Samsung's new budget phone with 6 years of OS upgrades is just $199 in the US

When Samsung started drastically extending its software support commitments to its phones — eventually landing on seven years for some — its newfound fervor for updates didn’t extend to its cheapest devices. This meant if you wanted a phone that would last you well into the 2030s, you needed to shell out big bucks.

Towards the end of 2024, that changed with the global announcement of the Samsung Galaxy A16 (in both 4G and 5G flavors). This phone promised six years of support, which is nearly as much as the Galaxy S24 series gets. Today, Samsung announced that the 5G version of the Galaxy A16 is coming to the United States on January 9 with a low price of just $199.

This makes the Galaxy A16 5G one of the best deals you can get if you value extensive update support but want to stay under $200.

Outside of its notable software update schedule, though, the Galaxy A16 5G is a pretty standard release for Samsung. It has the typical Galaxy design, with only its outdated waterdrop notch showing its budget status. It does have a sizable 5,000mAh battery, which is a nice perk, but its Exynos 1330 processor will leave much to be desired, especially if you’re more used to higher-end devices.

The Galaxy A16 5G does have expandable storage, though, which is something you don’t see much anymore. It also has a 90Hz display refresh rate, which you don’t see much these days either (we mostly see 60Hz on budget devices or 120Hz on flagships, but rarely 90Hz).

You’ll be able to grab the Galaxy A16 5G here in the US on January 9, but you can click the link to learn more about it and see if it’s for you.