Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsAmazing Budget Phone That Proves You Don't Need To Spend £1000
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 8 May 2020
I bought this phone as I was looking for a second phone that wasn't too expensive, but wouldn't be horrible to use. I was looking at the iPhone SE 2020, however the difference between using that and my iPhone 11 Pro Max is too much; I'm too pro-big screen now!
Enter the Samsung Galaxy A71; I first heard about this phone from a recommended YouTube video, and after also looking at the A51, I decided to spend the extra and get this. I'm glad I did!
I'll go over the positives, negatives and experience compared to my main phone, the iPhone 11 Pro Max.
POSITIVES
. Very light - this phone is incredibly light for the size! It's very comfortable to hold in one hand.
. Build - a lot of people list plastic bodies as a negative, but I like the change from the typical slippery glass back.
. Amazing screen - the screen on this phone is incredible! It's big at 6.7", and while it may not be 1440p, I find it very sharp. Colours are amazing - it's set to "Natural" tuning out of the box, but I set it to be more saturated and I absolutely love it.
. Battery - at time of review I've had this phone for a few days so take this with a grain of salt, but battery life is great. Lasts throughout the day with no issues, could easily last half way through the next day as well.
. Fast charging - phone completely charges from around 30% in under an hour, close to 40 minutes
. Operating System - Samsung's skin has definitely changed for the better! Last Samsung I had was the S7 edge. Lots of modifications to make handling such a tall phone easier, and the phone feels fast after changing the animation times to be 0.5 times normal.
. What's in the box - if I had just been given the phone and a normal charger I wouldn't have complained since the value would still be amazing, however it comes with a fast charger in the box and a pair of in ear earphones!
. Storage - 128GB storage is insane. The 11 Pro Max starts at 64! It does have expandable storage also, but I haven't used it as 128 is enough for me.
NEGATIVES
. No wireless charging - I really like wireless charging, I use it to charge my iPhone every night. No idea why this is a feature reserved for flagships.
. User experience - this is more on Samsung/Android than the phone itself, but it just doesn't feel as smooth as my 11 Pro max. Even with animations set to normal speeds, some animations just feel jarring. Samsung's UI could do with some more polish.
. Software bloat - this phone comes with a lot of apps pre-installed, where they could just offer the Google version (e.g. the Photos app). Also it comes with Facebook pre installed which I absolutely hate. Luckily you can disable it! On the flip side, some really useful Samsung apps don't come pre installed, such as Good Lock and Samsung Pass.
. Speaker - the speaker setup on this is dreadful. One bottom facing speaker which is easily blocked with one finger. Should have gone for a dial speaker setup which is the norm right now.
. Camera - this phones camera isn't bad. I actually like the versatility of the camera setup. What I don't like it how terrble the pictures looked out of the box. It wasnt until using it a few times that I realised that it doesn't use the 64MP sensor by default - you have to change from 3:2 to 3:2 64MP camera mode, which I found really confusing.
. Performance - while this phone performs perfectly fine for 80% of the time, the 20% of the time that it doesn't it noticeable. Freezing when I go into an app (typically happens in Chrome), taking a while to realise I've turned the phone into horizontal mode. Also there seems to be a consistent bug where I'll stop getting notifications during the later half of the day, for no rhyme or reason. I have nothing set up stopping notifications from coming in. Restarting the phone fixes this issue, but even doing so made me realise that I've never had to do that with my 11 Pro Max.
VS THE 11 PRO MAX
This phone makes me feel stupid for buying the 11 Pro Max. There, I said it.
. While using this phone, I honestly cannot justify spending over £1000 for the 11 Pro Max, or any other phone!
. I prefer holding this phone since it's much lighter, less slippery and I feel a lot less anxious - dropping a £300 phone would worry me less than dropping the Pro Max!
. The display is bigger and more colourful, I actually prefer the display on this phone over the one on the 11 Pro Max!
. I miss wireless charging so much
. I miss the simplicity of iOS. Android is nice, but iOS makes a lot more sense and has a much more pleasant user experience. I do appreciate being able to play Pokémon Emerald on this though.
. The camera quality and experience is a lot better on the iPhone.
. Battery life is better on the 11 Pro Max by about 25%
SUMMARY
I may have listed quite a few negatives on this phone, and comparing it to an iPhone 11 Pro Max may feel unfair, but I really like this phone and it more than holds its ground against the Apple flagship, I'm honestly surprised that budget phones have come such a long way; it shows that mobile phones arent developing as rapidly as they once were.
I originally intended for this phone to be a backup/holiday phone, but I might just start taking it in turns, swapping my sim from the iPhone to the Samsung and vice versa.
For the A72, my advice would be to add wireless charging and a stereo speaker setup, even if you need to charge a bit more. Keep the amazing display and lightness and you have yourself a winner.
(Review written on my Samsung A71)
