Samsung plans to equip its upcoming Galaxy A38 with the same budget-friendly OLED display currently found in the Galaxy A27, aiming to lower production costs ahead of the model’s 2027 launch. Rather than introducing new screen technology, Samsung’s MX division is repurposing an existing panel from its lower-tier lineup to keep expenses down.
The Galaxy A27 sports a 6.7-inch AMOLED display with Full HD+ resolution, a 120 Hz refresh rate, and a peak brightness of 800 nits. It runs on the Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 chipset and comes with 6 or 8 GB of LPDDR5X RAM alongside 128 or 256 GB of UFS 3.1 storage. If the A38 indeed inherits this screen, it would maintain the same core specs but fall behind higher-end models in brightness levels and feature sets.
Industry insiders compare this panel with that of the Galaxy A37, which also uses a 6.7-inch 1080×2340 pixel display at 120 Hz but delivers nearly 1900 nits outdoors and supports Always-on Display. The A27’s screen lacks both the higher brightness and Always-on capabilities and is considered cheaper due to its materials and manufacturing process. For Samsung, this approach is a familiar way to differentiate models within the same series without redesigning the hardware.
This move fits a wider trend in the smartphone industry, where manufacturers increasingly cut costs on less visible components such as displays, vibration motors, and camera modules instead of the main processors. Mid-range phones from brands like Redmi, realme, and Honor have already set a high bar by including OLED displays with 120 Hz refresh rates and peak brightness exceeding 1500-2000 nits. Against this backdrop, an 800-nit screen looks modest-even for an entry-level mid-tier device.
For the Galaxy A38’s reuse of the A27’s panel to make commercial sense, Samsung will need to price it aggressively. If the A38 ends up in the usual price range for Galaxy A3x phones, buyers may quickly notice that some Chinese rivals offer brighter panels and more features without extra cost.
More clarity will come with the official announcement in 2027, which should reveal full specs on the screen, cameras, and pricing.