Samsung has officially launched the Galaxy A27 5G as the successor to last year’s Galaxy A26 5G. The Galaxy A27 brings a bunch of upgrades as expected but there are some unexpected downgrades too. The phone leans heavily on expanding Samsung’s Galaxy AI features down to this price range, while also switching the processor from Exynos to Snapdragon for the first time in this series. Here are the five biggest changes worth knowing about.
The most significant change under the hood is the move from the Exynos 1380 on the Galaxy A26 to the Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 on the Galaxy A27, built on a 4nm process and paired with an Adreno 710 GPU. Samsung says this brings a notable boost in GPU performance for gaming and streaming, along with faster, more power-efficient memory. Switching chipsets for a mid-range A-series phone is a meaningful upgrade which should make a real-world difference which we will be checking out once we start reviewing it.
The Galaxy A27 moves to an upgraded punch-hole notch (Infinity-O) design with a smaller cutout, replacing the waterdrop (Infinity-U) style on the Galaxy A26. It is more symmetrical and with reduced bezels, it gives the phone a more contemporary look and slightly more usable screen space, even though both phones share the same 6.7-inch Super AMOLED panel size and 120Hz refresh rate.
This is where Samsung has invested the most. Circle to Search now supports multi-object recognition, letting users identify multiple items within a single frame at once and adds a virtual try-on tool for trying on apparel directly from search results. Object Eraser has been refined for more precise, natural-looking edits. The Voice Recorder app gains simultaneous transcription and translation across 22 languages, a feature the Galaxy A26 did not offer. Most notably, the A27 lets users choose between Google Gemini and Perplexity as their AI assistant and Bixby has been upgraded into a conversational agent capable of navigating phone settings through natural language, well beyond what the A26’s more basic AI Select and My Filters tools offered.
The Galaxy A27 ships with Android 16 and One UI 8.5, compared to the Galaxy A26’s Android 15 and One UI 7 at launch. Both phones are promised six years of OS upgrades and security updates, so the total support window is similar, but A27 buyers start a full Android version ahead.
Worth calling out on its own: the updated Voice Recorder app can now transcribe and translate audio at the same time across 22 supported languages and is a feature with obvious everyday utility for note-taking or recording conversations in a different language.
In the interest of giving the full picture, several specifications have actually gone down compared to the Galaxy A26. The IP rating drops from IP67, which allowed submersion in up to 1 metre of water for 30 minutes, to IP64, which only protects against splashes. The ultrawide camera drops from 8MP to 5MP and the selfie camera drops from 13MP to 12MP, even though Samsung says the new front sensor offers wider dynamic range and improved colour accuracy to compensate. Bluetooth also steps down from version 5.3 to 5.1. While none of these is dealbreakers on their own, but they are worth knowing before assuming this is a strict upgrade in every respect.
The Galaxy A27 5G features a 6.7-inch FHD+ AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate and up to 1,400 nits peak brightness, protected by Gorilla Glass Victus+. It is powered by the Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 with 6GB or 8GB of RAM and 128GB or 256GB of storage, expandable up to 2TB via microSD. The rear camera setup includes a 50MP main sensor with OIS, a 5MP ultrawide and a 2MP macro lens, with a 12MP front camera. It packs a 5,000mAh battery with 25W wired charging and runs Android 16 with One UI 8.5, backed by Samsung Knox Vault for security.
The phone is priced from $349.99 in the US and EUR 349 in Europe, and will be available from 3 July in select markets in Black, Blue, Light Green and Light Pink. Official India pricing has not been announced yet; the approximate Rs 33,000-37,000 range sometimes cited is simply a currency conversion of the US and EU prices, not a confirmed local price. The Galaxy A26 was priced starting at Rs 24,999 in India but given the current market trends, the A27 is expected to get a bump up in price once it officially launches here next week.