The Galaxy A17 proves you don’t need to dig deep into your pockets to buy a new cellphone

The paint on the Galaxy A17 in the US hasn’t even dried yet, but you can already buy it at an affordable price. If you want to switch carriers, you can secure a Galaxy A17 through Mint Mobile for $330, including one year of service. You’ll save $50 on the phone, and $180 on the Unlimited plan for a year. As a unit, this makes sense.

It’s not for everyone: You give the full $330 up front, but at least you won’t receive any other payments for a year. If you’re tired of paying too much for big carriers and want to give an MVNO a chance, this is a great opportunity to save.

Why I love the Samsung Galaxy A17

Amazing budget look and sleek design

The Galaxy A17 is far from perfect, but it serves as a budget phone. I appreciate that Samsung made some much-needed design changes to the A17. It’s thinner and lighter than its predecessor, and you can tell the difference by hand. Samsung also streamlined the camera cluster, making it fit more closely to the phone’s plastic back.

Behind the scenes, the company hasn’t changed much. Still powered by the Exynos 1330 chipset with 4 GB RAM. Performance is what you’d expect from a budget phone. It’s not the fastest device in the world, but for everyday tasks like WhatsApp and Instagram, it performs smoothly. Even playing light games is not a problem.

The Galaxy A17 runs One UI 8 on Android 16, and Samsung promises six years of software upgrades and updates – a significant amount at this price.

It sports a very beautiful display for a cheap phone. The 6.7-inch 1080p Super AMOLED display is the best in its class for under $200, and you won’t feel like you’re using a cheap phone when you look at it.

The phone’s 5,000mAh battery can last for nearly three days on a single charge, and photos from the 50MP main sensor are better than you’d expect. The 5MP telephoto and 2MP macro lenses are nothing to write home about, but in good lighting the 50MP main camera is solid. Overall, this is a great budget phone, and if you can get a cell service deal with it, it’s a great opportunity to save money.

SoC

Samsung Exynos 1330

RAM

4GB

Storage

128GB

Battery

5,000mAh

Harbor

USB-C

The Samsung Galaxy A17 features a 6.7 inch Super AMOLED display and 1080p resolution. It is powered by an Exynos 1330 chipset and 4GB RAM, with 128GB storage. It includes a 50MP main sensor, a 5MP ultrawide lens, and a 2MP macro camera. It also has a 5,000mAh battery.