Samsung is swapping Exynos for Snapdragon on the Galaxy A27, but the trade-offs are unusually steep for a mid-range phone.
Leaked press materials and renders obtained by MyMobiles and corroborated by OnLeaks reveal the full spec sheet for Samsung's next A-series entry, expected in the second half of 2026. The phone arrives in Light Pink, Blue, and Black, ditching the pastel finishes of the Galaxy A26 for a more restrained palette. The headline change is under the hood. Samsung is dropping its own Exynos 1380 for Qualcomm's 4nm Snapdragon 6 Gen 3, a chip that benchmarks roughly 10% higher than the A26's silicon, per Notebookcheck.
It's a meaningful platform shift for a series that has run Exynos across Europe and Asia for multiple generations. The chip pairs with 6GB or 8GB of RAM and 128GB or 256GB of storage. But Samsung giveth and Samsung taketh away. The A27 kills microSD expansion entirely, a notable cut for a mid-range audience that has historically relied on expandable storage. The Galaxy A26 supported cards up to 1 TB. The A27's spec sheet explicitly lists expandable storage as unsupported. The camera system takes hits too. The ultrawide drops from 8MP on the A26 to 5MP. The selfie camera falls from 13MP to 12MP. The 50MP main sensor with OIS carries over unchanged, as does the 2MP macro unit.
Downgrading sensor resolution at this tier is unusual, mid-range refreshes typically hold or improve camera specs, not reduce them. The rest of the hardware is familiar. A 6.7-inch FullHD+ display (likely 120Hz AMOLED, matching the A26), a 5,000 mAh battery with 25W wired charging, and a body that measures 162.4 x 78.2 x 7.8 mm at roughly 200 grams. The phone does gain a modern punch-hole selfie camera, replacing the notch found on the A26. On the software side, the A27 jumps a full OS generation ahead of its predecessor, shipping with Android 16 and One UI 8.5 out of the box. The A26 launched with Android 15 and One UI 7.
Samsung's own accidental listings earlier this year, model number SM-A276 appeared on Samsung Wallet's compatibility list and the device was briefly referenced on Samsung Brazil's website, confirmed the phone was coming but wouldn't make the usual March A-series window. Industry reporting at the time pointed to delays from rising memory component costs, with the Galaxy A57 and A37 carrying the early-2026 launch slate instead. The finalized press materials circulating in late May point to a launch between June and August, with retail availability following shortly after.
