Samsung Galaxy A71 Review

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Samsung has stacked smartphones in all price segments from affordable to A-grade. Speaking of A, their A-range of phones, albeit mid-range, packs some serious punch to give you the feel of premium. The latest issue of this series is the Galaxy A71, which was launched earlier this week. (Samsung Galaxy A71 Review हिंदी में पढ़िए).

Compared to its predecessor (yup, considering both A70 and A70s), this one brings a better processor, the latest software flair, and a bit different camera suite. All these in a slimmer, lighter and looker profile.

But in a year, the competition has also gotten ferocious. So, does this cut for a good buy under Rs. 30,000? Let’s find out! In case you are thinking about upgrading, this should help you make your mind.

This is Smartprix’s review of Samsung Galaxy A71.

Uh um, first a glance at the spec-sheet and in-box incumbents:

Samsung Galaxy A71 Specs

ModelSamsung Galaxy A71
Display6.7-inch Super AMOLED screen, FHD+ resolution
ProcessorSnapdragon 730 octa-core
RAM8GB
Internal Storage128GB
SoftwareOne UI 2.0 (Android 10)
Rear Camera64MP (f/1.8)+ 12MP Ultrawide (f/2.2)+ 5MP depth sensor (f/2.2)+ 5MP Macro unit (f/2.4) quad cameras
Front Camera32MP (f/2.2)
Battery4500mAh, 25W Fast Charging
India PriceRs. 29,999

Samsung Galaxy A71 Box Contents

  • Mobile Phone (Duh!)
  • Earphone (Ooh)
  • Charging Adapter
  • Double-sided USB Type-C cable (Aha!)
  • Ejection Pin
  • Case (Thank you)
  • User Manual

On with the review then,

Samsung Galaxy A71 Design and Display

Samsung Galaxy A71 Review

Dayum, in this day and age where every phone is getting big and bulky, this one’s a slim beauty! At just 179g, A71‘s easy to pick, carry around, and manage with one hand. The flat display, slightly curvy base, and the plastic body make it easier to wield.

To the right, you have both the volume rocker and the power key. The buttons are tactile. But, they are poorly placed due to which I struggled every time I tried reaching the volume keys. The left houses a SIM tray (with a dedicated SD card slot). At the bottom, there is a mono speaker, USB-C socket and audio jack.

The phone comes in three colors viz Blue, Black and Silver. Ours is the last one. The phone’s refractive surface glimmers a varied array of prismatic colors. A trend well inculcated.

Samsung Galaxy A71 Review

Back to the front, you get a large 6.7-inch expanse with negligible rims and a punch hole. The dark circles around the hole make it look a tad wider than the one on Note 10+. Yes, it is sAMOLED with FHD+ resolution, and as you get what you expect – pleasing, bright and fairly accurate visuals. (Update: Our Galaxy A71 unit do not have the infamous discoloration issue, that’s making rounds in several online forums. That said, I must point that the screen is definitely skewed towards warmer tone.)

There is DRM L1 certification for HD streaming on OTT apps. Even though it skips HDR10, you can still enjoy certain HDR content on Youtube.

You can unlock the phone using Face Unlock and in-display fingerprint scanner, which are painfully slow and spotty. This will definitely find a spot on the cons.

Samsung Galaxy A71 Performance and Experience

Samsung Galaxy A71 Review

As you unlock the device, you are welcomed by One UI 2.0, Samsung’s software based on Android 10. Our unit had the latest January Security update. It’s good to see such punctuality especially with the TouchWiz days in hindsight. It’s a lively and well-thought-out UI. But it isn’t without shortcomings.

  • For starters, upon the first boot, you get a horde of notifications (some persistent) asking you to install apps. Sorry Sammy, I already have about 30+ apps lined up for download on Play Store and Galaxy Store.
  • There is a minor yet ubiquitous sluggishness while navigating through the UI and in-app scrolling.
  • If only there was an option to tweak the iconography. Nah, the Galaxy Theme store doesn’t cut. Something more granular, please! Overall, the UI could do with a bit more customization options. (Hint: Nova or any other 3rd party launcher)

Rest, I rawr the Android 10 goodies like gesture navigation (which is restricted to default launchers for now. Ugh thank you Google!), force resizable windows, privacy measures, etc.

You get the reliable Snapdragon 730 at the foundation along with 8gigs of RAM and 128GB of storage (expandable). Overall, the phone carried itself well (save for the aforementioned software hiccups). Be it fast-paced battle royal in Erangel or defying physics and Asphalt-ing, everything was smooth!

Here are the benchmark standings –

Samsung Galaxy A71 Camera

Galaxy A71 borrows the 32MP front camera and 64MP primary rear shooter from the Galaxy A70s. The latter uses its proprietary ISOCELL Bright GW1 sensor and outs 16MP shots thanks to 4-in-1 pixel binning. Within the camera app, you get an option to ramp the full potential of 64 megapixels. If the photos were straight-up good, this mode slightly boosts the details.

Samsung Galaxy A71 Review

The rest of the quartet includes a 12MP wide-angle, 5MP depth, and a 5MP macro camera. So, compared to its precursor, this one has got a bigger ultrawide sensor, a new macro snapper and FHD slow-mo videos at 960fps.

The camera app offers an easy to sail interface and features a bevy of things to try out. So, I did the same and here’s how the A71 optics fare in the wild –

The daylight shots are well-saturated and right-away ready for social media sharing. They do a handsome job of balancing the whites, highlights shadows. The details are just enough. In some subjects (for instance – the flowers in the above gallery), the colors look fuzzy and the out-of-focus areas tend to be hazy. In spite of that, I would call it reliable in proper outdoor light.

Indoors, the snaps come out underexposed and oversaturated. Given a good amount of light, the subject retains punchy colors and sheen.

And when the lux falls even more down, night mode is there to the rescue (well kinda).

The night mode (which BTW works in tandem with ultrawide mode) brings out more details but tends to oversharpen the subject. It does very little to mitigate the noise.

Let’s now dive into other perspectives, starting with ultrawide –

The results are sharper with ample details and there is a negligible fish-eye distortion by the edges.

And finally, we have the macro mode for close-up shots. If everything from focus to positioning of the camera goes well, you can get some nice clicks.

As for human subjects, the skin tones are subjective to the lighting conditions. Portraits came out just fine save for few misses here and there. Even selfies are pleasing if you turn off the beauty settings or else details will be brushed off. There is even a night mode for the selfies, which lits up the frame but the quality is nothing worth writing home about.

For those of you videographers (both serious and occasional ones), there is 4K video recording at 30 fps with EIS support. For even steadier videos, toggle on the Super Steady mode. Then, there are goodies like AR Emoji, AR Doodle, and Bixby Vision, 1080p @960fps slow-motion videos and RAW capture mode.

Samsung Galaxy A71 Audio, Battery and Connectivity

The basic ingredients of a mobile audio experience are here for sure like the 3.5mm jack, an enjoyable earphone output, an average-sounding speaker unit, Dolby Atmos, and a built-in FM Radio app. I would recommend trying a good pair of earphones for better audio output and just don’t bother the one you get within the box.

It has the laundry list of sensors and connectivity thingies. I had no trouble hearing over calls through an earpiece as well as Bluetooth earbuds (Bluetooth 5.0 LE).

Samsung hasn’t recessed on the battery life either. as A71 bears a 4500mAh biggie, warranting a long day mileage. It comes with a 25W fast charger which tops off the phone in an hour and a half (80 minutes in our testing).

So, it’s time for the closing remark.

Samsung Galaxy A71 Review

Samsung Galaxy A71 Review: Verdict

It might or might not come as a surprise to you that the top-selling Samsung phone of Q3 2019 was the Galaxy A10. Other A-series phones had also done well both critically and financially. The reason is also apparent as they bring value without the flagship-y price tag. Having used the A71 for some time, I do see the reason.

The phone has promising internals and refined design DNA. Despite its lethargic UI, the software is flavoured with features. In other areas of daily usage from gaming to photography also, Galaxy A71 is fairly dependable. Samsung has somehow managed to keep this mid-range offering packed yet petite.

However, just like its form factor, the competition also leaves a slim space for it to shine. So, if you base your purchase on big-number specs, you definitely got better options out there.

Pros

  • Long battery life
  • Sleek and slim design
  • Attractive AMOLED display
  • Feature-ridden and functional UI
  • Daylight shots are good

Cons

  • Fingerprint scanner and face unlock are relatively slower
  • Poor position of the volume rocker
  • Average speakers
  • Low Light photos could be better

Samsung Galaxy A71 FAQ Answered

How much is the Samsung Galaxy A71’s SAR value?

The SAR value of Samsung Galaxy A71 is – 0.98 W/kg (head) and 0.90 W/kg (body).

Does Samsung Galaxy A71 support HDR10 content?

Even though Samsung Galaxy A71 supports HDR content, you don’t get HDR10 support. In case you’re wondering, both HDR 10 and the HDR 10+ are two of the newer standards of HDR.

Does Samsung Galaxy A71 offer Gorilla glass protection?

Yes, the Samsung Galaxy A71 display is shielded by Gorilla Glass 3.

Does the Samsung Galaxy A71 support NaVIC?

No, the Samsung Galaxy A71 does not support ISRO’s NaVIC. Find more about it here.

Does the Samsung Galaxy A71 support Camera2API and Google camera app (GCam)?

Samsung Galaxy A71 comes with Level 3 Camera2API support out of the box and thus, GCam should work just fine.

Is Samsung Galaxy A71 body made of glass?

No, the material used is Glasstic, which is a mix of Glass and Plastic.

Is the Samsung Galaxy A71 water-resistant?

No, the Samsung Galaxy A71 is not water-resistant.

Is there a notification LED on the Samsung Galaxy A71?

No, the Samsung Galaxy A71 doesn’t have a notification LED light.

Is there an IR blaster on the Samsung Galaxy A71 that can be used to control TVs and other devices?

No, there is no IR blaster on the Samsung Galaxy A71.

What is the AnTuTu score of Samsung Galaxy A71?

In our test, Samsung Galaxy A71 5G scored 229867 points in the AnTuTu benchmark.

Does Samsung Galaxy A71 support MicroSD card storage expansion? Is it a dedicated slot?

Yes, Samsung Galaxy A71 supports dedicated expandable storage up to 256GB.

Is there Widevine L1 support on the Samsung Galaxy A71 for HD playback on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, etc?

Samsung Galaxy A71 has DRM Widevine L1 support and is HD streaming ready. However, as of now, I couldn’t run Netflix and Prime Videos at HDR quality. The phone doesn’t bring HDR10 quality. You can run HDR content in YouTube though.

Does Samsung Galaxy A71 support wireless charging?

Unfortunately, no Samsung Galaxy A71 doesn’t support wireless charging. So, that lack of reverse wireless charging goes without saying.

Does Samsung Galaxy A71 support call recording?

No, Galaxy A71 lacks an automatic call recording feature. You have to resort to 3rd party apps on the Play store.

Does the Samsung Galaxy A71 support USB OTG?

Yes, you can connect the external pen drive to the Samsung Galaxy A71 using the USB OTG feature.

Does the Samsung Galaxy A71 support NFC?

Yes, Samsung Galaxy A71 does support NFC in India.

Does the Samsung Galaxy A71 support aptX codec?

No, Samsung Galaxy A71 doesn’t support the aptX codec.

Does the Samsung Galaxy A71 support VoWiFi?

Yes, Samsung Galaxy A71 does support the VoWiFi. Turn on Wifi- calling quick setting tile.

Does Samsung Galaxy A71 support FM Radio?

Yes, the Samsung Galaxy A71 does support FM Radio.

How much does the Samsung Galaxy A71 cost?

Samsung Galaxy A71 is priced at Rs. 29,999 (subject to change over time).

Vasan G.S.Vasan G.S.
An inquisitive mind who spends a big chunk of the day keenly tracking every emerging detail and is responsible for quickly passing on important developments to Smartprix followers. He loves to stay in his bubble scripting his destiny involving amazing technology and people with good character, passion, and brilliance.

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1 Comment
User
rahul
Anonymous
3 years ago

why all galaxy a71 models are facing the yellow or green tint issue probably known as grey uniformity at around 5 to 15 percent brightness enabled? for reference jist google a71 screen issue and read reddit, xda forums and samsung community comments.

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