2 weeks ago
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1 of 12Mike Sorrentino/CNET
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.
2 of 12Joseph Maldonado/CNET
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.
8 of 12Joseph Maldonado/CNET
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.
12 of 12Joseph Maldonado/CNET
Weather app
Samsung's Weather app is here, and it includes an animated person reacting to the weather.
