Samsung, the Galaxy A16 paradox

Next 9 July, Samsung will present its flagship innovations at the Unpacked 2025 event in Brooklyn: the new foldable Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7, a revamped smartwatch line and, above all, the integration of artificial intelligence into the entire ecosystem. These are devices designed to confirm the Korean giant's technological leadership, yet the sales figures tell a less linear story.

According to Counterpoint Research's findings, Samsung's best-selling smartphone in the world in the first quarter of 2025 is not a top-of-the-range one, but the Galaxy A16 5G, which even placed fifth in the global ranking, ahead of much more ambitious models from the same parent company. This success, however, raises questions of a strategic nature, because it is precisely this model that represents the most obvious contradiction within Samsung's product portfolio: a cheap smartphone, with technical specifications at the limit of the acceptable minimum, which nevertheless ends up being the company's most visible face on the global market.

The Galaxy A16 has been placed in the 200 to 250 euro range (launch in October 2024, today it is 150 euro) and promises six years of software updates. It is a choice that shows concern for sustainability and the value over time perceived by the consumer. But if from the point of view of software support policies the intent is clear, from a technical point of view there are glaring cracks. The Exynos 1330 processor, which rises in late 2022, an outdated architecture, and RAM often limited to 4 GB, already slow down the device. It becomes legitimate to wonder how this device will cope with Android 17 or 18 without turning the user experience into a Zen exercise.

However, the strategy appears to be well thought-out. In the highest volume segments, where every single euro saved in production has a direct impact on margins, the use of 'sufficient' rather than 'optimal' components allows Samsung to maintain profitability. Not only that: hardware at the limit contributes to a sense of obsolescence after 18 to 24 months, pushing many users towards replacement, in spite of the announced long software coverage.

In the writer's extended tests, the A16 shows constant delays even in the simplest operations: opening an application can take from a few tenths to almost a second. These are micro-delays that inevitably affect the overall quality of the user experience (enhanced by a nice display and a good main camera), even when the A16 is not a backup smartphone. The upgrade to One UI 7 with Android 15 has not changed the situation significantly, a sign that the limitations lie not so much in the software as in the hardware itself. Meanwhile, the competition is not standing idly by. Chinese brands such as Xiaomi, Motorola, and Honor offer more competitive spec sheets for the same price.