Samsung's US mid-range product launch ‘strategy' is making my blood boil

Phone Arena

7 days ago

The world's top smartphone vendor is selling a new mid-range device in one of the world's biggest smartphone markets (as well as one of the most populous nations out there) starting at the reasonable price of $499.99. That sounds like a huge story... very few of you paid much attention to late last week for a number of pretty obvious reasons. The fault lies almost entirely with Samsung, which inexplicably delayed the US release of the Galaxy A56 5G and perhaps even more curiously "forgot" to build buzz around the handset's long overdue regional commercial debut. But this is actually far from the first mid-end phone the company has bafflingly set up for failure right off the bat over the last few years, making me wonder if Samsung even wants to see the Galaxy A family succeed stateside.
Unlocked, 128GB Storage, 8GB RAM, Exynos 1580 Processor, 6.7-Inch Super AMOLED Display with 2340 x 1080 Pixel Resolution and 120Hz Refresh Rate Technology, IP67 Water and Dust Resistance, Android 15, 50 + 12 + 5MP Triple Rear-Facing Camera System, 12MP Single Front-Facing Camera, 5,000mAh Battery, 45W Charging Capabilities, Two Color Options Buy at Samsung Unlocked, 128GB Storage, 8GB RAM, Exynos 1580 Processor, 6.7-Inch Super AMOLED Display with 2340 x 1080 Pixel Resolution and 120Hz Refresh Rate Technology, IP67 Water and Dust Resistance, Android 15, 50 + 12 + 5MP Triple Rear-Facing Camera System, 12MP Single Front-Facing Camera, 5,000mAh Battery, 45W Charging Capabilities, Awesome Graphite Color, $50 E-Gift Card Included Buy at BestBuy Not at all. Not at its core, at least. That 6.7-inch Super AMOLED screen is pretty much all you can hope for in the mid-range segment nowadays, the 45W charging speeds are somehow higher than what the high-end Galaxy S25 supports (because why not?), and the system performance is deemed as "acceptable" in our comprehensive Samsung Galaxy A56 5G review.
In short, you're looking at the kind of device no Android power user would be caught dead owning, while the vast majority of "normal", unpretentious smartphone buyers on a budget would probably get without thinking twice... at the right price. And that's where the aforementioned $499.99 tag comes in to totally ruin the A56's US value proposition.
Not bad and not great, the Galaxy A56 5G should really be cheaper by now. | Image Credit -- PhoneArena" What are some other phones you can buy at that price... or less? Well, how about the OnePlus 13R with more storage, more memory, a faster processor, better cameras, bigger battery, and faster charging? Or Google's Pixel 9a with better cameras, wireless charging, and most likely, vastly superior long-term software support? Or even the Motorola Edge (2025) with an arguably prettier and somehow more robust design, as well as better cameras, more storage space, a bigger battery, faster wired charging, and wireless charging capabilities. Now here's the thing. If Samsung had released the Galaxy A56 5G in the US back in March, the phone would have had a little time to steal some of the spotlight away from its key rivals, two of which went on sale after that date.
Perhaps more importantly, an earlier release would have probably created the opportunity (or rather multiple opportunities) for retailers like Amazon and Best Buy to lower that $499.99 price point by now. Instead, the best we're getting is a $50 gift card as a launch deal sweetener in both of those places, as well as a pitiful $150 trade-in offer on Samsung's official US website. And that, my friends, is how you make an unremarkable phone not just instantly forgettable, but outright disposable instead of exploiting its full budget-friendly potential.
The Galaxy A51 was probably the last big hit of its kind. | Image Credit -- PhoneArena In some weird way, that made me optimistic that the company would come back stronger this year with the Galaxy A56 , but evidently, that's not the case. At least not in the US. Instead, Samsung appears to have put its mid-range portfolio on autopilot stateside, setting a navigation path that can only end in total ruin.
Perhaps worse yet, the once mighty Galaxy A series doesn't seem headed for a particularly spectacular or shocking death either, but rather a slow and drawn-out demise that's likely to see many Samsung fans shrug their shoulders in indifference when it's eventually sealed and officially announced.
It's almost as if the world's top smartphone vendor is sabotaging lower-cost and lower-margin devices to favor higher-end models that generate bigger profits, which may sound like a sensible business decision, but is likely to come back to haunt Samsung in the long run in terms of its market presence.