Galaxy Phone News: Affordable Options and Satellite Features

If you're in the market for a new Galaxy phone, you're in luck because Samsung has released several affordable options in recent years.

The Galaxy A series is a great place to start, with prices starting at around $200 for the A12 and going up to around $500 for the A52.

One of the standout features of the Galaxy A series is the inclusion of a quad-camera setup on many of the models, which is a great option for those who want high-quality photos without breaking the bank.

The Galaxy S21 FE is another affordable option, with a price tag of around $600.

The Samsung Galaxy S26 is expected to be released around the start of the year, with a wider release following two weeks later.

Samsung typically sticks to this release window, aiming to dominate the limelight between CES and MWC. OnePlus has recently beaten Samsung to the punch by a few weeks in China.

The new affordable Samsung models, the Galaxy A56 5G, A36, and A26, are set to arrive in March and later this year, respectively. The A26 and A36 will cost $400 and $300, while the A56 will have a more premium price tag.

The Galaxy Z Flip7 FE will be priced at $900, a $200 cut from last year's model, making it the most affordable foldable option from Samsung. The flagship Galaxy Z Fold7 starts at $2,000, a $100 bump over last year's model.

Samsung typically releases its new flagships toward the end of January and start of February.

The Galaxy S26 is expected to follow this pattern, with a Galaxy Unpacked event taking place around the start of the year.

A wider release typically follows two weeks later, allowing Samsung to dominate the limelight before the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) and Mobile World Congress (MWC) events.

Samsung aims to have the first phones arriving at the start of the year, but recently OnePlus has beaten it to the punch by a few weeks, at least in China.

Samsung is launching two new affordable 5G phones today: the Galaxy A15 5G and Galaxy A25 5G.

The Galaxy A15 5G is a major upgrade for a phone that sells for $200, with a 6.5-inch FHD+ AMOLED display and 90 Hz refresh.

It also has double the built-in storage (128 instead of 64 GB), faster fast charging (25W instead of 15), and replaces the depth camera with a 5 megapixel wide-angle camera.

The Galaxy A25 5G is quite similar to the A15 5G, with the upgrades being OIS on the main camera, an 8 megapixel wide-angle camera, 4K video capture, and 120 Hz display refresh.

Verizon, T-Mobile, Boost, and US Cellular started selling the A15 5G today, and AT&T may offer it as well.

Boost and TracFone may offer the A25 5G, while US Cellular shows a list price of $300 for this phone.

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The new galaxy phone has a sleek design that's both durable and stylish. Its 6.8-inch Dynamic AMOLED display is a major upgrade from its predecessor.

One of the standout features of the galaxy phone is its long-lasting battery life, with up to 14 hours of video playback on a single charge. This is thanks to its large 5000mAh battery and power-saving mode.

The phone also comes with a quad-camera setup, featuring a 50MP primary sensor, a 12MP front camera, and support for 8K video recording.

For more insights, see: Samsung Galaxy S4 Phone Battery

The Samsung Galaxy S26 is shaping up to be an exciting device, and one of the most notable changes is in its design and display. The S26 may ditch the S Pen stylus, which would mean no more digitizer layer in the screen to support it.

The S Pen has been a staple feature of the Galaxy series, but it seems Samsung might be moving towards a different stylus design that doesn't require the digitizer layer. However, this new stylus would likely be too large to store inside the phone itself.

A different take: Samsung Galaxy Phone with Pen

One thing that's not changing is the size of the display, with the Galaxy S26 Ultra expected to have the same 6.9-inch screen as its predecessor. But, some reports suggest that the display might be slightly larger on the standard S26 model, measuring 6.27 inches.

The battery size is also expected to increase, with some reports suggesting a 4,300 mAh battery, up from the 4,000 mAh battery in the S25 series. This would provide users with a larger screen size while keeping the phone pocket-sized.

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The camera features of a phone can make all the difference in capturing life's precious moments. Samsung's Galaxy S24 series is expected to have a new feature called "Zoom with Galaxy AI", which employs generative AI to add missing details to digital zoom images.

A larger camera sensor on the Galaxy S26 could capture more light and improve picture quality in different conditions. This is especially important for outdoor photography where lighting can be unpredictable.

If this caught your attention, see: Can You Turn off Galaxy Ai

The Galaxy S26 Ultra may have a 200MP zooming camera with 5x magnification, making it ideal for capturing distant subjects. This is a significant upgrade from previous models.

Samsung's Galaxy S26 Ultra may also see the return of variable aperture, which allows for more flexibility in adjusting camera settings. This feature was last seen on a Galaxy phone in 2019.

A 324MP main camera on the Galaxy S26 Ultra may be a bit excessive, but it's an interesting development to consider. It's unclear how this would impact everyday photography.

Intriguing read: Galaxy Ultra Phone

The Samsung Galaxy S26 is expected to pack a punch when it comes to performance. The new Elite 2 chipset is rumored to have a 4.6GHz CPU and 1.2 GHz GPU, a significant upgrade from the current Elite's 4.47GHz CPU.

This could be a game-changer for users who want a smooth and seamless experience. Typically, the higher the clock speed, the better the chip will be.

For more insights, see: Galaxy 4 Phone

It's worth noting that the S26 may rely on the Exynos 2600 chipset, one generation newer than the 2500 in the Z Flip 7. This could be a departure from the recent trend of Qualcomm Snapdragon chips being more widely available.

The Exynos 2600 is a powerful chip that could bring impressive performance to the S26.

Samsung Wallet will soon let you tap phones to pay a friend, enabling direct peer-to-peer cash payments between Samsung phones.

This feature requires both phones to have a Visa or Mastercard debit card stored in their Wallet, and moves money directly from one bank account to another, via those debit cards.

You can initiate a transaction via NFC by tapping phones together, or remotely using a phone number to look up the other person's Samsung account.

Someone with a Samsung phone can even send money to someone without one by tapping the recipient's physical debit card to the phone.

Apple has a similar feature called Tap To Cash, but it has its own Apple Cash wallet balance, instead of being tied to bank accounts via debit cards.

Google Pay used to offer P2P payments, but discontinued that service last year.

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Samsung is trimming down the number of Galaxy S26 models, possibly replacing the S26 Plus with a Galaxy S26 Edge.

The Galaxy S25 series is getting a software update, with One UI 8 now available in beta. This new software includes a Reminder app and easier earbud connection to Bluetooth Auracast audio streams via QR codes.

Samsung has also released three new affordable models in its A series: the Galaxy A56 5G, A36, and A26. These phones cover price points of $500, $400, and $300, respectively.

The Galaxy Z Fold6 and Galaxy Z Flip6 are Samsung's newest flagship foldable phones, featuring a new design with flat sides and improved durability.

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Samsung has debuted not one, but two new FE models: the Galaxy S25 FE and the Galaxy Z Flip7 FE. The Galaxy S25 FE is available starting today for $650 from most major US carriers.

This affordable flagship model offers several key upgrades over last year's S24 FE, including a larger battery (4,900 mAh vs. 4,700 mAh) and faster charging (45W vs. 25W). It also features a new enhanced Armor Aluminum frame for improved durability.

Recommended read: Galaxy S25 News

The Galaxy S25 FE's front camera has been upgraded from 10 megapixel to 12, and it comes with more AI features, such as Generative Edit and Audio Eraser. The phone is available in four colors: white, navy, Icyblue, and Jetblack.

The Galaxy Z Flip7 FE is essentially last year's Flip6, but with less memory, making it a more affordable option at just $900. It's available in limited distribution with carriers like Boost, Consumer Cellular, Spectrum, and Xfinity.

The Galaxy Z Flip7, on the other hand, offers larger displays inside and out, a larger battery, and a thinner design, starting at $1,100. It's available in black, blue, or coral red, and also in mint, exclusively from samsung.com.

Samsung is expected to release a new lineup of Galaxy S26 models, which might be trimmed down to just four entries.

The Galaxy S25 Plus may be the last of its kind, as Samsung is rumored to be replacing it with a Galaxy S26 Edge.

Three new models have been announced in Samsung's A series of affordable phones for 2025: the Galaxy A56 5G, A36, and A26.

These phones cover a range of price points, from $300 to $500, and feature slightly larger displays, updated processors, and faster charging.

The Galaxy A56 5G and A36 get upgraded to 45W charging, while the A26 gets an IP67 rating for dust and water.

Samsung is also launching two new affordable 5G phones today: the Galaxy A15 5G and Galaxy A25 5G.

The Galaxy A15 5G updates last year's A14 5G with a 6.5-inch FHD+ AMOLED display and faster fast charging.

The Galaxy A25 5G is quite similar to the A15 5G, but with some upgrades, including OIS on the main camera and 120 Hz display refresh.

The Galaxy A26, A36, and A56 5G will be available at the end of March, while the A56 5G and A15 5G are coming "later this year".

Curious to learn more? Check out: Samsung Galaxy A54 5G

The Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge is just 5.8mm thick, making it the thinnest flagship phone to date.

This sleek design is made possible by a titanium body and Corning Gorilla Glass Ceramic 2. The phone's compact size comes at a cost, however, with a smaller battery at just 3,900 mAh.

Despite the smaller battery, the Galaxy S25 Edge still packs a punch with fast wired and wireless charging. The phone's specs are otherwise on par with the S25 series, including the top-end Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy chipset and 200 megapixel main camera with OIS.

The Galaxy Z Fold6 and Galaxy Z Flip6 are Samsung's slimmest and lightest foldables yet, thanks to a new design with flat sides and durable materials like Armor Aluminum and Gorilla Glass Victus 2.

The Fold6 features a 1.6x larger vapor cooling chamber for sustained performance, while the Flip6 includes a vapor cooling chamber for the first time on a Flip model. Both phones have improved camera systems, with the Flip6's outer display functionality and camera system seeing numerous upgrades.

The Galaxy Z Fold6 starts at $1,900 and comes in Pink, Navy, or silver, while the Galaxy Z Flip6 starts at $1,100 and comes in Yellow, Mint, Blue, or silver.

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Verizon is now offering non-emergency text messaging via satellite in cellular dead zones for compatible Android phones.

The first compatible phones include the Google Pixel 9 series and the Samsung Galaxy S25 series. These phones already support emergency SOS and location sharing via satellite.

Verizon's partnership with AST SpaceMobile aims to expand satellite service within two years, including more types of services and greater phone compatibility.

The Galaxy S25 series supports satellite SOS service in remote areas of the US without land-based cellular service, but only on the Verizon network.

Verizon has partnered with Skylo to offer this service, which works similarly to Apple's "Emergency SOS via satellite" feature.

Unlike Google, Samsung has not announced plans to enable this service for non-Verizon customers.

Verizon's new satellite connectivity service will offer SOS and location-sharing features in cellular dead zones with compatible Android phones starting this fall.

The service requires specific hardware support in the phone, including an NTN modem and L-band antenna.

Qualcomm's upcoming X80 modem includes NTN support and is expected to appear in the next wave of flagship Android phones.

The Pixel 9 series comes with satellite service from Google, but Verizon is working towards a plan to move Pixel 9 to Verizon's satellite service.

Intriguing read: Samsung Teases Super-thin Galaxy S25 Edge

Samsung is rolling out its Android 16-based One UI 8 software update to its Galaxy devices, starting with the Galaxy S25 series. The update includes a new Now Bar that shows real-time app activity and media player progress directly on the front screen.

The Galaxy S24 series, Galaxy Z Fold6, Galaxy Z Flip6, and Galaxy S24 FE will receive the update in October. By the end of the year, the company will also provide the update for a wide range of other devices, including the Galaxy S23 series and older models.

One UI 8 also includes a new Reminder app that lets you manage all your reminders in one place, and makes it easier to connect earbuds to Bluetooth Auracast audio streams via QR codes.

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The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra might not be getting a bigger battery after all, with some reports suggesting it will stick to the 5,000mAh battery of its predecessor.

The phone's charging speed, however, could see a significant jump to 60W fast charging, making it the fastest charging speed on a Galaxy flagship.

Samsung has been slow to adopt the Qi2 wireless charging standard, but with Apple iPhones already supporting it, Android phone makers are finally catching up.

The Wireless Power Consortium has announced that Qi v2.1 will include a "Qi2 Ready" designation for phones and phone cases, allowing for seamless compatibility.

Qi2 uses magnets for better alignment and supports faster 15-watt charging, making it a more efficient and convenient way to charge your phone.

The Samsung Galaxy S24 FE comes with a 4,700mAh battery and supports wired fast charging, as well as fast wireless charging and reverse wireless charging.

In contrast, the Galaxy S26 Ultra might not see a significant increase in battery capacity, with some reports suggesting it will stick to the 5,000mAh battery of its predecessor.

However, the new Galaxy S26 Ultra's charging speed could see a jump to 60W fast charging, making it the fastest charging speed ever on a Galaxy flagship.

Check this out: Galaxy S25 Ultra News

The Qi v2.2 specification will include "high-power wireless charging technology" contributed by Google, which will further improve the efficiency and convenience of wireless charging.

The Samsung Galaxy S24 FE also supports fast wireless charging, which can be a convenient feature for users who want to charge their phone quickly without being tethered to a power outlet.

The rollout of Android 16 to Samsung's Galaxy S23 series is delayed, with the update initially planned for late March but now expected to arrive later.

Samsung has announced the release of One UI 8, its customized version of Android 16, but the final version will debut on new Samsung foldable phones this summer before rolling out to other Galaxy devices in the following months.

The company has also confirmed that the Galaxy S24 series will receive the update in October, along with the Galaxy Z Fold6, Galaxy Z Flip6, and Galaxy S24 FE.

By the end of the year, Samsung plans to provide the update for a wide range of devices, including the Galaxy S23 series, Galaxy Z Fold5, Galaxy Z Flip5, and many more.

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Samsung DeX is being merged into Android 16, bringing a desktop-mode feature to high-end Samsung phones. This feature lets an Android phone work more like a desktop computer when plugged into an external display.

Google and Samsung are working together to bring this feature to Android 16, which is built on the foundation of Samsung DeX. Android app developers are being pushed to make their apps "adaptive", or more smoothly compatible with a larger variety of screen shapes and sizes, including this new desktop mode.

Apps will be displayed in resizable windows, allowing users to add a full keyboard and mouse for more powerful productivity workflows.

Consider reading: Android Os Devices List

Android has added support for Auracast with newer Bluetooth hearing aids. This feature is now available in the latest beta version of Android.

Certain supported phones, such as the Pixel 9 series, can use Auracast with Bluetooth hearing aids that support it.

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Auracast is a broadcast audio technology that lets many Bluetooth audio devices tune in to the same audio source at one time.

You can use Auracast to listen to audio in places like train stations, theaters, and gyms.

Google is also adding a feature to Pixel phones that lets users tune in to a specific local Auracast stream by scanning a QR code.

Samsung has also enabled Auracast for compatible hearing aids with its One UI 7 software on Galaxy devices.

The Galaxy Buds series of earbuds from Samsung will also support Auracast after an update.

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Samsung has just released the Galaxy XCover7 Pro, a rugged phone designed for business customers.

It features a much newer Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 chipset, a significant upgrade from its predecessor.

The phone has a larger battery at 4,350 mAh, which should provide all-day power for users.

A 6.6-inch FHD+ display with Gorilla Glass Victus+ protection is also a notable feature, allowing users to work with gloves and in wet conditions.

The phone has 6 GB RAM and 128 GB storage, which can be expanded for added capacity.

It supports Wi-Fi 6E, NFC, and Bluetooth 5.4, ensuring seamless connectivity.

A fingerprint reader, 50 megapixel main camera, and 8 megapixel wide-angle camera provide robust security and imaging capabilities.

Programmable shortcut buttons on the top and side of the phone add to its functionality.

The Galaxy XCover7 Pro will be available in the US on May 8th, offering businesses a reliable and feature-rich option.

The FDA has approved sleep apnea detection on wearables, marking a significant milestone in the field of health technology. This feature will be available on Samsung's Galaxy Watch series in the US starting in the third quarter.

To use this feature, users will need to track their sleep twice for more than four hours within a ten-day period. This allows the device to detect signs of moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) over a two-night monitoring period.

Samsung's Galaxy Watch will be the first wearable device to offer this feature, giving users a non-invasive and convenient way to detect sleep apnea.

The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra may feature even more rounded corners for improved ergonomics and in-hand feel, following user feedback that demanded a more comfortable design.

A PhoneArena poll showed that over 52% of people were inclined to see design changes, indicating a desire for a more premium look and feel.

The Galaxy S26 Ultra's battery capacity remains 5,000mAh, but fast charging could reach unprecedented 60W speed.

The Samsung Galaxy S25 FE has been leaked, showing a design with slimmer bezels and a thinner and lighter design.

The camera setup on the S25 FE is similar to its predecessor, with a rear array that looks identical and a front-facing sensor that gets a 2MP bump up to 12MP.

The Exynos 2400 chip inside the S25 FE drops the 'e' suffix of its predecessor, taking on some extra clock speed.

Here's a comparison of the battery capacities of the S25 FE and its predecessor:

Samsung's One UI 6.1 software, set to be released in late March, will bring Galaxy AI features to more phones, including the Galaxy S23 series and S23 FE.