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Quite a few people are looking at the Samsung Galaxy A16 5G as an option for their next phone – and it was a bit of a surprise to see just how many think that this phone can last them 6 years. That’s how long Samsung will be updating the software on this entry-level €250 phone.
There are those who like the A16 5G but don’t think that it will last the full 6 years. Performance is an obvious concern – how will the Exynos 1330 or Dimensity 6300 hold up to software in the late 2020s? Will the 4GB of RAM be enough?
People in the comments had other concerns too – what if the screen (or something else) breaks? You can get it replaced, sure. However, this is a €250 phone and in 2-3 years’ time, you may find that the cost of a screen replacement is more than what you would spend on a Galaxy A18 or A19 or whatever. Samsung does enhanced trade-in deals often enough and those offer the same value for a fully working phone as they do a broken one.
Then there are those who are still undecided – we received a Galaxy A16 5G unit and are already working on a review, so expect our thoughts on the phone soon.
There was little interest in a 4G version of the Galaxy A16. Instead, we saw plenty of comments saying “why not get a Galaxy A15 5G instead?” It’s cheaper now and Samsung will deliver 4 OS updates and 5 years of security patches. The A15 5G will reach end-of-life status with Android 18 and patches coming out until the end of 2028. Not bad – not as good as the A16, but it will still last you quite a while (especially for those who never planned to go the full 6 years in the first place).
It’s not glamorous, but the Galaxy A16 5G is shaping up to be a reliable seller for Samsung. The addition of an IP54 rating helped, the removal of the 3.5mm headphone jack is a strike against, more RAM would have helped. Still, this is a solid entry-level device overall.