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Samsung’s Galaxy A series includes the A51.
Sarah Tew / CNET
Samsung tends to use its flashy Unpacked events to showcase the newest high-end devices on its Galaxy S, galaxy note Y Galaxy Z phone families. But it is the company’s mid-range A series, which last year started at $ 110, which will take center stage at your next big product event.
Wednesday at 7 am PT, Samsung is set to host its second virtual Unpacked event of 2021. Samsung called Wednesday’s event “Galaxy Awesome Unpacked” and said it will explain how it is “bringing Awesome to everyone.” (Yes, Impressive capital “A”). Its first Unboxing, in mid-January, marked the introduction of Samsung’s flagship phones for the year, the Galaxy S21, S21 Plus and S21 Ultra. Everyone come with 5Gand the devices They start at $ 800, which is $ 200 less than their predecessors.
The Galaxy S may be Samsung’s most prominent flagship, and the Galaxy Z foldables are your futureBut none offer the most popular devices that the South Korean giant sells. That title goes to the Galaxy A, which accounted for more than three out of four Samsung phones shipped worldwide last year, according to Strategy Analytics. The quiet rise of the line as a major contributor to Samsung’s sales underscores the idea that while high-end specs and cutting-edge features are pleasing to the eye and enthusiasm, people still care about what they spend on phones, especially these days. .
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Samsung will bring more attention to the lineup than ever when it makes the Galaxy A the focus of Wednesday’s Unpacked.
When Samsung first jumped into the Android market in 2010, it was with its Galaxy S devices, which propelled the Korean company to the position of world’s biggest phone vendor, a title it’s held for most of the past decade. Similarly, the Galaxy Note ignited a trend for jumbo phones and the Galaxy Fold touched off a new wave of foldables.
Generating much less fanfare is the Galaxy A lineup. The phones have been viewed as devices for people who are more price-sensitive — if anyone thought about the A Series at all. They’ve been sold internationally for years but didn’t come to the US as a full lineup until 2020.
In the past, “every time [Samsung] launched the S-series, even after the carrier subsidies disappeared, that’s what sold, “said Strategy Analytics analyst Ken Hyers.” Things like Series A, or an equivalent product, were for people who didn’t have the money for a premium phone. “
Last year’s Galaxy A line included four 4G LTE phones and two 5G models. They range from $ 110 for the Galaxy A10 to $ 650 for the Galaxy A71 5G on the Verizon network (it’s $ 600 in other companies without ultrafast 5G millimeter wave connectivity). They all came with some high-end features, although they weren’t quite as premium as the specs found on the Galaxy S, Note, and foldables. And none came close to the price of Samsung’s premium phones, which started at $ 1,000 for the Galaxy S20. Although the Galaxy A line may not have the flash of Samsung’s high-end phones, what it does have is a slew of buyers around the world.
In the US, where there is often a larger market for expensive phones than in many other regions, A-Series shipments outperformed S-Series 26% to 19%, according to Strategy Analytics. In the key fourth quarter of the year, nearly half of Samsung’s phone shipments in the US came from the Series A. That included models like the $ 180 Galaxy A11, the $ 250 Galaxy A21 and the Galaxy A51 5G for $ 500.
More and more people are choosing less expensive phones, even if they can afford the more expensive models like the Galaxy S, said Hyers of Strategy Analytics.
Today’s phone market looks very different from the industry a few years ago. In the past, many consumers bought the latest and greatest on a regular two-year cadence, and Apple and Samsung won $ 1,000 off the standard starting price for high-end phones. Now people in the US are content to keep their phones for another year, and when they upgrade, they often look for less expensive phones. Today’s mainstream devices ship with many high-end features, such as fast processors, large displays, and various camera lenses, that consumers find good enough, especially for the price. Samsung even lowered the starting price of its Galaxy S line by $ 200 for this year’s S21 models.
“The price of premium products has gotten out of step with what people think is justifiable for a smartphone,” Hyers said. “And mid-tier phones like the A51 … don’t feel like you’re making a compromise.”
Samsung declined to comment before Wednesday’s event.
The new Serie A
This year, Samsung is expected to introduce the Galaxy A52 and A72 phones, successors to last year’s A51 and A71. The devices are likely to come with 4G and 5G variants out of the box (last year’s 5G models came after the 4G versions) and various improvements over previous models.
The A52 is rumored to have a bigger battery, a better processor, and more RAM, while still maintaining the 6.5-inch Super AMOLED display found on the A51. And the A72 is believed to feature a new camera design, with five rear lenses, a first for any Samsung device. It may also become the first mid-range phone with optical image stabilization to optimize shots.
Upgrading the top end of the A-Series could have a lesser boost in Samsung unit sales than introducing newer cheap models. It’s the company’s least expensive Galaxy A models that have proven to be the most popular with consumers, said Mark Bachman, principal analyst for technology and telecommunications at M Science. Your company tracks how well phone models sell.
By looking at the first 20 weeks of sales for each device, the data analytics provider found that budget models, such as the $ 180 Galaxy A10e and A11 or the $ 250 A20 and A21, sold in higher quantities than the first. A51 5G for $ 500 and $ 600 higher price. A71 5G (or $ 650 at Verizon). American consumers bought almost 2.5 million units of the A11 in its first five months of sales, while they bought only about 300,000 Galaxy A51 5G units.
“While the launch of the A52 / A72 series will update Samsung’s mid-range offerings, we believe these phones will have less impact on Samsung’s sales in the United States compared to its budget A-series and A-series phones. It’s premium priced, “Bachman said.
Still, Samsung has yet to say how much its new A-Series devices will cost. It could lower the prices of the models, such as the way it cut the prices of the Galaxy S.
Reaching the ‘sweet spot’
Samsung’s highlighting its least expensive phones follows a trend found throughout the mobile industry. The first 5G devices on the market in 2019 cost significantly more than their 4G counterparts. From Samsung Galaxy S10 5G Y Galaxy Note 10 Plus 5G retails for $ 1,300. That’s $ 400 and $ 200 more than the 4G variants, respectively.
But the coronavirus pandemic has forced companies to re-evaluate your launch plans and lower the prices of 5G phones much faster than expected. In September, Samsung presented its Galaxy S20 FE for $ 300 less than its S20 brother. Then in January, Samsung said its new Galaxy S21 models would cost $ 200 less than its Galaxy S20 sibling from the previous year. It’s partly because component costs have dropped, but it’s also due to the recognition that it’s becoming increasingly difficult to convince people to shell out $ 1,000 for a phone.
The Galaxy S21 line meets the “hot spots” in the market when it comes to pricing and features, said Drew Blackard, vice president of product management for Samsung Electronics America, in an interview ahead of January’s Unpacked event. And he said the lowest starting point is likely here to stay.
Galaxy A devices are even more affordable, without having to sacrifice features like powerful cameras.
A new smartphone that doesn’t drain your bank account may be worth all that unpacked fanfare after all.
