Samsung Galaxy A90 5G: Features | Pricing | Specs

Where to buy

Samsung had the distinction of bringing the first 5G smartphone to the Australian market with the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G, closely followed up by the 5G-capable Samsung Galaxy Note10+. Its third 5G-capable offering, the Samsung Galaxy A90 5G brings the price point for 5G phones down somewhat, but unlike Samsung's other A-series phones, this still sits in the premium price bracket, even if only just so.

Design

• 6.7 AMOLED display
• Teardrop style notch
• No colour variants for Australia

• Read more about the Samsung Galaxy A90 5G's design

  The Samsung Galaxy A90 5G follows the design style of Samsung's other A-series 2019 handsets, which means it uses a teardrop style notch – Samsung refers to it as the "Infinity U" display – above a 6.7 inch 1080x2400 Super AMOLED display. Samsung has long form in delivering superior AMOLED displays with excellent colour reproduction, and while the Samsung A90 5G isn't one of its flagship phones, there's little reason this shouldn't be the case here.

  You even get an in-display fingerprint sensor to play with, although Samsung's specifications don't make it entirely clear if it's an ultrasonic sensor (as found in its S10 and Note10 phones) or just a regular optical type.

  What you don't get – at least for now – is any choice in colours. Samsung produces the Samsung A90 5G in black and white finishes, but it's only the black model being sold locally by Samsung itself.

Camera

• Triple rear cameras
• But only 2 of them are actual lenses you can shoot through

• Read more about the Samsung Galaxy A90 5G's camera

  Cameras are where so many premium flagships differentiate themselves from the mid-range crowd, but that puts the Samsung A90 5G in a rather curious position. It's not a flagship phone, but its price point put it within calling distance of Samsung's actual flagship devices, at least at launch.

  It's equipped with a triple lens array at the rear, comprising a primary 48MP f/2.0, secondary 8MP f/2.2 ultrawide and 5MP depth sensor. That's much more a recipe for a mid-range phone than a flagship, and it's the kind of specification set that we'd expect to score in phones that cost around half that of the Samsung A90 5G.

  Samsung's pedigree in the camera space is decent when it comes to general photography, but in recent years it's ceded a lot of ground to the likes of Apple, Huawei and Google, so expecting its mid-range flagship to reinvent its photography strategy is probably wishful thinking.

  At the front for selfie purposes that "Infinity U" display houses a single 32MP sensor, which is again in line with the mid-range positioning of the Samsung A90 5G.

Performance

• Octa-core processor
• 6GB of RAM
• DeX capable
• 5G ready

• Read more about the Samsung A90 5G's performance

  Samsung typically offers up two variants of many of its flagship phones, sporting either the Qualcomm Snapdragon processor of the day or its own Exynos equivalent.

  Samsung Australia doesn't make it entirely clear which variant we'll get in Australia, simply stating that the Samsung A90 5G is running on an Octa Core (2.84GHz + 2.42GHz + 1.8GHz) processor. Smart money says that's the Exynos 9820 as found in the Galaxy S10, although overseas variants are definitely running on the Snapdragon 855. The model as sold in Australia comes with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of onboard storage, although an 8GB model is sold in other markets.

  Either way, that still puts the Samsung A90 5G well ahead of the mid-range pack when it comes to overall processing power, which is a big plus if you're going to buy one outright. The other big hook here is of course the fact that it's 5G capable for Australia's existing 5G networks. While the coverage at launch for both Telstra and Optus has been rather disappointing, it's improving as the months roll by, making the investment in a 5G handset more of a compelling idea.

  While it's perhaps not taken off the way that Samsung might have hoped, if you're a fan of Samsung's DeX dock, or the whole "use your phone as your computer" experience, it's worth noting that the Samsung A90 5G is the cheapest phone that Samsung's included bundled DeX compatibility with to date.

Battery life

• Hefty 4,500mAh battery
• 25W wired charging
• No wireless charging

• Read more about the Samsung A90 5G's battery life

  The Samsung A90 5G sells with a non-removable 4,500mAh battery, which is quite sizeable for what is still intended to be a mid-range phone handset. While we've yet to have the opportunity to put the Samsung A90 5G through its battery paces, that should easily be enough for a full day's usage by most users.

  It's a little disappointing to note that the Samsung A90 5G doesn't appear to support wireless charging given its price point, however this is rather mitigated by its support for 25W fast wired charging. Even better, you don't have to buy the 25W charger separately, with Samsung Australia including the charger with official Australian stock.

Early outlook

• Lower-cost 5G entry point, but it's only going to get cheaper

• Read our early Samsung Galaxy A90 5G verdict

  On first inspection, the Samsung A90 5G is an interesting device. It's Samsung's cheapest play in the 5G market to date, but it doesn't officially quite come in below that critical $1,000 price barrier. The core processor should be good, and the battery appears nicely stacked to give you plenty of power.

  However, the camera array feels like it's something that could be had on a phone half the price or less, and that's a critical strike against a phone that breaches the $1,000 price barrier.

  We're not that far away from the expected release of the Samsung Galaxy S11 series, and that's a phone family that's expected to ship with a variety of 5G variants. 2020 will see even more competition in the lower-end of the premium scale for 5G phones – or the upper tier of mid-range if you like – and that will rather rapidly give the Samsung A90 5G plenty of competition.

Pricing and availability

Price

RRP: $1,049.00

Where to buy

Check price at eBay

Check price at Amazon

Amazon

Specifications

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