Samsung's hot mid-ranger just weeks away from U.S. launch
Last month, we told you that Samsung's new mid-range Galaxy A line sold over 5 million units overseas in its first 70 days. That generated over $1 billion in revenue for the company. Back in April, we passed along the news that three of the Galaxy A phones will be coming to the U.S.; those models are the Galaxy A20, Galaxy A50, and Galaxy A70. The four major U.S. carriers are each expected to carry at least one of these handsets, and last month tipster Evan Blass tweeted that the Galaxy A50 is headed to Verizon. But newer information shared by Blass includes a render of the phone running on Sprint. The June 21st date on the screen is the likely release date for the Galaxy A50 in the U.S., and the tipster hints that all four major U.S. carriers will offer this smartphone.
According to XDA, an update to the Samsung Pay app includes a pretty big hint "confirming" that the Galaxy A50 is coming to the states. Details about the update show that the Samsung Pay app supports the "A50 US," which most likely is the U.S. version of the Galaxy A50. The latter model has been certified by the FCC and all three of the handsets rumored to be U.S. bound have received certification from the Wi-Fi Alliance.
The international version of the Galaxy A50 is already available in the states
The Galaxy A line replaces the Galaxy J series and the new phones have large screens, viable cameras, and huge batteries. The Galaxy A50 is equipped with a 6.4-inch Super AMOLED display sporting a teardrop notch (or the Infinity-U display as Samsung calls it). The 1080 x 2340 resolution works out to an aspect ratio of 19.5:9. An octa-core chipset is under the hood and there are two different configurations of the device: 4GB of memory with 64GB of storage, and 6GB of memory with 128GB of storage. The triple camera setup on back includes a 25MP primary with an aperture of f/1.7, an 8MP Ultra-Wide camera sporting a 123-degree field of vision, and a 5MP depth sensor. There is a 25MP front-facing selfie snapper with an aperture of f/2.0. As advertised, the handset is powered by a nice sized 4000mAh battery with fast charging capabilities. In fact, Samsung includes a 25W charging adapter in the box. There is an in-screen fingerprint scanner along with facial recognition, and the Galaxy A50 is offered in Black, Blue, White, and Coral.
Render of the Sprint Samsung Galaxy A50; note the date
The 64GB unlocked international version of the phone is already available at B&H for $299.99 while Walmart has it in the same price range. The Galaxy A50 is priced to go up against the recently released Google Pixel 3a and Pixel 3a XL. Those two mid-rangers can't touch the specs on Samsung's phone and are priced higher at $399 and $499 respectively. Even if the U.S. version of the device is priced at $350 as originally rumored, it would still be cheaper than the mid-range Pixels. If photography or quick Android updates are your things, Google's new phones might work out better for you.
Update to Samsung Pay confirms upcoming U.S. launch of the well-spec'd Galaxy A50 mid-ranger
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