This budget Samsung phone could offer a better update policy than many Android flagships

Samsung is expected to expand its budget smartphone lineup in India with the launch of the Galaxy A16 5G, likely by the end of this month. The latest leak gives us a glimpse of the design and other aspects of the phone, while also revealing key details that will put many Android flagships to shame.

Samsung is known to offer the best update policies alongside Google. Their top-tier smartphones are eligible to receive seven years of OS updates and security patches. Recently, the Korean giant also expanded and applied this OS update policy for its Tizen OS AI TV models. While the policy will cover 2024 models initially, later it will be expanded to some models launched in 2023.

According to the fresh leak (via The Tech Outlook), in one of the promo slides, the Galaxy A16 5G is mentioned to receive six major OS updates and six years of security updates. This is a huge step, especially for budget smartphones, and the Galaxy A series, as previous A series phones from Samsung receive four major upgrades and five years of security patches.

Speaking of flagships from other brands, the OnePlus 12 and Xiaomi 14 offer four major OS updates and five years of security patches. If the Galaxy A16 5G launches with six major OS updates and six years of security updates, then it will surpass many flagship Android smartphones in terms of updates.

However, it is still not at par with the Pixel 8a, which is eligible to receive seven years of OS and security updates. But the difference is that the Pixel 8a retails for $500 whereas the Galaxy A16 5G is speculated to cost around $200, similar to its previous model.

The website also reveals that the Galaxy A16 5G could offer a glasstic (glass-like plastic) rear cover, and tear-drop notch, and could launch in light green, blue-black, and gold color options. It is expected to feature a 6.7-inch 90Hz screen, an Exynos 1330 or Dimensity 6100 SoC paired with 4GB/6GB/8GB RAM, and could offer 128GB or 256GB of onboard storage. The phone is also tipped to drop a 3.5mm jack and could be IP54-rated.