Another month brings another Samsung phone launch. After introducing us to the Galaxy S21 FE in January and the Galaxy S22 lineup last month, Samsung is back. And this time, it's the midrange Galaxy A phones that get their turn in the spotlight, as Samsung tries to steal attention from the new $429 iPhone SE 2022.
When Samsung's next virtual product launch gets underway today (Thursday, March 17), there's no mystery as to what the company will talk about. Samsung has billed this launch as the Awesome Galaxy A Event — no pressure living up to that adjective — which means the 2022 versions of the Galaxy A phones are on their way.
Galaxy A phones may not be as flashy as Samsung's Galaxy S flagships, but they're popular phones that wind up in the hands of a lot of smartphone shoppers. In fact, the Galaxy A12 was one of the top 10 selling phones in 2021, according to Counterpoint Research. So the new models appearing at the Awesome Galaxy A Event figure to be of interest to a lot of people.
Want to find out what Samsung has in store for this latest phone launch? You can stream the Awesome Galaxy A Event when it gets underway today — here's what you need to know.
When is Samsung's Awesome Galaxy A Event?
Samsung's Awesome Galaxy A Event gets underway at 10 a.m. ET/7 a.m. PT today, March 17. We'll be covering all the last-minute rumors plus the launch itself in our Samsung Galaxy A event live blog; in fact, that's already up and running, so head over there now for the latest.
How can I stream Samsung's Awesome Galaxy A Event?
The Awesome Galaxy A event is streaming in two places — on YouTube and through the Samsung newsroom web page. On YouTube, it's a simple as finding the Awesome Galaxy A event livestream on Samsung's YouTube channel. We've also embedded the video above. (As of this moment, it's a placeholder clip where you can set a reminder to tune in later.)
What will be announced at Samsung's Awesome Galaxy A Event?
We know Samsung is announcing new Galaxy A phones. The only question is which Galaxy A phones will appear at today's event. Many of the rumors building up to the Awesome Galaxy A Event point to a pair of phones, the Galaxy A53 and Galaxy A33, getting the bulk of the attention later. There's the possibility of a Galaxy A73 arriving, too. However, the Galaxy A72 wasn't released in all markets during 2021, so Samsung may not wind up including that phone in a global launch event.
Here's what we've heard so far about the two most likely phones to debut during the Awesome Galaxy A event.
Samsung Galaxy A53: The Galaxy A53 is the successor to last year's Galaxy A52. Like that phone, the Galaxy A53 is expected to have a 6.5-inch screen with a 120Hz refresh rate. Samsung is likely to upgrade the chipset powering the A53 — we've heard that it will be an Exynos 1200 or 1280. Rumors also point to a four-camera array on the back of the phone — a main camera and ultrawide angle shooter joined by depth and macro sensors — plus a bigger 5,000 mAh battery.
Samsung Galaxy A33: As with the Galaxy A53, the Galaxy A33 would replace the Galaxy A32 Samsung released last year, with many of the same features as that phone. That means a 6.4-inch display with a 90Hz refresh rate, though one rumor suggests the A33 could upgrade its display to an OLED panel instead of an LCD screen.
The A33 could also get the same Exynos chipset that powers the A53. Otherwise, it sounds as if Samsung will stick with the same four camera setup that the A32 used — a main lens plus an ultrawide angle shooter and the depth and macro sensors.
Samsung Galaxy A73: Samsung didn't release the Galaxy A72 in the U.S. last year, as that phone closely matched the features of the Galaxy S20 FE. It's unclear if a follow-up to the A72 will meet the same fate, but if a Galaxy A73 does appear, it would likely feature a 6.7-inch screen with a 120Hz refresh rate. Rumors also suggest that this phone would feature a 108MP main sensor as well as a telephoto lens to go with its ultrawide angle camera. This would be the most expensive of the Galaxy A series models.
