The Galaxy A17 proves you don’t need to overspend on a new phone

The paint isn’t even dry on the Galaxy A17 in the US, but you can already pick one up at an excellent price. If you’re looking to switch carriers, you can secure a Galaxy A17 through Mint Mobile for $330, which includes a year of service. You’ll save $50 on the phone, and $180 on an Unlimited plan for a year. As a bundle, it makes sense.

It’s not for everyone: you’re committing the full $330 upfront, but at least you won’t have any other payments for a year. If you’re tired of paying too much for a major carrier and have been meaning to give an MVNO a chance, it’s a great opportunity to save.

Why I like the Samsung Galaxy A17

Excellent budget display and sleek design

The Galaxy A17 is far from perfect, but it does the job as a budget phone. I appreciate that Samsung made some much-needed design changes for the A17. It’s thinner and lighter than its predecessor, and you can tell the difference in the hand. Samsung also slimmed down the camera cluster, bringing it more in line with the phone’s back plastic.

Under the hood, the company didn’t change much. It’s still powered by an Exynos 1330 chipset with 4GB of RAM. Performance is what you’d expect from a budget phone. It’s not the fastest device in the world, but for daily tasks such as WhatsApp and Instagram, it performs smoothly. Even light gaming isn’t an issue.

The Galaxy A17 runs One UI 8 on Android 16 out of the box, and Samsung promises six years of software upgrades and updates — a significant number at this price.

It features an absolutely gorgeous display for a budget phone. Its 6.7-inch Super AMOLED 1080p screen is best-in-class for under $200, and you won’t feel like you’re using an inexpensive phone when you look at it.

The phone’s 5,000mAh battery delivers almost three days of mixed use on a single charge, and photos from its 50MP primary sensor are better than you’d expect. The 5MP telephoto and 2MP macro lenses aren’t worth writing about, but in good lighting, the 50MP main shooter is solid. All told, it’s a fantastic budget phone, and if you can get a deal on mobile service with it, it’s a great chance to save money.