This brand-new ~$240 Samsung phone packs three things that even the Galaxy S27 Ultra won't

Both the new iPhone 18 Pro Max and the Galaxy S26 Ultra (both on the best iPhones to get and the best Android phones lists right now) start at $1,299. That may change soon (for the worse), as we told you, but my point is that both of these are pretty darn expensive.

Let's see what one can get for a thousand dollars less. You know what, let's go down by another fifty bucks and stop at ~$240.

Say hello to the Galaxy A07, a budget-friendly phone that packs a trick or two… or three up its sleeve!

Big battery!

Samsung's Galaxy A0x phones, like the Galaxy A07 which was released in the not-so-distant past, are typically found in markets across South America, Europe, Africa and Asia, but users report that unlocked variants work on US telcos like T-Mobile.

The Korean giant has quietly released the Galaxy A08 now and its most notable feature is, undoubtedly, the big battery on it. The phone offers a 6,000 mAh capacity cell that supports 25W (wired) charging. That's slow, but if you're not scrolling through social media obsessively, you'll be fine.

More than the Galaxy S27 Ultra?

Putting budget-friendly handsets like the Galaxy A08 in the same sentence as the Galaxy S27 Ultra should probably be criminalized since they're not even on the same planet when it comes to performance and capabilities.

Yet… the Galaxy S27 Ultra (Samsung's high-end flagship that's expected in 2027) will probably pack a battery cell of just ~5,500 mAh or so, per credible leaks. Sure, its typical battery capacity might be rated at 5,700 mAh, but the rated capacity might not exceed 5,500 mAh or so.

Having said that, it's worth noting that a larger battery doesn't automatically mean longer battery life because the chipset, display, modem, software optimization and other components also determine how efficiently that capacity is used. A costlier flagship may have a smaller battery but a far more efficient high-end chipset and better power management, allowing it to last as long or even longer than a budget phone with a bigger cell.

It's just funny how $1,000 less can get you more on paper.

What else is there?

The new Galaxy A08 comes with an IP64 rating for dust and water resistance and a large 6.7-inch HD+ LCD screen with an Infinity-U notch for the selfie camera.

Samsung is keeping the Galaxy A08 firmly in budget territory with the 6nm MediaTek Helio G99 powering the phone. No Snapdragon here, so don't expect miracles out of this one. The chipset is paired with a Mali-G57 MC2 GPU, only 4 GB of RAM (ouch!) and 128GB of built-in storage. The good news is that a microSD slot allows users to add up to 2 TB of extra space.

The MicroSD slot is another example of how these $1,000+ flagships of ours are failing us, as I'm sure you know, they don't offer a MicroSD slot.

Many years of support

The software package is more generous than the hardware suggests. The phone ships with Android 16 and One UI 8 and Samsung says it will provide six Android OS upgrades as well as six years of security support.

Photography is handled by a 50 MP f/1.8 primary camera, joined by a basic 2 MP depth sensor. An LED flash is included for darker scenes, while biometric security comes through a fingerprint reader integrated into the power button. Samsung has also kept the 3.5 mm headphone jack, which should please anyone still using wired earphones (again, 99.9% of flagships have gotten rid of the jack).

Colors and price

Buyers can choose between Navy Blue, Silver and Green finishes. In Ukraine, the 4 GB RAM and 128 GB storage configuration is priced at 10,699 Ukrainian hryvnia, or roughly $239 when directly converted.

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