Samsung's $200 Galaxy A17 5G, announced Tuesday, appears to be a smaller hardware refresh for the company's lower-cost phone -- bearing many similarities to the Galaxy A16 that it will replace. However, Samsung notes that the A17 will have access to several AI features, including Google's Circle to Search and Gemini assistant.

Even though both of those AI features are becoming common on all phones running Android 16 (Motorola's sub-$200 phones also include them), the Galaxy A17 might become one of the broadest ways that Circle to Search and Gemini reach new audiences. That's because Samsung's $200 phone is typically one of the few non-Apple devices to consistently top sales charts in the US, for instance, the $200 Galaxy A16 currently ranks fifth on Counterpoint Research's list behind Apple's iPhone 16 and iPhone 17.

Similar to the Galaxy A16, the A17 will have a 6.7-inch display with a 90Hz refresh rate, an IP54 rating for water and dust resistance (can withstand splashes but still avoid submerging the phone) and is powered by Samsung's Exynos 1330 processor. The cameras are also the same, including a 50-megapixel wide camera, a 5-megapixel ultrawide camera and a 2-megapixel macro camera. Around the front is a 13-megapixel selfie camera.

The Galaxy A17 will also include a 5,000-mAh battery, 25-watt wired charging, 4GB of RAM with 128GB of onboard storage, the option to expand with a microSD card and will receive six years of software as well as security updates. That support period is quite notable for phones sold in the $200 range, as most phones that cost $200 get two to three years of updates.

The Galaxy A17 goes on sale in the US starting Jan. 7, and will come in blue, black and gray models.