Samsung’s latest budget offering, the Galaxy A17 5G, may not bring a big leap over last year’s A16, but it still offers a few key upgrades — most notably, a sturdier build and long-term software support. However, with modest performance and slow charging, this one feels more like a refresh than a true upgrade.
Design: Familiar Look With Subtle Refinements
At first glance, the Galaxy A17 5G looks almost identical to last year’s model. The biggest change is on the back — instead of separate camera lenses, Samsung has now placed them inside a single, slightly raised bump. The sides and rear remain flat, giving it a clean and simple aesthetic.
Samsung has replaced the plastic back with glass fiber, giving the phone a more premium feel. The front is now protected by Gorilla Glass Victus, a nice durability boost over the A16.
The matte finish looks sleek but is prone to fingerprints and can be a bit slippery. The fingerprint scanner is still side-mounted and built into the power button — fast and reliable, though many users might still prefer an under-display option.
Color choices include Black, Gray, and Blue, with the Green version from last year now gone.
Display: Same Panel, Still Solid
Samsung hasn’t made big changes here. The Galaxy A17 5G uses a 6.7-inch OLED display with 1080×2340 resolution and a 90Hz refresh rate — the same as its predecessor.
It doesn’t support HDR, and there’s no adaptive refresh rate, but for daily use, the screen looks crisp and colorful. Brightness peaks at 738 nits in auto mode and 353 nits manually, which is decent for most environments.
One annoyance: the phone relies on a virtual proximity sensor instead of a real one, which means the screen may occasionally light up during calls.
Battery Life: Decent, But Not Class-Leading
Under the hood, the A17 5G packs a 5,000mAh battery, just like the A16. On paper, it should deliver similar results — but in practice, it falls slightly short.
In tests, the phone scored an Active Use Score of 11 hours and 48 minutes, which is a bit below average for this price range. Video playback and gaming times were solid, but web browsing took a toll on endurance.
Charging: Still Stuck at 25W
Charging speeds haven’t improved either. The A17 5G supports 25W wired charging (via Power Delivery with PPS support), but Samsung still doesn’t include a charger in the box.
Using Samsung’s own 25W adapter, a full charge took about 1 hour and 20 minutes — quite slow compared to rivals like Xiaomi or Realme.
You can, however, limit charging speeds or cap battery charge at 80–90% through software settings to extend battery health.
Software: Long Support, Light Performance
The Galaxy A17 5G runs Android 15 with One UI 7, and Samsung promises a whopping 6 years of OS updates — a huge plus in this segment.
However, the 4GB RAM base model struggles to keep up, making multitasking sluggish. The software experience feels polished but occasionally lags, especially when switching apps or using heavier features.
While One UI 7 brings a refreshed look and better organization, AI-powered tools like those on the Galaxy S24 remain missing — unsurprising for a budget model.
Performance: Modest Hardware, Noticeable Lag
The A17 5G is powered by Samsung’s Exynos 1330 chipset, the same as the A16 5G. It’s built on a 5nm process and includes an octa-core CPU (2x Cortex-A78 + 6x Cortex-A55) with Mali-G68 MP2 GPU.
Our review unit (4GB RAM + 128GB storage) struggled during multitasking and heavy app use. Storage speeds are decent (UFS 2.2), but the limited RAM is the main bottleneck.
If you plan to keep the phone for several years, we strongly recommend going for the 6GB or 8GB version.
Camera: Familiar Setup, Small Improvement
Samsung hasn’t changed much here — the A17 5G packs a 50MP main camera (now with OIS), a 5MP ultrawide, and a 2MP macro. The 13MP front camera remains the same.
Photo quality is decent in good light, and OIS helps stabilize shots, but don’t expect flagship-level detail or dynamic range.
Verdict: A Long-Term Phone Held Back by Short-Term Performance
The Samsung Galaxy A17 5G aims to be an affordable smartphone with dependable software support and a clean design — and it succeeds at that.
However, its mediocre performance, below-average battery life, and slow charging make it hard to recommend at its current price. Competing phones from Xiaomi, Realme, and Motorola offer faster chips, brighter screens, and better battery performance at similar or lower prices.
If you’re loyal to Samsung and want a phone that’ll get six years of updates, the A17 5G could be a safe (though not exciting) choice — but only if you pick the 6GB or 8GB RAM variant.
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