Samsung Galaxy A71 Impressions: Much Better than A70, A70s!

Samsung introduced plenty of A-series phones in 2019 with various features under various price segments. It’s 2020 and it’s time for new A-series phones from Samsung. Well, Samsung has gone ahead and done that. Add “1” to the previous A-series phones and you’ll get the new A-series phones: Samsung Galaxy A51(A50+1) and Samsung Galaxy A71(A70+1).

Well, the Samsung Galaxy A71 is now available in Nepal for Rs. 49,999 and is currently available on daraz, SmartDoko and offline stores across the country.

Samsung Galaxy A71 Impressions

In this article. we’ll focus on the Samsung Galaxy A71. Samsung Galaxy A71 is an upper-tier mid-range phone and I haven’t been quite satisfied with its specification in the last two iterations: A70 and A70s. Both used Snapdragon 675 and it’s fair to say they were asking a lot for the price.

But, there are some new upgrades on the A71 this time around but let’s see if they are worth it.

Hardware

I want to talk about the hardware first because that’s where I feel the A71 has received a good upgrade. While the A70 and A70s used Snapdragon 675, Samsung A71 has Snapdragon 730 along with 6GB RAM and 128GB internal storage.

Obviously, we’re gonna get better performance from the Snapdragon 730 but it’s not only that. Snapdragon 730 is 8nm compared to 12nm Snapdragon 675, thus, we get more efficiency along with the performance.

There aren’t other major changes is hardware but they have certainly improved the in-display fingerprint sensor. The optical in-display fingerprint sensor is now faster and much more consistent as well. The problem with the A70 and A70s was, the fingerprint sensor was slow and not consistent and I preferred face unlock for faster access. Well, I don’t have to do that anymore on the A71 though it also has a fast face unlock.

Design

Looking at it, the first change you will see is the camera module. Now, it has 4 cameras in an L arrangement similar to Note 10 Lite and S20 series. Then the other change is on the front, now there’s a punch hole instead of a notch just like the S20 series. Well, the punch hole is not as small as it’s premium counterparts but still, it’s better than the notch.

Except for the changes, the A71 still feels similar to the Galax A71. It still has glastic back and plastic frame. Surely, it looks like glass and feels like it but it’s still plastic.

The back has a glossy finish and there are still those diagonal lines along with the stripes. And, yes, the back gives off a rainbow of colors when the light hits it.

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The buttons are on the right side and there’s a tri-card slot (dual nano+dedicated microSD) on the left. on the bottom, there’s a 3.5mm headphone jack, USB Type C, mic, and a speaker. On top, lies a solo mic.

The phone is big but it’s not uncomfortable to hold on a single hand. Plus, it has a good grip. However, it catches fingerprints quite easily.

Display

Nothing much to talk about in regards to display as it’s very similar to A70. It has a Full HD Super AMOLED Panel and since it’s Samsung display, it’s bright, colorful, and vivid. 90HZ would have been a lot smoother but hey! the battery life would have taken a serious hit.

Camera

At the end of 2019, we saw a lot of quad cameras and that’s what we get on the Samsung Galaxy A71. 64MP main sensor, 12MP Ultrawide sensor, 5MP depth sensor, and a 5MP macro sensor.

The upgraded 64MP main sensor will give you more detailed images and improved low light shots. And, the pixel upgrade on the ultrawide angle is also nice, the 12MP sensor is bound to get you more details and that’s what you need for amazing landscapes.

So, the main sensor and ultrawide sensor have been upgraded but it still has the same 5MP depth sensor. But, there’s a new 5MP Macro sensor that should be superior to a 2MP macro sensor that is common in other mid-range smartphones. Well, we’ll see if it holds true in our full review.

On, the front it still has a 32MP selfie sensor but now it can capture videos up to 4K.

Battery

There are no upgrades in terms of battery capacity and charging. It still has 4500 mAh battery and 25W Fast charging which I think is quite good. But of course, we would love to see a mammoth 5000mAh or 6000mAh battery, wouldn’t we?

Software

Samsung Galaxy A71 is available with One UI 2.0 on top of Android 10. One UI 2.0 doesn’t have many changes but there are some minor improvements.

Most noticeably, the Samsung Edge Panel and Samsung Edge Lighting are now available on the likes of A71 and A51. These features were previously reserved on the premium S series. Well, it’s nice to see the A series get more premium features.

Talking about new, it has new gesture navigation which is similar to native Android.

Now…

Samsung Galaxy A71 is a nice package. We get good upgrades in the camera department and chipset. I for one am happy to see a new chipset and a good one at that.

Other things remain quite similar to the Galaxy A70, but it’s a nice upgrade and a much-needed one I should say. However, it’s asking price of Rs. 49,999 is on the expensive side compared to its competitors. So, I’ll say, the new Samsung Galaxy A71 is a good smartphone. But how good? We’ll find that out in our full review.