Galaxy A02s budget phone could be coming to the US soon

Although Samsung naturally pours most of its resources, especially marketing resources, on the Galaxy S and Galaxy Note series, recent figures have shown that its Galaxy A mid-range series has become quite popular even in the US, especially thanks to the ongoing pandemic and economic crisis. As such, it has been focusing a bit more on its mid-range phones and is reportedly moving towards making one of its entry-level devices available in the US as well.

Launched almost silently in Europe last November, the Galaxy A02s isn't exactly the kind of phone that'll make you do a double-take. Through and through, it is a budget phone, one powered by an octa-core processor that's presumably a Snapdragon 450, with 3GB of RAM and only 32GB of storage. The 6.5-inch screen is large but the 1600x720 HD+ resolution makes it less ideal for high-quality images and videos.

Despite the almost mediocre specs, the phone does have at least one thing going for it. It has a large 5,000 mAh battery that supports 15W fast charging. It's hardly the fastest but it does beat most of the competition on this tier.

According to SamMobile, Samsung is preparing to bring the Galaxy A02s stateside, primarily as an unlocked model. That said, certification entries also suggest that carrier-locked models are also coming to AT&T, Verizon, and even Cricket Wireless. As for the price, it's expected to sell for $150 without carrier subsidies.

When the budget Samsung phone will launch in the US is still up in the air but its timing is a bit interesting. OnePlus will be launching two of its Nord phones in the US on Friday and the OnePlus Nord N100, which will sell for $180, seems to be a direct rival to the Galaxy A02s. This could pretty much be Samsung's attempt to prevent OnePlus from gaining a foothold in that market even before it has a chance to get started.