The best Samsung phones you couldn’t buy in the US

Samsung’s global lineup has always been larger than the area we saw in the United States. Over the years, some of the most interesting, ambitious or just fun devices have been held elsewhere, often by design. From luxurious foldingness to engineering experiments, here is Best Samsung phones It never did it officially next door.

Ever wondered which phone a billionaire wanted? Samsung W24 and W24 Flip were Ultra Premium versions of Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Flip 5, tailored solely for the Chinese market. These devices added to the standard folding experience with luxurious materials such as ceramic back and gold trim. With 16 GB of RAM and 1 TB storage, W24 was priced at approximately 15,999 CNY (around $ 2,198), while the W24 flip offered 12 GB RAM and 512 GB of storage for around 9,999 CNY (approximately $ 1,374).

While the core hardware is in line with its global colleagues, with Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy Chip and similar camera setup, the W24 series stood apart thanks to the exclusive design elements. They were straight up lavish, and Samsung reserved them only for selected markets.

The Galaxy A82, known in the South Korea as Galaxy Quantum 2, was one of Samsung’s foreign experiments – and a surprisingly powerful phone at the same time. It packed a Snapdragon 855 Plus chip, a 120Hz Amoled screen and a 64MP main camera with optical image stabilization, making it closer to a flagship than most A-series devices at the time.

However, what separated the A82 was its quantity random number generator chip. Samsung marketed it as a boost for security -conscious users, and allegedly offers better protection for apps such as bank, messages and authentication. It was a strange idea, although the practical benefits were difficult to notice. The phone was launched in the South Korea on KRW 699,600 (around $ 622). Outside Korea, the A82 never saw a broader release. It was a shame, because during marketing gimmicks it was a well -built, high specific device that could give us buyers an interesting alternative to more expensive flagships.

Before the modern era of folding started, Samsung already mixed nostalgia and luxury with devices such as Galaxy W2016. This high-end flip phone was running a full version of AndroidComplete with double 3.9-inch touch screens, a T9 physical keyboard and an elegant design made of glass and metal. It looked like a classic clam from the outside, but under the hood it had hardware comparable to the Galaxy S6, including a Samsung Exynos processor and a 16MP camera.

W2016 launched exclusively in China at a hefty price, allegedly around 9,999 CNY, or about $ 1,570. It will be equivalent to almost $ 2,100 in today’s money. It was never intended for a mass market appeal; Instead, it fit a niche group of buyers who wanted prestige for a traditional flip phone without giving up modern smartphone features. For American consumers, it remained an exotic curiosity.

The Galaxy A80 seemed to be Samsung who proved that it could still innovate with their phones. Instead of a notch or a punch-hole camera, the A80 used a smart slider-and-flip mechanism: the rear cameras appeared and rotated forward for selfies, leaving its 6.7-inch OLED screen completely uninterrupted. The Triple Camera setup included a 48MP primary sensor, an 8MP Ultrawide lens and a 3D depth sensor -all of which made double duty for selfies and regular images.

In addition to the prominent design, the A80 offered a Snapdragon 730 chip, 8 GB RAM, 128 GB of storage and 25W fast charging. However, there were two fan favorite features that would continue to disappear from high-end phones: a microSD card track and a 3.5 mm headphone connector. The phone was launched at around £ 616 (around $ 780) via British dealers, making it significantly more expensive than siblings, the Galaxy A70. While questions about prolonged durability hovered over the flip mechanism, the A80 is still one of Samsung’s daring designs that never officially landed in the United States.

The Galaxy M51 Was not flashy, but it was a midrange monster where it counted: battery life. Samsung packed a large 7,000 mAh battery inside, making it the biggest capacity the company had ever put in a phone at that time. It also combined a Snapdragon 730G chip with a 6.7-inch AMOLED screen and 25W fast charging. It still took a full top-up about two hours, but the M51 delivered endurance most phones could only dream of.

The device also offered a skilled four camera setup, including a 64MP main sensor, and held its own in general performance tests. Although it was not officially sold in the United States, it could easily have found a home among buyers who prioritized practical specifications rather than flashy accessories.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 Special Edition Was a first -class iteration of the folding series of phones, which was solely launched in the South Korea and China. This model stood out with its leaner and lighter design, and measured only 10.6 mm thick when folded and weighed 236 grams, making it more laptop than its standard counterpart.

The unit contained an 8-inch main display and a 6.5-inch cover, both slightly larger than those on the regular Z board 6. A significant upgrade was 200MP the main camera and replaced the 50MP sensor found in the standard model. Under the hood, the Snapdragon House 8 Gen 3 for the Galaxy processor, paired with 16 GB of RAM and 512 GB of storage. To achieve its elegant profile, however, Samsung S Pen support excluded.

Priced at approximately KRW 2,789,600 (around $ 2,035), the special edition offered a mixture of performance and exclusivity, even though it remained out of reach for many because of the limited regional accessibility.

We were surprised to discover how many phones Samsung has held back from the United States over the years, sometimes because they were designed for specific regions and sometimes because they were just a little too unusual. In addition to those we have already highlighted, there was much more we could have included, from Robuste Xcover models to other battery monsters such as Galaxy F62 or experiments such as the Tizen-driven Galaxy Z3.

Here are some more interesting examples that deserve a nod.

Samsung Galaxy K Zoom (2014)

Galaxy K Zoom was part of a smartphone and part-and-clay camera. It packed a 10x optical zoom lens that physically expanded from the body, which made it less than pocket -friendly, but really impressive. It was one of Samsung’s more daring experiments, although it never officially came to the United States.

Samsung Galaxy A55 (2024)

The Galaxy A55 offered a metal frame, solid performance and a beautiful screen – just the type of midrange that usually sells well in the United States. However, Samsung broke the pattern by skipping an American launch, leaving buyers without a natural successor to the popular A54.

Samsung Galaxy Beam and Beam 2 (2012/2014)

Need a built -in projector in your phone? Samsung thought you could. The Galaxy Beam series can project videos and presentations right on a wall. It wasn’t exactly a bestseller, but it was one of Samsung’s more charming weird ideas and one who never took off outside Asia.

Was there any other interesting Samsung phones you once had an eye on, but never got a chance to buy in the United States? Let us know in the comments.