Samsung today announced a midrange phone for all the major US carriers, but its true value blockbuster may still be waiting in the wings.

The new Galaxy A53 5G will start at $449.99 when it launches on March 31, and an unlocked Galaxy A13 LTE will join it on Samsung.com on April 8. But what we're really waiting for is a US model of the Galaxy A33. Although we heard about a global variety of that phone today, there's no US model announcement.

Samsung's Galaxy S phones get a lot of press, but the Galaxy A series drives sales. The Samsung Galaxy A12 and A32 have recently been the two best-selling Android phones in the US, according to Counterpoint, selling more than any Samsung flagship in the month of October.

Price has helped drive the A12 and A32's successes, and the A13 5G and A53 are more expensive. The A12 came in at $179.99 list, and adding 5G put the A13 5G at $249.99—very close to the A32 5G's $279.99. The LTE-only A13 is $189.99, so it's a better replacement for the A12.

As for the A53, there aren't a lot of other phones currently in the $449 range in the US. Devices mostly tend to be less expensive (and often sold up front, or given away for free or near-free with service plans), or more expensive and sold with long-term payment plans.

That leaves us still hoping for the A33, which could come closer to the A32's $279 price, a number that creates best-sellers.

The A53 has a 6.5-inch, 1080p 120Hz Super AMOLED display. It has 6GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, and a MicroSD memory card slot. The 5,000mAh battery charges using 25W wired charging. The phone has four rear cameras: a 64MP main lens, along with a 12MP ultra-wide, 5MP depth sensor and 5MP macro camera. On the front, the selfie camera is 32MP.

The A53 also shares in Samsung's now-impressive Android update promise: four years of Android OS upgrades and five years of security updates.

Samsung says the phone has an "octa-core 5nm processor" with two 2.4GHz cores and six 2GHz cores. Interestingly, that didn't match up with any existing processor I could find from Samsung, MediaTek, or Qualcomm, although I may be overlooking one.

The spec sheet also doesn't say whether the A53 has millimeter-wave 5G, which is curious. While that used to be assumed if it was launching on Verizon, that isn't the case anymore. The new iPhone SE doesn't have millimeter-wave, so it's possible that's optional.

We'll have a full review of the A53, and more details on it, hopefully next month. Preorders on Samsung.com start today, and pre-orderers get a pair of Galaxy Buds Live.

Sign up for Race to 5G newsletter to get our top mobile tech stories delivered right to your inbox.

This newsletter may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links. Subscribing to a newsletter indicates your consent to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe from the newsletters at any time.

Your subscription has been confirmed. Keep an eye on your inbox!