Samsung's lower-cost 5G phone breaks cover in leaked promo videos and retail box

Samsung has some pretty big and bold plans for pushing the mid-range boundaries next year with features like a 108MP primary camera and 5x optical zoom for the telephoto lens of the Galaxy A91, but first, the Galaxy A90 5G is expected out this fall with its key selling point revealed by its full official name.

We're talking 5G support at a presumably lower price point than the likes of the Galaxy S10 5G, Note 10 5G, and Note 10+ 5G, but obviously, that's not all the Galaxy A90 will have going for it. A number of other impressive specs and features were tipped a couple of months back by some rock-solid sources, and now arguably the most rock-solid of tech leakers helps fill in the blanks along with a legit-looking retail box spotted on a Korean forum.

While the promotional videos shared on Twitter by Evan Blass (aka @evleaks) are somewhat light on specifics and specifications, they're a pretty good indication of Samsung's future areas of focus for advertising the A90 5G. They also show the upper mid-end handset in action in multiple usage scenarios, like gaming, watching videos, shooting videos, taking high-quality pictures in the most challenging conditions, and going from 0 to 70 percent battery capacity in no time.

In other words, Samsung plans to market the Galaxy A90 5G as an all-purpose, flexible, and versatile beast capable of largely the same things as its ultra-high-end cousins. Of course, the differences will lie in the little things, like the slightly less premium "Infinity-U" design sporting a notch rather than a hole punch or the not-so-remarkable 48 + 5 + 8MP triple rear shooter setup.

That's one of the things the leaked retail packaging seems to confirm, and although it sounds like a great setup for a non-flagship device, it will naturally not be able to compete with the stunning 12 + 12 + 16MP + ToF arrangement on the back of the Note 10+. That being said, the Galaxy A90 5G and Samsung's newest high-enders are widely expected to share a state-of-the-art Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 processor.

Curiously enough, the SoC is not mentioned on the leaked Galaxy A90 5G box, which does however also reveal the presence of a respectable 6GB RAM and 128GB storage under the hood, along with a 32MP front camera, a large 170.3mm (6.7-inch) Full HD+ Super AMOLED display, and "super" fast charging technology. The latter probably doesn't refer to the 45W speeds of the Galaxy Note 10+ and upcoming A91, but 25W capabilities are pretty sweet too, especially when paired with a battery rumored to offer around 4,500mAh capacity.

It's no secret that first-gen 5G smartphones are insanely expensive, and while the Galaxy A90 is obviously tipped to undercut the 5G-enabled Note 10 and Note 10+, the difference may not be as significant as you hope. After all, this is by no means a pushover, packing one of the best processors available in combination with a beautiful design, a versatile camera system, a hefty battery, and plenty of memory.

At the end of the day, or guess is the Galaxy A90 5G will cost around $800 in Korea and start selling regionally before September ends. We don't think US carriers will ever pick up the "inexpensive" 5G handset, but a wide-scale European launch shouldn't be ruled out. It's also worth pointing out that a 4G LTE-only variant of the A90 probably doesn't exist, as Samsung is already prepared to go all-in on 5G connectivity in its homeland.