Samsung Galaxy A17: Release Date, Price & Specs

While Samsung holds big Unpacked launch events at glamorous locations around the world, one of its most popular Galaxy phones doesn’t get the limelight it deserves.

Although there have been a few rumours and leaks for the Galaxy A17, Samsung has put it on sale without so much as a blog post or even a quick post on social media.

It’s a bizarre situation, especially when you consider that its predecessor, the Galaxy A16, is the best-selling Samsung phone of the year. Samsung hasn’t even emailed us to point out the phone is now official and it’s not on the official store at the time of writing, either.

Nevertheless, the Galaxy A17 5G is here and could be the best budget phone of 2025. Here’s what you need to know about what’s new, where to buy it, and how much it costs.

Samsung Galaxy A17 5G: What’s new?

Sometimes, new phones come with a huge amount of upgrades and changes compared to the previous version. That’s not the case here, but there are some notable things about the Galaxy A17 5G to make you aware of.

Design upgrades

While the Galaxy A17 5G looks very similar to its predecessor, there are some improvements to the design and build. You may or may not like the camera module change from the porthole style to a group – like the Galaxy A36 and Galaxy A56 – but that’s not the main thing here.

Samsung has made the phone thinner and lighter at 7.5mm and 192g, which should make it more comfortable to use. There’s also Gorilla Glass Victus covering the screen, which is more durable to scratches and cracks.

We would have liked to see an improved IP rating for dust and water resistance, but it remains at a pretty basic IP54. The teardrop front camera cutout remains, as does a chunky bezel – particularly at the bottom of the screen.

You can buy the Galaxy A17 5G in three colours: Grey, Black and Blue.

A better main camera

The cameras on the Galaxy A17 5G are nearly identical to last year. That means you get a 50Mp main camera, 5Mp ultrawide and 2Mp macro on the back with a 13Mp selfie camera.

The big news is the addition of optical image stabilisation (OIS) for the main rear camera. This is like adding a tiny gimbal, which helps keep the camera steady as you’re moving the phone – even without meaning to.

It helps avoid photos coming out blurry and makes video footage smoother, too.

New software

New phones don’t always come with newer software than the last generation, but the Galaxy A17 5G does.

You get Android 15 with One UI 7. Those aren’t the very latest versions of each, but it’s perfectly acceptable for a cheap phone and Samsung offers much longer software support than rivals in the category.

In fact, it’s class-leading in this area with 6 years of OS and security support. Some budget phones don’t even come with a software promise.

When is the Samsung Galaxy A17 release date?

We didn’t expect the Galaxy A17 5G to arrive until later in the year, specifically October, following when the Galaxy A16 arrived last year.

However, as mentioned earlier, Samsung has put the phone on sale without actually announcing its existence. This means it doesn’t really have a specific release date.

It appeared on Amazon UK on 12 August, which is as good a release date as you’ll get for this phone.

Is there a Galaxy A17 4G?

So far, only the 5G model of the A17 has hit the shelves, but Samsung does normally make a cheaper 4G LTE version, too.

We haven’t seen this in the UK yet, but the two don’t often arrive at the same time anyway so it should turn up in the next few weeks if you’re looking to save a bit of money and don’t need 5G.

How much does the Samsung Galaxy A17 cost?

You can already buy the Galaxy A17 5G and it stays at the same £199 price as the A16 5G.

There’s a list of retailers below with a couple already offering £20 off, straight away. The Galaxy A17 in its 4G model is likely to cost £169, but we’re still waiting for it.

What are the Samsung Galaxy A17 5G specs?

We’ve had to get them from retailers since Samsung doesn’t list the A17 anywhere officially, but here are the full specs for the Galaxy A17 5G.

• Android 15 with One UI 7
• 6 OS updates
• 6 years security updates
• 6.7-in Super AMOLED, 90Hz
• Exynos 1330 (5nm) processor
• 4GB RAM
• 128GB storage
• microSD card slot (up to 2TB)
• 50Mp, f/1,8 rear camera with OIS
• 5Mp, f/2.2 ultrawide camera
• 2Mp, f/2.4 macro camera
• 13Mp, f/2.0 selfie camera
• 5000mAh battery
• 25W wired charging
• Fingerprint scanner (side)
• Gorilla Glass Victus (front)
• Glass Fibre Reinforced Polymer (back)
• IP54
• 164.4 x 77.9 x 7.5mm
• 192g
• Launch colours: