15, and I saw lag and stuttering from the beginning.
Call me crazy, but it seems like a trap to make “6 years of OS updates” the main marketing point for a device that may or may not be able to handle 3 OS updates. Masu. Especially when you can get 50-100% more powerful phones in the same price range.
Is Samsung using its market position to sell outdated, cheap phones in developing countries?
I used to think it was Apple’s specialty to sell phones that looked outdated when more premium alternatives were available.
To add salt to the wound, Samsung is promising six years of OS updates for the Galaxy A16, which is like putting a band-aid on a broken leg.
And as someone who tests and uses flagship phones, I may not be the target market for the Galaxy A16, but this doesn’t mean I don’t see how cheaply Samsung is playing it here. .
The truth of the matter is the fact that Samsung’s brand is favored and Galaxy phones are the most widely available. cheap cell phones The Galaxy A15 and A16 will probably sell well around the world. But while the company was able to get around this problem a few years ago, this cheap trick is starting to feel too cheap.
The above alternatives to the Galaxy A16 look like budget phones from 2018, and maybe that’s what they’re suitable for. So…how long will it take people to realize they’ve been fooled?
