In 2020, Samsung introduced the Galaxy S20 Ultra to the market, and its main selling point was an all-new 108MP rear sensor. The camera experience was a little rough around the edges, but it improved a bit in the Note20 Ultra and the S21 Ultra and even more in this year's S22 Ultra. Up to this point, those 108MP cameras had remained a selling point of the Ultra range, as other S devices didn't get them. But now Samsung has unveiled the Galaxy A73 5G, the phone that's breaking that trend for the first time.

The show-stealers at Samsung's last event were the Galaxy A53 5G and the A33 5G, but the A73 5G reveal was a little muted. Given that it has higher-end specs, we're not sure why Samsung didn't spotlight it. The A73 is only briefly mentioned in passing in Samsung's press release, but the device's product page and specs are still up at its website, and it looks pretty solid.

Some might point out that A73 isn't the very first mid-range phone with a 108MP camera, and that's true. Phones like the Xiaomi Mi Note 10 and the Realme 8 Pro got there first. But this is a Samsung first with a feature usually found in its Ultra range of smartphones. It's not clear if the Galaxy A73 5G's camera sensor is the same as the S22 Ultra's, or if it'll pack some of the other photography-friendly features, but it's impressive. There are also 12MP ultra-wide, 5MP depth, and 5MP macro lenses as auxiliaries and the front camera has a 32MP sensor.

Other listed internal specs include an Octa-Core (2.4GHz, 1.8GHz) processor, and SamMobile reports that this is a Snapdragon 778G. The A73 comes with up to 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage and just like the Galaxy A53 5G, this phone ditches the headphone jack — but the microSD card slot, removed from the S21 lineup last year, remains. The device has a 6.7-inch AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate, and a 5,000 mAh cell battery that can be charged at up to 25W.

The Galaxy A73 5G goes on sale beginning on April 22nd in select markets in black, white, and mint green colorways. The MSRP hasn't been made public yet but if the price is right, it might be one of the most cost-effective ways to get yourself a Samsung phone equipped with a 108MP camera.