The Samsung Galaxy A27 was expected to launch alongside the Galaxy A57 and A37, but ended up being a no-show during their reveal, and based on a recent Geekbench listing, we now have a possible explanation as to why it’s been delayed.
The benchmark app and database, which is used to show how well a chipset can perform, showed the A27 as scoring an impressive 777 single-core score, leaping to 1802 in the multi-core test. Those are respectable stats for a budget phone, but what’s surprising is that the chipset listed in the results is none other than the Snapdragon 6 Gen 3, marking a huge shift in strategy.
Samsung’s approach to its affordable phones has typically been to power them with the company’s own-brand Exynos chipsets. You’ll find Exynos chips in both the Galaxy A57 and the A37, as well as in last year’s Galaxy A26.
This practice isn’t completely unprecedented, as the same Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 chipset was used in the previous-gen Galaxy A36, but it’s impressive to see a Qualcomm chip of that calibre trickle down to one of Samsung’s budget devices and may well be the cause of the delay.
The A27 used for testing is also listed as having 6GB RAM to go with the Snapdragon chip, although it’s likely that there will be different models available, as the 256GB version of the A26 uses 8GB RAM.
There’s no word yet on whether the Galaxy A27 might include a price increase to go along with the newer CPU, but there is always a chance given Samsung’s current strategy across its entire phone line-up for 2026.
We already know that the Galaxy A57 is slightly more expensive than its predecessor, but the Galaxy S26 range brought a massive price hike to the table, as the standard Galaxy S26 costs £100/$100 more than last year’s Galaxy S25.
Even existing handsets are set for a price increase with the Galaxy Z Fold 7, Z Flip 7 and the S25 Edge all becoming more expensive in South Korea. Only time will tell if those increases make their way abroad.