Samsung Galaxy A6 and Galaxy Tab A 10.5 get an affordable US release date

With rumors of its foldable smartphone continuing to swirl, Samsung has decided to go in a completely different direction by announcing two mid-range devices for the US. Today, Samsung announced that the Galaxy A6 smartphone and the Galaxy Tab A 10.5-inch tablet, which have both debuted in other regions already, will arrive Stateside later this month. Obviously, being mid-range devices, they don't really have the hardware to compete with Samsung's flagship phones and tablets, but the trade-off is that you won't be paying $1000 for the privilege of owning one.

Let's start by diving into the specifics of the Galaxy A6. There's no major differences between the US version of the A6 and previous releases, as the phone is still outfitted with a 5.6-inch Super AMOLED display that clocks in at 720 x 1480 resolution. 16MP cameras grace both the front and back, so if you're looking for a good candidate for taking selfies, this could certainly be the phone to go with.

The phone runs on an Exynos 7884 processor, which is working in tandem with 3GB of RAM. There's only 32GB of internal storage, but you can use the included microSD slot to expand on that. The Galaxy A6 will be running Android 8.0 out of the box, comes with support for Bixby, and is powered by a 3,000mAh battery. Again, it doesn't have the specs to compete with something like the Galaxy Note 9, but if you're looking for a phone at a mid-range price, you could do a lot worse than this.

Like the Galaxy A6, the Galaxy Tab A also features a familiar list of specifications. Running on a Snapdragon 450 SoC, the Galaxy Tab A features a 10.5-inch LCD display outputting at 1920 x 1200 resolution. The tablet boasts a relatively beefy 7,300mAh battery, runs Android 8.1 Oreo, and even comes with a suite of parental controls called Samsung Kids.

So, while these devices probably won't do anything for the technophiles among us, they should be good choices for someone who's looking to pick up a new phone or tablet on a budget. The fact that the Galaxy A6 comes with a Super AMOLED display is particularly exciting, as we're used to seeing LCD displays on phones in this price range.

Both the phone and the tablet launch in the US on September 14. In the case of the Galaxy A6, you'll be able to pick it up at Samsung.com for $359.99, though it'll be launching at carriers later on in the year. The Wi-Fi version of the Galaxy Tab A will be available at Amazon, Samsung, and Walmart for $329.99, with an LTE launch lined up for Verizon and Sprint later on down the road.