The affordable Samsung Galaxy A71 5G gets a US release date and killer T-Mobile deal
The conditions of the deal/s may have changed since the initial publishing of this post.
Samsung vaguely announced the impending US availability of no less than five Galaxy A-series mid-rangers back in April, and following the 4G LTE-only A51 and A01, the time has finally come to welcome the 5G-enabled A71.
Well, almost, as the 6.7-inch handset is still not technically up for grabs yet stateside, with official sales kicking off at T-Mobile, Sprint, and Samsung.com on Friday, June 19. The Galaxy A71 5G will then become available at later and as-yet-unspecified dates through AT&T and Verizon, as well as unlocked on Samsung's official US e-store and at "additional" carriers.
Specs, features, and recommended pricing
As confirmed more than a couple of months ago, the extra-large and unquestionably beautiful device is priced at a fairly reasonable $599.99 with a 6.7-inch "edge-to-edge" Super AMOLED "Infinity-O" display. That essentially means the Samsung Galaxy A71 5G comes with almost no screen bezels whatsoever, squeezing a 32MP selfie shooter into a tiny centered hole punch and the massive aforementioned panel into a surprisingly compact body.
Said premium-looking body is not made from actual premium glass, mind you, but as far as long-term durability and relative resistance to drops are concerned, combining a plastic back with a metal frame might prove a wiser choice on Samsung's part.
Coated in a snazzy Prism Cube Black hue, the Galaxy A71 5G packs a hefty 4,500mAh battery with 25W Super-Fast Charging support, as well as a more than respectable 6GB RAM count and 128 gigs of internal storage space.
While the "international" Galaxy A71 5G version comes with a Samsung-made Exynos 980 processor under its hood, the US model appears to share Qualcomm's increasingly popular Snapdragon 765G SoC with everything from the LG Velvet to the Nokia 8.3, non-Plus Motorola Edge, and most likely, the upcoming OnePlus Z and Google Pixel 5 as well. So, no, raw speed shouldn't be a problem, although you're obviously not looking at a true flagship here.
That might be painfully clear in the imaging performance department, where the 5G-capable A71 is likely to suffer from many of the same shortcomings as the 4G LTE-only Galaxy A51, upgrading the primary shooter to a 64MP count while retaining the 12MP ultra-wide-angle camera, 5MP macro lens, and 5MP depth sensor.
Crazy good deals available from day one
Speaking of the A51, you may want to keep in mind the slightly humbler and smaller 6.5-incher is still set to arrive in a 5G-enabled variant of its own later this summer in case the Galaxy A71 5G doesn't feel affordable enough.
While we're on the subject of extreme affordability, we should mention that T-Mobile has just revealed its killer introductory Galaxy A71 5G deal.
That's right, the handset will be available straight off the bat at a 50 percent discount with a new line of service. You're looking at monthly bill credits amounting to a grand total of $300, which means you'll essentially be paying a measly 300 bucks all in all for a smartphone with low and mid-band 5G support in addition to all those other great specs and features detailed above.
Sprint customers are in for a nice surprise too, being able to score the 5G-equipped Samsung Galaxy A71 at $15 a month on a Flex Lease plan with no down payment required. And you thought the OnePlus 8 5G was cheap.
Obviously, it's not entirely fair to make this comparison against an absolute Snapdragon 865 powerhouse, but the general point stands - this is one heck of a bargain, and the Galaxy A51 5G will be even cheaper.
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