Samsung is preparing two budget phones for late 2025, with details emerging from the Geekbench and Bluetooth SIG databases. The Galaxy A17 4G, model SM-A175F, uses the MediaTek Helio G99, a two-year-old 6nm chip with two 2GHz Cortex-A76 cores and six 2GHz Cortex-A55 cores paired with a Mali-G57 MC2 GPU. It’s the same chip used in the Galaxy A16 and A15, and according to the Geekbench listing, it’s making a comeback in the A17. Scores. Slightly lower than its predecessors.
While the low scores are easy to justify – given that the phone is still in development and months of optimization are ahead – this alone may not be enough to provide a noticeable performance boost. Another surprise is the OS version: The Galaxy A17 (4G) is being tested on Android 15 (One UI 7.0), while One UI 8 will debut in June or July with 7th generation smartphones, a few months before the Galaxy A17 is released.
A 5G variant is also expected, probably based on the Exynos or MediaTek Dimensity chip. For context, both the 4G and 5G versions of the A16 were launched last October.
Meanwhile, the Galaxy M36 5G, model SM-M366B/DS, is nearing launch, with a support page on Samsung UAE’s website and an Exynos 1380 chip (5nm, Mali-G68 MP5 GPU), 6GB of RAM, and Android 15. Likely a rebranding of the Galaxy A36, which uses the faster 4nm Snapdragon 6 Gen 3, the M36 may share its 50-megapixel primary camera, 5000mAh battery, and 25W charging. The Exynos 1380’s AnTuTu score of 5.5 thousand points is inferior to the A36, but it will still be enough to perform basic everyday tasks.
