Purchase a good budget phone can be a challenge. High-end handsets continue to get more features, but at the other end of the spectrum, there are a lot of things you can skip before compromising a device. With the Galaxy A17, Samsung tried to balance both sides of that equation with something that has a solid design, a bright screen, decent cameras and respectable battery life for just $200. And despite some flaws, the company has succeeded in making a capable phone that fits almost every budget.

Samsung

Although its processor is a bit dated, at just $200, the Samsung Galaxy A17 is a strong choice among budget Android handsets.

Pros

• Solid construction
• Large and relatively bright screen
• microSD card slot
• Very cheap

Cons

• Poor performance
• Mono speaker
• Battery life could be a touch longer

Design and display

The Galaxy A17 does a good job of showing how all plastics are not created equal. Despite having a polycarbonate frame and back, the phone doesn’t feel cheap. Everything from its buttons to the camera module is nice and tight. The optical image stabilization system used for its rear shooters rattles, though that’s something even $1,000 flagships suffer from, so it’s not a huge deal. Some small concessions for cost savings include a teardrop cutout for its front selfie cam and a small mouth under its display, but considering its price, it’s very forgiving. There is also only one mono speaker and instead of an in-screen fingerprint sensor, Samsung has built one into the power button on its side. Although for some, the latter may be a bonus.

Meanwhile, one thing the A17 has that you won’t get on high-end handsets is a microSD card slot (which is shared with the SIM tray) for expandable storage. It gives you a cheap way to increase the phone’s base 128GB of space and considering how rare it is now, it’s another win for people looking for a really cheap device.

The Galaxy A17’s screen is also surprisingly nice for its price, as it sports a 6.7-inch OLED display with up to 800 nits of brightness. Granted, its refresh rate tops out at 90Hz instead of the 120Hz you get on more expensive fares. But then again, considering how much it costs, I’m not complaining. Especially when you remember that base iPhones will still be powered by 60Hz panels in 2024.

Manifesting

One area where budget phones often struggle is performance because skimping on RAM or the processor can save manufacturers a lot of money. And while the Galaxy A17 is generally good considering its price bracket, I really wish Samsung had opted for a slightly newer chip. The phone has 4GB of RAM (although there are slightly more expensive versions with more), 128GB of onboard storage and an Exynos 1330 SoC, the latter of which is almost three years old.

At first, I was really worried because upon initial setup, the phone was a laggy, stuttery mess. Fortunately, after signing in, giving the phone some time to download updates in the background and making sure all its apps are up to date, performance improved dramatically. To be clear, this thing still isn’t a speed demon and if you’re multitasking or quickly switching between heavy apps, you might notice some slowdown. I also wish the touch input felt more responsive because sometimes when you tap an icon, there’s a slight delay before it happens. But thankfully, it’s small, and in most situations, the phone is strong enough.

Cameras

The A17 has a 13-megapixel selfie camera and three rear shooters, although in practice it’s similar to both as one of them is a 2MP macro cam, which won’t be of much use unless you take a lot of up-close photos. That said, the phone takes better photos than you might expect given its price. In well-lit conditions, the 50MP main and 5MP ultrawide cams won’t give you much to complain about. Images look sharp and sport vivid colors.

However, in low light situations, there is a clear difference in quality between the A17 and more expensive midrange phones such as. Pixel 9a. In a shot of some fruit in my dimly lit kitchen, the A17’s pic looks soft and has washed-out colors compared to what the Google phone produced. Then, when I went outside and took a photo of a car that was still buried after the recent snowstorm, the textures of the slush on the road, with various highlights and shadows looked worse in the pictures of the A17. So while the phone can hold its own, camera quality is still one of the biggest reasons you might want to consider upgrading to a more expensive handset.

Battery life

For a phone with a 5,000mAh battery and a low-power chip, the Galaxy A17 didn’t last as long as I expected. In our local video rundown test, it lasted just over 23 hours (23:08), which is decent, but also five hours less than the Pixel 9a (28:04). On the other hand, its wired charging speed of 25 watts is more than enough. Just don’t be surprised if you put it on a wireless charging pad and nothing happens because the phone doesn’t support that.

packing

If you’re hard-pressed for $200, the Samsung Galaxy A17 is an amazing device. It has a solid build, decent cameras with a few different lenses, respectable battery life and even a built-in microSD card slot for extra storage. You even get six years of OS and security updates, which is longer than almost all of its similarly priced rivals. And while its performance may be smoother, it’s not enough to worry about in a phone this cheap.

For those with wiggle room in their gadget allowance, I would seriously consider looking at a version with 8GB of RAM, which is Only $30 more. On the other hand, the Pixel 9a remains my favorite Android phone when it comes to value for money and it’s $399 (down from the launch price of $499). But if money is tight, the Galaxy A17 delivers everything you need without blowing your budget.