Samsung S21's mid-range sibling may land on March 17

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There’s another Samsung Unpacked event coming on March 17 at 10am EDT, and no, we aren’t expecting another flagship phone. Instead, rumors suggest the brand will unveil the Samsung Galaxy A72 mid-range phone at the digital event, which will be streamed on Samsung's press room and official YouTube page.

‘Mid-range’ might be underselling the A72: rumors suggest it will be a powerful device that’s expected to inherit even more from flagship phones than its predecessor, including the vaunted ‘Space Zoom’ capable of 30x magnification. This is impressive given the Galaxy A71 didn’t even have a telephoto lens.

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Samsung didn’t outright say the A72 would be the product revealed – in fact, its invitation to the next Unpacked is very sparse on details. But there are hints that the A72 will be the focus – namely, the event’s name (‘Samsung’s Galaxy Awesome Unpacked’) and the conspicuous capitalization in the one-line description on the announcement post: “Join us on March 17 for the Galaxy Awesome Unpacked to hear how Samsung Electronics is bringing Awesome to everyone.”

Mid-range A72, flagship perks

Aside from Space Zoom, those rumored flagship perks coming to the A72 include spec upgrades like a 90Hz refresh rate for the 6.7-inch Full HD (2400 x 1080) AMOLED display with in-screen fingerprint sensor, up to 256GB storage, a 5,000mAh battery, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

That’s on top of specs inherited from the A71 that are still respectable in 2021: a 32MP selfie camera and quad rear camera with 64MP main shooter, 12MP 123-degree FoV ultra-wide camera, 5MP macro, and 8MP telephoto. The only downside we’ve heard? It won’t have 5G – at least at first, or that some regions may only get a 4G LTE version. We’ll have to wait until the March 17 Unpacked to know the truth.

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David is now a mobile reporter at Cnet. Formerly Mobile Editor, US for TechRadar, he covered phones, tablets, and wearables. He still thinks the iPhone 4 is the best-looking smartphone ever made. He's most interested in technology, gaming and culture – and where they overlap and change our lives. His current beat explores how our on-the-go existence is affected by new gadgets, carrier coverage expansions, and corporate strategy shifts.