// THE VERGE — HARDWARE & GADGET
Samsung’s new budget phone costs $50 more despite downgrades
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The Galaxy A27 has a new chip, but worse waterproofing and lower resolution cameras than its predecessor.
The Galaxy A27 has a new chip, but worse waterproofing and lower resolution cameras than its predecessor.
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The Galaxy A27 has been announced, and at $349.99 it’s $50 more than last year’s A26. That’s understandable in the current economic climate, but a harder sell given that Samsung has also downgraded a few key specs.
Compared to last year’s phone, the A27 has lower resolution 12-megapixel selfie and 5-megapixel ultrawide cameras, worse IP64 waterproofing, and is very slightly thicker at 7.8mm. Other specs are simply unchanged, like the 6GB RAM and 128GB storage, 5,000mAh battery, 6.7-inch 120Hz display, and 50-megapixel rear camera. There’s only one real upgrade to the phone, but it is a welcome one: a move from the Exynos 1380 to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 chipset.
Samsung isn’t entirely to blame here. Prices are up across the industry, and budget phones risk being especially hard hit — Nothing has even cancelled planned smartphone additions to its budget-friendly CMF line. Even Apple increased prices today, though for now its iPhones haven’t been affected.