Samsung's $200 Galaxy A17: A Closer Look at the Essentials-Only Phone
Samsung's $200 Galaxy A17: A Closer Look at the Essentials-Only Phone
The lower-cost Galaxy phone runs Android 16 with One UI, bringing several of Samsung's features and six years of software updates.
Mike Sorrentino is a Senior Editor for Mobile, covering phones, texting apps and smartwatches -- obsessing about how we can make the most of them. Mike also keeps an eye out on the movie and toy industry, and outside of work enjoys biking and pizza making.
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The $200 Galaxy phone for 2026
Samsung's Galaxy A17 5G is the lowest-cost option in the company's 2026 phone lineup. The phone runs Android 16 and Samsung's One UI 8, bringing lots of features from more expensive Galaxy phones to a less powerful, lower-cost device.
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Plastic back in black, or blue
The back of the phone is plastic, and available in black (pictured) or blue. The cameras available include a 50-megapixel wide-angle, a 5-megapixel ultrawide and a 2-megapixel macro lens.
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Selfie camera
The Galaxy A17 has a 13-megapixel front-facing camera housed in a small display notch.
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USB-C, but no headphone jack
Samsung's $200 phone no longer comes with a headphone jack, having been initially omitted from last year's Galaxy A16 but appearing on the prior Galaxy A15.
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Samsung Galaxy A17's display
The Galaxy A17's bright 1,080p display is a highlight, and it does make streaming videos look good.
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Galaxy A17 playing CNET's What the Future
The Galaxy A17's 6.7-inch display provides plenty of space for YouTube videos, though the less-powerful Exynos 1330 processor struggles with some games.
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Playing Asphalt Xtreme
I'm generally able to get the Galaxy A17 to play games at low settings -- here's a photo of me playing Asphalt Xtreme. However, a gaming phone this is not. It struggled with Duolingo until I turned off the app's animations.
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Samsung Wallet
Samsung Wallet is among the services that have made its way to the Galaxy A17, with support for both NFC payments and boarding passes.
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Starting Circle to Search
Google's Circle to Search is available, activated by pressing and holding the home icon.
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Circling so I can search
Like other phones with the feature, you can circle the subject you want to know more about.
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Now bar
The Galaxy A17's Now bar feature supports dynamic notifications, which can include media controls, timers and boarding pass information.
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Weather app
Samsung's Weather app is here, and it includes an animated person reacting to the weather.
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