Alright Samsung, easy does it.

It’s only been 11 days and the company has already released its first phone of 2022. We know the Galaxy S21 FE is coming but the A03 Core is kind of a surprise if you weren’t paying attention.

Announced in November last year and released in December, the A03 Core is the latest in Samsung’s entry-level lineup to arrive in SA. With a recommended retail price of just R1,800, this one might prove popular.

For your money, you get a 6.5in HD+ display with an over 80% screen-to-body ratio. There’s a teardrop that hides the 5MP selfie camera. Around the back, you’ll find the main 8MP sensor and an LED flash.

Samsung’s dynamite in a small package

The device is driven by a 1.6GHz octa-core chip, 2GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. You can expand on that if it isn’t enough with a microSD card up to 512GB.

Surprisingly, all of that tech is powered by the 5,000 mAh battery which should get you through a full day, no problem. Maybe more depending on your use case.

The A03 Core is running the Android 11 Go edition. A lightweight version of Android specially designed for entry-level devices with 2GB of RAM. It’s supposed to be light on power draw and data usage.

The new handset is available in either black or blue from presumably most retailers that stock Samsung products and network operators.