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Samsung introduces its cheapest A Series 5G phone yet

The Korean smartphone maker announced five additions to its midtier Galaxy A Series, including the A02s, A12, and three 5G phones, the A32, A42, and A52.

Samsung has released a 5G smartphone for under $300 as part of its latest Galaxy A Series models for the U.S. market.

The lineup includes the Galaxy A02s, which costs $110; the A12, which costs $180; the A32 5G, which costs $280; the A42 5G, which costs $400; and the A52 5G, which costs $500.

All but the A02s will be available for U.S. customers this week. The A02s will be available by the end of the month.

The A Series is Samsung's midtier line while the Galaxy S and Note are its flagship products. The five new A Series models are business smartphones that have the features and price points that companies want, said Beth Kirlic, product marketing manager at Samsung.

Smartphone sales took a beating last year, but Gartner expects the 5G option in new phones to help drive the market to 2019 levels this year. 5G smartphones will account for 35% of total sales in 2021, according to the analyst firm.

Samsung A32 5G smartphone
The Samsung's Galaxy A32 5G smartphone costs less than $300.
Samsung A52 5G smartphone
Samsung's A52 5G smartphone is the first in the Galaxy A Series with a 120 Hz refresh rate. It costs $500.

While the $280 A32 5G is the cheapest Samsung 5G model, Gartner said that there are widely available models with 5G that cost as little as $200.

All the new Samsung phones have more powerful cameras and longer-lasting batteries than previous models. They also have the option of expanding the memory through a microSD replacement.

The 5G smartphones have 4K resolution cameras, adaptive power saving and fast-charging batteries. The A52 5G has a 6.5-inch screen with an AMOLED display with a 120 Hz refresh rate, a first for the Galaxy A Series. It also has a feature that lowers eye-fatigue-causing blue light called Eye Comfort Shield, 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB storage.

The A42 5G has a 6.6-inch screen with an AMOLED display, 4 GB of RAM and 128 GB storage. The A32 5G has a 6.5-inch HD LCD, 4 GB of RAM and 64 GB storage.

The A02s and the A12 have 6.5-inch HD displays. The A02s has 2 GB of RAM and 32 GB storage. The A12 has 3 GB of RAM and 32 GB storage.

Samsung has been prolific in its expansion of the A Series. Last year, the company expanded the line with six smartphones: the A01, A11, A21, A51, A51 5G and A71 5G.

Last month, Samsung released some new iterations of its A Series outside the U.S. That lineup included the Galaxy A52, A52 5G and A72.

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