Samsung Galaxy A71 review: Reliable mid-range phone

Samsung, earlier in the year, launched the Galaxy A71, the successor of the popular upper mid-range phone Galaxy A70.

. The new phone comes with good upgrades over the predecessor with prices starting at Rs 29,999. Thanks to COVID-19 lockdown, I spent quite a good time with the Galaxy A71, and here are my thoughts.

. Design, display, and build quality: One of the discernible change we see in the Galaxy A71 over the 2019 model is that the shell is visually appealing patterns and reflect psychedelic colours when viewed from different angles, very similar to the latest A51 series and flagship Galaxy Note 10 series.

. Despite the big screen, the phone is really slim and lightweight, making it easy to hold on to the phone and slip it into the pocket. Unlike the other phones, the camera module does not protrude much.

. It features a mic, Type-C USB port, single-grille speaker and a 3.5mm audio jack the bottom. And on the top, the phone has a single mic. On the left, it features a SIM tray with dedicated slots for two SIMs in addition to a microSD card, which is very rare in this price segment. With this, people need not compromise on second-SIM for extra storage.

. On the right, the device houses the volume rocker and the power button place on top of the each other.

. As far as the display is concerned, it flaunts a 6.7-inch full HD+ (1080 x2400p) Super AMOLED Plus with Infinity-O Display design. Only a small spec, which happens to house the front camera, is the only small obstruction on the screen. Rest is fully occupied with the functional display and over a day or two usages, I totally forget the existence of the dot at the top.

. I had a good time watching high-resolution content on Over-The-Top (OTT) apps and playing graphics-rich games. With 384 PPI pixel density, the display quality is really good and I had very little trouble viewing contents under bright sunlight.

. As far as the build quality is concerned, the device comes with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 shield for the display and on the back, it features a sturdy polycarbonate-based shell. Also, the company is offering transparent soft silicone-based back cover, which not only keeps the visual appeal of the phone but also protects the device from drops.

Performance: Samsung's Galaxy A71 houses 8GB RAM, 128GB storage (expandable up to 512GB), and is powered by an 8nm class 8nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 730 octa-core chipset (with Adreno 618 GPU), a good upgrade over the 11nm class Snapdragon 675 in the predecessor.

. The device works buttery smooth in terms of multi-tasking, switching between multiple apps, launching the camera app, recording high-resolution 4K video and while playing a graphics-rich game like Asphalt 9: Legends, it did not show any sign of lag-ness and also, I did not face over-heating issue during a 20-minute session.

. On Geekbench 5.0, it scored a respectable 545 and 1,588 points on single-core and multi-core tests, respectively. On the 3D Mark gaming benchmark app, it got 2,044 on Sling Shot Extreme-OpenGL ES3.1 and 1,862 on Sling Shot Extreme-Vulkan.

. Also, the software Android 10-based One UI 2.0 is clean and easy to use even for a rookie to browse through the settings and find the required feature.

. As far as security is concerned, the face unlock works fine and even in low-light conditions to an extent. However, the in-screen fingerprint sensor worked flawlessly at all times.

. Must read | This Samsung phone was best selling Android phone in Q1 2020

. It houses a 4,500mAh battery with 25W super-fast charger support. It takes 30 minutes to reach from zero to 50% and hit the 100% mark under 85 minutes.

. With normal usage, it can easily last more than a day. Even with extreme usage including gaming sessions, binge-watching videos on multi-media apps, the device will not disappoint and it will last well into the night.

. Camera: The Galaxy A71 boasts a quad-camera module-- main 64MP sensor (f/1.8) + 5MP Depth(f/2.2) + 5MP(f/2.4) for macro shots + 12MP (f/2.2)Ultra Wide sensor with LED flash, panorama, HDR, video recording -- 4K at 30fps, 1080p at 30/240fps and1080p at 960fps.

. The quality of the images captured by the rear camera during the bright sunlight is impressive; the colours of the flowers are bit warmer than natural, but I am not complaining, as they are pretty good worthy to be shared on social media platforms.

. Even the portrait and night mode pictures are good and are on par with any phone under Rs 35,000 range.

. It also comes with an interesting AR Doodle feature we see in the flagship S20 and Note10 series. People can choose various colors of neon or add special effects like water droplets to spice up the sombre video recording session into a fun activity.

. With gyro-EIS (Electronic Image Stabilisation) capability, it takes super steady video, Ultra HD recording, and also supports Crop Zoom capability.

. On the front, it houses a 32MP sensor and it takes really nice selfies, and also there is a new mode slo-mo selfie video recording, which I believe will find good traction with youths.

. Pro Super AMOLED Display Good Processor chipset Long-lasting battery life Decent camera Cons It comes with a polycarbonate body, but it is not a deal-breaker, as the device comes with a soft case that can sustain an accidental drop.

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Samsung Galaxy A71 review: Reliable mid-range phone

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