In typical Samsung fashion, the upcoming Galaxy A18 has leaked well in advance of an official unveiling, but anyone hoping for a big revamp for the brand’s most affordable A-series phone will be disappointed.
We now have our first look at renders of the Samsung Galaxy A18, and if your first thought is that it looks practically identical to the Galaxy A17 then you’d be right (mostly). The CAD-based renders come via Smartphone Checker and tipster OnLeaks.
Credit: Smartphone Checker, OnLeaks
As you might expect from Samsung in 2026, there are no real obvious visual markers to separate the A18 from its predecessor. We’ve seen similar with the Galaxy A37 and Galaxy A57 already.
Instead, you have to zoom in on the camera bump to see very minor changes such as shading more closely matched the colourway found on the rest of the phone (though the renders are just an example of colour).
Don’t be fooled into thinking that this means we’ll get a different set of cameras, however, as all signs point towards the same triple-sensor array from before making a return. This includes a 50Mp main, a 5Mp ultrawide and a 2Mp macro, alongside the same 13Mp selfie camera.
Smart Phone Checker / OnLeaks
Alongside the renders, we know that the dimensions of the phone are planned to come in at 164.4 x 77.8 x 7.84mm, which is notably 0.34mm thicker than the A17. Given that the cameras aren’t set to receive any type of upgrade, our hope is that the battery will see an uptick to help users get more out the phone between charges.
Just like with the A17, there will be a 4G- and 5G versions of the A18, each with different chipsets, but what’s interesting is that neither of the processors planned to be included will be from Samsung’s Exynos brand.
Although we don’t know the exact SoCs planned for use in the phone, we do know that the A18 4G will have a MediaTek processor while the A18 5G will have a Snapdragon alternative.
The price conundrum
What will be interesting to know is what Samsung plans to do with the price of the Galaxy A18. The ongoing RAM crisis caused by the AI boom has led to increased prices on existing Samsung phones, and we’ve started to see a lot of budget-friendly handsets take a hit too.
Credit: Smartphone Checker, OnLeaks
Nothing Co-Founder Akis Evangelidis recently unveiled that the CMF Phone 3 Pro had been cancelled due to an inability to maintain an affordable price point. For reference, the CMF Phone 2 Pro carried a price tag of £219/$279 which is more expensive than what the Galaxy A17 currently goes for.
The A17 costs £169.99/$169.99 for the 4G model and £199.99/$199.99 for the 5G version, but with all that’s been mentioned, we’d be surprised if Samsung is able to maintain those prices for another generation in the days of ‘ramaggedon’.