Samsung Galaxy A17 5G

The Samsung Galaxy A17 ($199.99) picks up where its excellent predecessor, the Galaxy A16, left off. It offers a large screen, long battery life, good-enough cameras, and a six-year upgrade commitment. I appreciate that Samsung added optical image stabilizati…

The Samsung Galaxy A17 ($199.99) picks up where its excellent predecessor, the Galaxy A16, left off. It offers a large screen, long battery life, good-enough cameras, and a six-year upgrade commitment. I appreciate that Samsung added optical image stabilization for steadier video, a feature usually found on more expensive phones, but the limited memory and year-old processor hold it back to a small degree.

Despite these drawbacks, the Galaxy A17's good value carries the torch for affordable phones and is our new Editors' Choice. The Galaxy A17’s design does not stray far from the A16. It is a rounded rectangular slab measuring 6.47 by 3.07 by 0.30 inches (HWD) and weighing 6.77 ounces. The A17’s width may be an issue for smaller hands. The A16, at 6.58 by 3.01 by 0.33 inches and 7.06 ounces, is taller, thicker, and heavier, and the $199.99 Motorola Moto G (2026) is nearly identical at 6.58 by 3.01 by 0.33 inches and 7.13 ounces. The A17 is a slight improvement all around.

The large screen is covered with 2020-era Corning Gorilla Glass Victus, which is more drop-resistant than the 2013-era Gorilla Glass 3 of the A16 and the Moto G. The A17's display is surrounded by an asymmetrical bezel with a large chin on the bottom edge—a visible mark of lower-priced phones. The front and rear panels are slightly recessed from the plastic frame, creating a small lip.  A combined SIM/microSD card tray sits on the left rail, while a USB-C port and speaker slit are on the bottom.

The volume rocker and combined power button/fingerprint sensor are both on the right side within a raised section Samsung calls the Key Island. The gentle slope guides your thumb to the fingerprint sensor, which I found reliable in testing. The A17’s triple camera array moves away from the A16’s individual lens protrusions and is contained within a single pill-shaped camera bump. To combat dust and water, the A17 is IP54-rated like the A16, and the Moto G is IP52-rated (making it less protected from water).

The A17 is available in black or blue; I received the black model, and it is a smudge magnet.  The A17 carries over the A16's screen. It's a 6.7-inch Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 2,340 by 1,080 pixels, a 90Hz refresh rate, and a maximum brightness of 800 nits. I would have liked to see a small improvement in brightness here. For comparison, the Moto G uses a 6.7-inch LCD at a resolution of 1,604 by 720 pixels, a refresh rate of 60 to 120Hz, and a maximum brightness of 1,000 nits.  The A17 offers sharp images, vivid colors, deep blacks, and smooth animations just like its predecessor.

Indoors, the A17 is easy to see, but I had to seek out shade when outdoors because the screen cannot overcome harsh lighting conditions and glare.  Unfortunately, Samsung didn't upgrade the processor or memory compared with the Galaxy A16, so the A17’s performance is essentially the same. While I don't expect top processors in $200 phones, this isn't the greatest news. The A17 is powered by an Exynos 1330 processor with 4GB of RAM.

For context, the Moto G uses a MediaTek Dimensity 6300 chip paired with 4GB of RAM.  The A17 comes with 128GB of storage and supports an additional 2TB via microSD card. The A16 and Moto G both also feature 128GB of storage and support microSD cards for additional space if needed. To objectively gauge performance, I run a series of benchmarks. On Geekbench 6, which measures pure CPU power, the A17 scored 981 on the single-core test and 2,054 on the multi-core one.

The A16 scored 883 and 2,020 while the Moto G hit 802 and 2,075 on the same tests.  On the PCMark Work 3.0 test, which measures how a device handles everyday tasks, the results were similar. The A17 reached 12,008, the A16 hit 11,589, and the Moto G managed 12,993. For extra context, the Samsung Galaxy S25 with its Snapdragon 8 Elite processor pulled 19,060 on this benchmark.  To gauge gaming performance, I use the 3DMark Wild Life test.

The A17 pushed out 8.20 frames per second (fps), while the A16 rendered 8.22fps, and the Moto G hit 8.37fps. None of these phones is ideal for resource-intensive games unless you dial down the settings. The A17 manages to push through everyday tasks without issue. Like the A16, the A17 features a 5,200mAh battery that supports charging up to 25W via a cable. It does not support wireless charging.  In our battery rundown test, where I stream a 1080p video with the screen at full brightness, the A17 lasts 15 hours and 45 minutes, which is almost two hours longer than the A16 (13 hours, 46 minutes).

That's a respectable jump. The Moto G (5,200mAh) lasts longer than both at 16 hours and 30 minutes. When connected to a compatible fast charger, the Galaxy A17 reaches 26% in 15 minutes, 50% in 30 minutes, and 100% after 1 hour and 30 minutes.  The A17 supports sub-6GHz 5G, including C-band but not mmWave, Bluetooth 5.3, NFC, and Wi-Fi 5. Wi-Fi 5 was outdated last year. Wi-Fi 7 is the latest wireless spec, so I was expecting to see at least Wi-Fi 6 here.

The A17 can hold two physical SIM cards or one physical SIM and one eSIM, or two eSIMs. Samsung sells an unlocked model in addition to US models specifically for AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon. On Verizon’s 5G UW network in New York City, the Galaxy A17 reaches a top download speed of 343Mbps and a peak upload speed of 32.1Mbps. A Moto G tested on the same network reaches 367Mbps down and 30.1Mbps up.  When connected to a Wi-Fi 6 network close to the router, the Galaxy A17 hits 255Mbps down and 22.2Mbps up, while the Moto G reaches 239Mbps down and 21.8Mbps.

At the limits of my Wi-Fi network, the Galaxy A17 still reaches 210Mbps down and 22.6Mbps up, while the Moto G reaches 192Mbps down and 21.9Mbps up.  The Galaxy A16’s call quality is good, and voices are understandable even in the presence of loud music. In a test recording, background music is nearly inaudible while the voice remains clear. The A17's earpiece reaches an incredibly loud 91.9dB.

For media playback and the speakerphone, the A17 uses a single down-firing speaker that produces mono sound. In testing, a voice call reaches 72.9dB while Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” reaches 96.8dB. I find volumes at or around 70dB easy to hear, and the A17 is plenty loud for me.  The audio does not sound particularly full, but it is not thin either. For example, the deepest bass notes of our test song, The Knife’s “Silent Shout,” are inaudible.

For a richer experience, consider Bluetooth earbuds.  The A17’s camera hardware is basically the same as the A16's. It has a 50MP main shooter with an f/1.8 aperture, a 5MP ultra-wide camera at f/2.2, and a 2MP macro camera at f/2.4. By default, the main camera captures 12MP images, but you can also take full-resolution 50MP snaps. Samsung added optical image stabilization (OIS) this year, which I'm happy to see.

This inexpensive phone produces impressive results. Generally, images have realistic color and good detail. Colors are a little dim and could use more contrast. However, for a sub-$200 phone, the A17's camera outperforms the competition. The 5MP ultra-wide’s images look great at a glance, but zooming in reminds you that 5MP isn't a whole lot and the results are less sharp than I like. The 2MP macro camera captures details up close, but its resolution produces images that are muddy overall.

The phone's 13MP f/2.0 selfie camera takes the same kinds of photos as the rear shooters. Contrast could be boosted, and colors are mildly muted, but in all, they are good enough for social media. Video recordings top out at 1080p at 30 fps on both the front and rear cameras. The rear camera’s OIS produces steady video while the front-facing one preserves shake and jostling.  The A17 ships with Android 16 and Samsung’s One UI software layer on top.

The phone will get six OS upgrades and security updates until 2031 (six years from the phone’s introduction). For a budget device, this is a long support window rivaled only by Samsung’s own seven-year commitment to its higher-end devices and Google’s seven-year promise for Pixels. The Moto G will receive two OS updates and three years of security updates. If long-term security is important to you, the A17 has you covered.

One UI includes features such as the Edge Panel (a hideable toolbar), Bixby (Samsung’s voice assistant), and tight integration with other Samsung products, such as tablets. Meanwhile, Galaxy AI, Samsung’s suite of AI tools, is still not present. However, the A17 does include Circle to Search by Google and Google Gemini, which offer plenty of utility. The Samsung Galaxy A17 delivers exceptional value thanks to its large display, long battery life, good cameras, and long support commitment, making it our top pick for an affordable phone.

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