Best Samsung Galaxy A-Series Phone Under £250 (UK): 2026 Picks

Between £150 and £250, a refurbished Galaxy A26 5G in Very Good condition is the phone most buyers should choose: £165.99 for 128GB (checked 5 October 2026) gets you a 120Hz AMOLED screen, a 50MP main camera with optical image stabilisation (OIS), an IP67 design rating and Samsung security updates until 31 March 2031, 53.8 months away.

It suits anyone stepping up from a basic phone who wants to keep it for four years or more. Its main limitation is 25W charging; if faster top-ups matter, the refurbished A36 5G at £211.99 adds 45W charging and Samsung's official 1,200-nit brightness figure.

Prices below are the lowest listed for each model, condition and storage on 5 October 2026, and they can change. Months of support count from the same date. This guide covers the £150 to £250 band only.

Quick decision: the best pick for each priority from £150 to £250

• Best all-rounder: Galaxy A26 5G, Refurbished, Very Good, 128GB, £165.99.
• Best camera for the money: Galaxy A55 5G, Refurbished, Very Good, 128GB, £179.99 (updates to 31 March 2028).
• Best camera to keep: Galaxy A56 5G, Refurbished, Very Good, 128GB, £243.99.
• Fastest charging for the price: Galaxy A36 5G, Refurbished, Very Good, 128GB, £211.99 (45W, plus an official 1,200-nit brightness figure).
• Longest updates with 5G: Galaxy A27 5G, Open Box (Activated), international stock, 128GB, £233.99.
• Cheapest route to 2032 updates: Galaxy A08 (4G), Open Box (Activated), international version, 64GB, £159.99.
• Best value storage: Galaxy A26 5G, Refurbished, Very Good, 256GB, £194.99.
• Best sealed new phone: Galaxy A17 (4G), Brand New, sealed, 128GB, £167.99.

Consider an alternative when you need a memory card (the Galaxy A36 5G and A56 5G have no slot), when you'll replace the phone within a year and a half (then the A55 5G's short update window stops mattering), or when your budget can reach the current Galaxy A37 5G and A57 5G, which our overall Galaxy A-series buying guide covers.

Check before buying the condition on the listing, the warranty and calling notes (every Galaxy A phone here is international stock), and whether a cheaper option is the undefined Fair grade.

The £150 to £250 shortlist at a glance

This table is what The Tech Gadgets lists, with each condition exactly as the product page names it.

The next table is Samsung's design specification for each model. It says nothing about the condition of an individual refurbished or Open Box phone.

The 25W figures for the A17 (4G), A26 and A54 come from third-party specifications and Samsung support replies rather than Samsung's spec sheets; the rest are Samsung's own.

Which phones get updates the longest, and what does each month cost?

The three Open Box international phones run longest: the Galaxy A08 (4G) and A18 (4G) to about September 2032 (71.8 months) and the A27 5G to 31 July 2032 (69.8). Among refurbished phones, the A17 5G leads with 58.8 months, and the A26 5G and A36 5G have 53.8. The A54 5G and A55 5G have just 17.8.

The table divides each from-price by the months of Samsung security updates left from 5 October 2026 (days ÷ 30.44). It measures update runway only, not battery wear, condition or how the hardware will feel later. Where Samsung's figures conflict, it uses the earlier date.

Four dates are conservative readings of conflicting Samsung figures. Samsung UK prints 31 October 2032 for the A18, but Samsung announced it in September 2026, and six years from then is about September 2032. The A56's UK page says 31 March 2032, while six years from its March 2025 launch is about March 2031; on the later date its cost falls to £243.99 ÷ 65.8 = £3.71 a month. The A55's UK page says 31 March 2028, although its five-year launch promise points to about March 2029. The A15 5G listing gives December 2028, but we use Samsung UK's 31 January 2029.

The A27 5G and A18 (4G) sit £5.01 apart (£239.00 minus £233.99), and the cheaper A27 brings 5G and 120Hz for about two months less runway; the FAQ compares them in detail. The Open Box Galaxy A08 listing is the budget way to reach 2032, at the lowest cost per month in the band, but it's a 4G phone with an HD+ LCD and 64GB.

Why the Galaxy A26 5G is the best all-rounder in this band

The A26 is the cheapest phone in the band that ticks every box most buyers care about: a 6.7-inch full HD+ AMOLED screen at up to 120Hz, Gorilla Glass Victus+ on the front and back, a 50MP OIS main camera with 8MP ultra-wide and 2MP macro lenses, a 13MP selfie camera, 5G, a microSD slot and an IP67 design rating. Samsung committed to six generations of Android upgrades and six years of security patches, valid until 31 March 2031.

At £165.99 it costs the same as the refurbished A17 5G, which has OIS too but only a 90Hz screen, a 5MP ultra-wide and an IP54 rating. The A17 5G's updates run 5.0 months longer, to 31 August 2031, which is its one advantage. Choose the A26 for the better screen, camera and water-resistance design; choose the A17 5G only if those extra months matter more.

Who should not buy it: people who want fast charging (25W, with no charger in a refurbished box) or eSIM, which Samsung UK doesn't list for the A26. Samsung UK's spec sheet also doesn't list NFC for it, though third-party spec databases record NFC as market-dependent, so confirm tap-to-pay with the team if you rely on it.

Which phone between £150 and £250 has the best camera?

For the money, the refurbished Galaxy A55 5G at £179.99. It pairs a 50MP OIS main camera with a 12MP ultra-wide, a 32MP selfie camera and 4K video. The A56 5G at £243.99 has the same rear layout with a newer Exynos 1580 chip and 36.0 more months of updates. The A26 5G, A17 (4G), A17 5G, A27 5G and A36 5G have OIS but smaller ultra-wides.

OIS steadies the main lens, which helps most in dim rooms and when filming on the move. The ultra-wide is where these phones separate: 12MP on the A54 5G, A55 5G and A56 5G; 8MP on the A26 5G and A36 5G; 5MP on the A15 5G, A17 (4G), A17 5G, A18 (4G) and A27 5G; and none on the A08 (4G), which pairs a 50MP main camera with a 2MP depth sensor. Samsung UK's specification for the UK-model A18 lists OIS as “No”, and the A15 5G and A08 don't list it, so none of those three is a camera pick.

The A55 versus A56 decision comes down to time. The A56 costs £64.00 more (£243.99 minus £179.99). Its selfie camera is 12MP against the A55's 32MP, but it adds 45W charging, Samsung's official 1,200-nit brightness figure (the A55's is 1,000) and 53.8 months of updates on the cautious reading, against 17.8 on the A55. Choose the A55 if you'll replace the phone within a year and a half. Choose the refurbished Galaxy A56 5G listing if you want to keep it.

Which charges fastest, and which screens have the best published figures?

The A36 5G and A56 5G are the only phones here that support 45W wired charging, and the only two with Samsung's official 1,200-nit high-brightness figure on a 6.7-inch 120Hz AMOLED screen. The A36 is the cheaper route by £32.00 (£243.99 minus £211.99). Everything else charges at 25W.

Two practical points. Samsung sells the 45W charger separately, and refurbished phones come with a cable but no plug, so you only see the faster speed with a compatible 45W charger. And the A36 runs on a Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 chip, the same chipset Samsung names for the A27 5G. Among the 25W phones, Samsung quotes 50% in 30 minutes for the A18 and 45% for the A27.

Below those two, the A55 5G's 6.6-inch panel carries Samsung's official 1,000-nit figure and the A15 5G's an official 800 nits. The A26 5G and A27 5G also run at 120Hz, but Samsung doesn't publish their brightness, so they can't be ranked on it. The A15 5G, A17 (4G), A17 5G and A18 (4G) run at 90Hz, and the A08 (4G) uses an HD+ LCD.

The A36's limits are the missing memory card slot and an 8MP ultra-wide, where the A55 and A56 have 12MP. Our head-to-head of the refurbished A26 and A36 covers that pairing in more depth.

128GB or 256GB: where is the storage value?

The cheapest 256GB upgrade in this band is on the A55 5G, at £15.00. The A17 5G and A26 5G charge £29.00 and the A36 5G £37.00. The A54 5G 256GB at £184.99 is the one to skip: £10.00 more buys a 256GB A55 with a larger 6.6-inch screen and a metal frame.

The best-value 256GB phone, though, is the A26. A 256GB A26 and a 256GB A55 both cost £194.99 in Very Good. The A55 has the better camera, an official 1,000-nit screen figure, a metal frame and eSIM; the A26 has 36.0 more months of updates (53.8 against 17.8). For a phone you'll keep, that runway wins.

Memory cards change the maths. The A26 5G, A17 (4G), A17 5G, A55 5G, A54 5G, A27 5G, A18 (4G) and A15 5G take a card in the second SIM slot, and the A08 (4G) has a dedicated slot. The A36 5G and A56 5G take no card at all, so if you shoot a lot of video on either, the built-in size is all you'll have.

Is it worth stretching towards £250 from under £150?

If you can spend less, the refurbished Galaxy A16 4G (£100.99) and brand-new Galaxy A07 5G (£133.99) are the strongest phones below this band. Stretching is worth it when the extra money buys a better camera and screen without shortening your updates, as the step to the A26 does. It isn't worth it when you pay more for the same end date, as with the A54 to A55.

• Refurbished A16 5G (£128.99) to A26 5G (£165.99): £37.00 buys 120Hz instead of 90Hz, OIS, an 8MP ultra-wide instead of 5MP, an IP67 design rating instead of IP54 and 4.9 more months of updates. Worth it.
• Brand New A07 5G (£133.99) to Brand New A17 4G (£167.99): £34.00 buys an AMOLED screen, OIS, an ultra-wide and NFC, but you lose 5G, 120Hz, the headphone socket and 1,000mAh of battery, and updates end 4.1 months sooner. Worth it for photos and tap-to-pay; not for 5G.
• Refurbished A54 5G 128GB (£124.99) to A55 5G 128GB (£179.99): £55.00 for a larger screen and a metal frame, with the same 31 March 2028 date on Samsung UK's pages. Rarely worth it.
• Refurbished A16 5G (£128.99) to A36 5G (£211.99): £83.00 for 45W charging, a 120Hz screen with an official 1,200-nit figure, OIS, IP67 and eSIM, though you lose the memory card slot. Worth it if you'll keep the phone into 2031.

Three listings that look better value than they are

Galaxy A15 5G, Brand New, £163.99. It's the cheapest sealed 5G phone in the band and has a headphone socket and NFC, but updates end on 31 January 2029 (27.9 months), Samsung doesn't list OIS and no IP rating is stated. For £4.00 more, the sealed A17 (4G) offers OIS, IP54 and 59.8 months of updates, if you can live without 5G.

Galaxy A54 5G 256GB, Refurbished (Very Good), £184.99. It costs £60.00 more than the 128GB A54 below this band, and only £10.00 less than a 256GB A55.

Any Fair grade. The A17 5G and A26 5G (£154.99), A36 5G (£197.99) and A56 5G (£226.99) all show a Fair option. A Fair option is listed; the grading page doesn't define it, so ask the team about its condition before ordering. The A56 recommendation in this guide is based on Very Good at £243.99.

Condition labels in this band, decoded

Refurbished (graded): A17 5G, A26 5G, A36 5G, A54 5G, A55 5G and A56 5G. Pre-owned, tested and cleaned in Manchester, then graded on looks alone. The published grade definitions run from Like New (no visible marks) through Excellent (light signs of use, hard to spot at arm's length) to Very Good (visible marks on the body, screen in good shape), with at least 85% battery health at dispatch on each. You get the phone, a free cable, a SIM tool and protective packaging, but no plug and not the retail box.

For a 2025 model like the A26, Very Good is the value grade: Excellent costs £14.01 more (£180.00) and Like New £32.00 more (£197.99). Our refurbished Galaxy A16 to A56 overview goes model by model.

The A17 5G and A26 listings also show a Brand New option, at £198.99 and £221.99 (checked 5 October 2026); we haven't based any recommendation on those options.

Brand New, sealed: A15 5G and A17 (4G). Unused and sealed in the retail box. Both are models Samsung has sold in the UK, but the units sold here are international stock. The product pages and returns policy list a 12-month warranty from The Tech Gadgets; don't assume Samsung UK's manufacturer warranty applies.

Open Box (Activated), international: Galaxy A08 (4G), A18 (4G) and A27 5G. Each has been unboxed and activated once; the A27 listings add that it was set up, factory reset, checked and signed out of accounts. The A08 and A18 are labelled “International Version (not the UK model)” and the A27 “International stock (UAE or Europe)”.

Every Galaxy A phone in this guide, whatever its condition, is international stock. Box printing and model codes can differ from UK units, and Samsung UK may not carry out manufacturer warranty repairs on non-UK units, so The Tech Gadgets' own 12-month warranty is your cover. The A27 listings say Samsung includes no plug, and the A08 and A18 boxes may not include a UK plug. If you rely on Wi-Fi Calling or 4G Calling (VoLTE) on a particular network, ask the team before ordering. Our guide to how international stock compares with refurbished explains the trade-off.

Whatever the label, treat IP54, IP64 and IP67 as Samsung's design ratings. A refurbished or Open Box phone isn't guaranteed to keep factory water resistance, because seals age and repairs can disturb them, and the warranty excludes liquid damage. Batteries need the same care: the warranty policy lists battery defects and reduced capacity as exclusions, so check battery health in settings when the phone arrives. If the battery turns out to be faulty within 30 days of delivery, your Consumer Rights Act right to reject still applies.

Buying in this price band from The Tech Gadgets

Every phone here is sold SIM-free and unlocked. Place a weekday order by 3pm and it leaves Manchester the same day; standard delivery then takes 1–3 working days and is free above £50, which covers every phone in this guide. The shipping policy explains later cut-offs and next-working-day Special Delivery at £9.99.

For a Very Good A26 or A36, the warranty is 12 months from The Tech Gadgets, starting on delivery and covering faults that develop in normal use, though not accidental or liquid damage. If you'd rather have a sealed phone, the Brand New Galaxy A17 (4G) is the in-band choice, with 59.8 months of updates; its product page and the returns policy list the same 12-month warranty.

If you simply change your mind, the refund policy allows a return within 30 days provided the phone is unused and complete, with return postage at your cost, on top of the 14-day right to cancel. To see this band alongside cheaper models, browse the Samsung Galaxy phones in stock, checking each listing's condition as you go.

Buyer FAQ: Galaxy A-series phones from £150 to £250

Should I buy the Open Box Galaxy A18 (4G) or the Galaxy A27 5G?

For most people, the A27 5G. At £233.99 it costs £5.01 less than the A18 at £239.00, and it adds 5G, a 120Hz screen and the Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 chipset. On our cautious maths the A18's updates run about two months longer (about September 2032 against 31 July 2032), or three on Samsung UK's printed 31 October 2032. Samsung UK's specifications for the UK models list NFC for the A18 but not the A27, and OIS for the A27 but not the A18; The Tech Gadgets' units are international stock.

Is a refurbished Galaxy A55 5G still worth £179.99?

Yes, if you'll upgrade within about a year and a half. It has the band's strongest camera specification for the price, an IP67 design rating, eSIM and a metal frame. The catch is Samsung UK's security date of 31 March 2028, 17.8 months away. Samsung's launch promise of five years suggests updates may run to about March 2029, but plan on the earlier date. If you want four years or more, the A26 at £165.99 or the A56 at £243.99 is safer.

Which phones in this band support eSIM?

On Samsung UK's specifications, the Galaxy A36 5G, A54 5G, A55 5G and A56 5G support eSIM alongside a physical nano-SIM. Samsung UK lists nano-SIM only for the A15 5G, A17 (4G), A17 5G, A18 (4G), A26 5G and A27 5G; the A08 (4G)'s official specification also lists dual nano-SIM only. If your network gives you an eSIM, or you want a physical SIM and an eSIM together, choose one of the four eSIM phones.

Which phones between £150 and £250 have a headphone socket?

Only two, on Samsung's specifications: the Galaxy A08 (4G) and the A15 5G. The A17 (4G), A17 5G, A18 (4G), A26 5G, A27 5G, A36 5G, A54 5G, A55 5G and A56 5G send audio through USB-C, so wired earphones need a USB-C adaptor or a USB-C pair. If you use wired earphones every day, the choice narrows to a 4G phone with an HD+ LCD or a sealed 5G phone with 27.9 months of updates.

Should I buy the brand-new Galaxy A17 4G or a refurbished A17 5G?

They're different models, so pick by network. The sealed Galaxy A17 (4G) at £167.99 has updates to 30 September 2031 and NFC on Samsung UK's spec sheet. The refurbished A17 5G in Very Good at £165.99 adds 5G and costs £2.00 less, with updates to 31 August 2031, but it is pre-owned with visible marks. Both share a 6.7-inch 90Hz AMOLED screen and a 50MP OIS camera.

Will the international A08, A18 and A27 work on UK networks?

The listings say the Galaxy A08 (4G) and A18 (4G) are unlocked for EE, O2, Vodafone and Three on 4G and support the main UK 4G bands, but neither has 5G. The A27 is a 5G phone and works on all UK networks, with 5G available where your network, plan and location support it. Because the UK's 3G network has closed, calls rely on 4G Calling (VoLTE), which international software doesn't support on every network, so ask the team before ordering if you depend on it.

Final verdict: the best Galaxy A-series phone under £250

The refurbished Galaxy A26 5G in Very Good condition at £165.99 is the best Galaxy A phone for most buyers between £150 and £250: a 120Hz AMOLED screen, OIS, an IP67 design rating and 53.8 months of updates, at £3.09 a month and the bottom of the band. Take the 256GB version at £194.99 if storage matters.

Choose the A36 5G at £211.99 instead when 45W charging and an official 1,200-nit brightness figure are worth £46.00 more (£211.99 minus £165.99). Choose the Open Box A27 5G at £233.99 when you want the longest 5G update runway. Choose the A55 5G at £179.99 only for a camera you'll replace within a year and a half, and the A56 5G at £243.99 when you want that camera for years. Skip the 256GB A54 5G and anything in Fair grade until you've asked about it.