Samsung’s A-Series 5G Smartphone: Galaxy A90 5G
by Anton Shilov on September 4, 2019 12:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Samsung
- Mobile
- 5G
- Galaxy A90
With multiple makers of smartphones launching expensive high-end 5G smartphones this year, it was a matter of time before more reasonably priced 5G handsets emerge. Samsung is among the first companies to introduce a 5G-enabled smartphone that promises not to break the bank. In addition to faster networks support, the Samsung A90 offers a bunch of first-class features, including an advanced SoC as well as premium imaging capabilities.
Equipped with a 6.7-inch Super AMOLED display featuring a 2400×1080 resolution and a raindrop selfie camera module, the Galaxy A90 5G is based on Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 855 SoC accompanied by 6 or 8 GB of LPDDRX as well as 128 GB of NAND flash storage (expandable using a microSD card). Just like other Qualcomm-based 5G smartphones, the Galaxy A90 5G uses Qualcomm’s X50 modem. This is the same SoC and modem that power Samsung’s Galaxy S10 5G handset, so from performance and connectivity perspectives, the Galaxy A90 5G promises to behave just like the range-topping model.
Imaging capabilities of the Galaxy A90 5G include a 48 MP main camera, an 8 MP ultrawide lens, and a 5 MP depth sensor. Meanwhile, a 32 MP module is used for selfies.
One of the interesting selling points of the Galaxy A90 5G is support for Samsung’s DeX platform that enables desktop-like experience on Android-based devices (e.g., open up multiple windows, re-size windows, drag and drop content, etc.) when they connected to a PC display or a TV. Of course, proper DeX experience will require an external keyboard and mouse.
Other notable features of Samsung’s Galaxy A90 5G are a 4,500 mAh battery, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, a USB 2.0 Type-C port for data and charging, stereo speakers, Dolby Atmos support for USB-C headsets, a fingerprint reader, and facial recognition.
Samsung's Galaxy A90 5G & S10 5G | ||||
Galaxy A90 5G | Galaxy S10 5G | |||
SoC | Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 1x Kryo 485 (Cortex-A76) @ 2.84GHz 3x Kryo 485 (Cortex-A76) @ 2.42GHz 4x Kryo 485 (Cortex-A55) @ 1.80GHz Adreno 640 |
|||
Display | 6.4-inch 2400 x 1080 (19:9) (flat edges) |
6.7-inch 3040 x 1440 (19:9) (curved edges) |
||
SAMOLED | SAMOLED HDR10+ 1200 nits peak brightness |
|||
Gorilla Glass 6 | ||||
Dimensions | 164.8 x 76.4 x 8.4 mm 206 grams |
162.6 x 77.1 x 7.94 mm 198 grams |
||
RAM | 6 or 8 GB | 8 GB | ||
NAND | 128 GB | 256 GB or 512 GB | ||
+ microSD | - | |||
Battery | 4500 mAh (17.32Wh) | |||
Primary Front Camera |
32 MP f/2.0 |
10MP f/1.9 4K video recording |
||
Secondary Front Camera | - | hQVGA Time-of-flight 3D sensor |
||
Primary Rear Camera | 48 MP 0.8µm PDAF f/2.0, 26mm, 1/2" |
77° Regular Angle 12MP 1.4µm Dual Pixel PDAF Tri-stack CMOS Sensor (Embedded DRAM), 4K60, 1080p240, 720p960 high-speed recording Adjustable aperture f/1.5 or f/2.4, |
||
Secondary Rear Camera | 8 MP wide angle f/2.2, 12mm, 1.12µm |
123° Wide Angle 16MP 1.0µm f/2.2 |
||
Third Rear Camera |
5 MP depth sensor, f/2.2 | 45° / Telephoto lens 2x zoom 12MP 1.0µm f/2.4, OIS |
||
Fourth Rear Camera |
- | hQVGA Time-of-flight 3D sensor |
||
4G Modem | Snapdragon X24 LTE (Snapdragon Integrated) 2G / 3G / 4G LTE (Category 20/13) DL 2000 Mbps (7x20MHz CA, 256-QAM), UL 316 Mbps (2x20MHz CA, 64-QAM) |
|||
5G Modem | Snapdragon X50 5G NR (mmWave & sub-6 GHz, TDD) DL 5Gbps (8x CA, 2x2 MIMO) |
|||
SIM Size | NanoSIM (?) | NanoSIM Dual NanoSIM/Hybrid SIM/microSD (Certain models) |
||
Wireless | 802.11a/b/g/n/ac, BT 5.0 LE, NFC, GPS/Glonass/Galileo/BDS | 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax 2x2 MU-MIMO, BT 5.0 LE, NFC, GPS/Glonass/Galileo/BDS |
||
Connectivity | USB Type-C | USB Type-C 3.5 mm headset |
||
Special Features | Under-screen optical fingerprint sensor | Under-screen ultrasonic fingerprint sensor | ||
accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass | heart-rate sensor, iris scanner, face unlock, fast charging (Qualcomm QC 2.0, Adaptive Fast Charging, USB-PD), wireless charging & reverse charging (WPC & PMA), IP68 water resistance |
|||
Launch OS | Android 9.0 with Samsung OneUI | |||
Launch Prices | 6 GB + 128 GB: ? 8 GB + 128 GB: ? |
8 GB + 256 GB: $1299 8 GB + 512 GB: $1399 |
Samsung’s Galaxy A90 5G will be released in black and white in South Korea on September 4. Exact price is unknown, but one of the rumours suggests that it will be below $1000. The launch in other countries will likely follow shortly as operators will certainly be interested in starting sales of a reasonably priced 5G handset in time for the holiday season.
Related Reading:
- Samsung & Verizon Launch the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G in the US
- Samsung Reveals Galaxy S10 5G Launch Dates in the UK
- Samsung Confirms Galaxy S10 5G Specifications: Exynos Modem 5100 For First 5G Devices In Korea
- OnePlus Teases the OnePlus 7 Pro 5G: Seven Pro + 5G Later This Year
- TCL Shows Off the Alcatel 7: Their First High-End 5G Smartphone
- Sony Has a Prototype 5G mmWave Xperia Smartphone
- Oppo Demonstrates 5G Smartphone at MWC 2019
Source: Samsung
8 Comments
View All Comments
quiksilvr - Wednesday, September 4, 2019 - link
An A series Samsung with the latest Qualcomm specs being released the same month as the Note series? They are not messing around are they?Alistair - Wednesday, September 4, 2019 - link
Should be $750.Alistair - Wednesday, September 4, 2019 - link
I mean, last year they had basically the same phone except for the CPU upgrade for $450, will they really charge more than $300 more just for the change in chipset?WPX00 - Tuesday, September 10, 2019 - link
remember oneplus commenting that a straight 4g to 5g conversion is about $150 to 200 even when the 4g is already 855. Add in the glass back and better camera, and it easily comes to 300.Gemuk - Thursday, September 5, 2019 - link
Utterly ridiculous how the 6GB RAM version has a microSD slot but the 8GB version doesn't. How do you justify that?igavus - Thursday, September 5, 2019 - link
And no 3.5mm headphone jack like the S10 5G? Stupid, utterly stupid.s.yu - Monday, September 9, 2019 - link
There should still be flagships with the 3.5mm jack next year, which could hold out for 2-3 years, by then there might be some actual flagship solutions (se846, ue reference grade) on the BT side.