Samsung Galaxy F41 Review

Samsung Galaxy F41 is the first offering from the South Korean giant under its F series banner which supposedly has a ‘full on’ philosophy. The F41 debuts just in time to leverage the festive sale season. In fact, as part of the Big Billion Days Sale 2020, which starts on October 16, the phone will be available for a competitive price of Rs. 13,999 down from the regular  Rs. 16,999 retail price. (Samsung Galaxy F41 Review हिंदी में पढ़िए)

The Galaxy F41 will be stepping in a royal rumble ring where value kings from Redmi, Poco, Realme, and even Samsung’s own M series are already exchanging blows to claim the title of best phone under Rs 15,000. So will the Galaxy F41 be able to stand its ground? Is this the phone you should buy? Let’s discuss in our Galaxy F41 review. 

Samsung Galaxy F41 Unboxing

Samsung has stopped bundling protective cases in the box across all price segments. It started with Galaxy M31s (review), followed by the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra (review), Galaxy M51(review), Galaxy S20 FE (review), and now the Galaxy F41.

On unboxing the Galaxy F41 you will find the phone, a 15W adaptive fast charger, USB Type-A to Type C cable, a SIM ejector PIN, and documentation. There is no pre-installed screen protector on the display. 

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Samsung Galaxy F41 Specs

Model	Samsung Galaxy F41
Display	6.4″ Super AMOLED Infinity U, FHD+
Front Camera	32MP, 4K Video
Rear Camera	64MP + 8MP ultrawide + 5MP portrait, 4K video
Processor	Exynos 9611
Software	Android 10 with One UI skin
Battery	6000mAh with 15W charger
Memory	6GB LPDDR4x RAM + 64/128GB storage (expandable up to 512GB)
Misc. things	3.5mm jack, USB-C port, Dual 4G VoLTE SIM
Colors	Black, Blue, and Green
Price	Rs. 13,999 | Rs. 16,999

Samsung Galaxy F41 Review: Design and build

Looking at Samsung Galaxy F41 we were instantly reminded of the Galaxy M31 (review). Sure the new gradient color on the glossy polycarbonate back panel is relatively more appealing but the rectangular camera module on the top left corner, the oval-shaped fingerprint sensor, and tapered edges are the exact same as what we had on the earlier set of M30-series phones.

The same resemblance can be seen for the fascia. Expect an additional sensor at the back, there’s no difference between the two phones. 

Having said that, this resemblance is not a problem from a buyer’s perspective. The Galaxy F41 is very comfortable to wield and convenient to handle – and that’s really something when you consider that there is a massive 6000mAh battery within.  

Besides, Samsung isn’t skimping on the basics. Audio jack, dedicated card slot, and USB Type-C port are all there. The phone feels solid and there are no flexes or creaks in the body. 

Samsung offers Galaxy F41 in Fusion Black, Fusion Blue, Fusion Green colors that should appeal to millennials. We have the Fusion Black variant with us and oh boy that sparkling gradient does look tempting.

So, overall, Galaxy F41 manages to absorb in a big battery and remains ergonomic. That’s perhaps a win when you consider phones priced under Rs. 15,000. 

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Samsung Galaxy F41 Review: Display

The Galaxy F41 packs an FHD+ AMOLED screen – which also makes it the most affordable phone with an AMOLED screen to launch in the last few months (post the GST Hike). The panel quality is decent too. 

The Galaxy F41 screen is crisp and vivid. During my usage, I binged Netflix’s ‘Schitt’s Creek’ Season 6 on the Galaxy F41, and everything looked almost perfect. Yeah, the white point is slightly tilted towards cold tone but you can switch from Vivid to Natural color preset to fix that.

Speaking of Netflix, it comes with DRM L1 Widevine certification which is essential for online HD streaming. The 420 nits of peak brightness make the screen fit enough for occasional usage under direct sunlight. Samsung has shielded the screen under Gorilla Glass 3 scratch resistance layer.

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Samsung Galaxy F41 Review: Performance and Software

Do you know what’s common among all Samsung phones priced under Rs 20,000? It is Exynos 9611 (no point for guessing that). All affordable phones in Samsung’s lineup right in 2020 are powered by a 2.3 GHz octa-core Exynos 9611 SoC based on 10nm process.

This is not a particularly snappy chipset or one that will allure gamers, but basic and moderate users should be fine. 

The SoC is assisted by 6GB of LPDDR4X RAM and up to 128GB storage. Using the same chipset over several generations has also given Samsung enough time to optimize its Android 10 based One UI to function smoothly on the hardware. Day-to-day usage was smooth but yes the Exynos 9611 can’t quite match the Snapdragon 700 series options or MediaTek’s G-series gaming chips when it comes to brute force. 

The One UI 2.0 is one of the better and tasteful Android skins in the market but there are generous helpings of bloatware to be wary of. Users are advised to pay attention to the initial setup process to uncheck suggested apps, lock screen posters, and marketing push notification service for a cleaner experience. Most of the third-party apps can be uninstalled. 

Unlike most other new phones, Samsung continues to use its own dialer app and offers auto – call recording option – and depending on your needs, this could be a big advantage. 

So, all said and done, the performance and software aren’t any different from what Samsung has been offering on its affordable phones this past year.  

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Samsung Galaxy F41 camera review

The Galaxy F41 packs three rear cameras and a 32MP selfie camera  – similar to Galaxy M31. The primary 64MP sensor is still Samsung’s own GM1 and it’s paired with an 8MP ultra-wide and a 5MP depth sensor.

In proper day-light, the camera can capture vivid details in highlights and shadows. Focusing is mostly fast and dynamic range is wide. The primary camera however struggles to lock focus in close-ups. 

By default, the primary camera combines four pixels to one and churns out 16MP images, but users also have the option to shoot full 64MP resolution images. We suggest that you only try the full resolution only in excellent lighting conditions.

There is some expected degradation in quality while shooting with the 8MP wide-angle camera, but images are still usable.  

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Samsung software can deftly grab subject edges in the portrait or Live focus mode. The quality is quite good in proper lighting. Portrait shots have sharp details and good color accuracy. 

Indoors and in low light, the camera quality deteriorates as is true for all phones in this price segment. 

The F41 32MP selfie camera delivers detailed 8MP pixel-binned selfies. The Galaxy F41 smoothen out skin blemishes with its beautification feature and Samsung plans to add more custom filters in upcoming updates.

The Galaxy F41 also supports UHD video recording, super slo-mo, hyper-lapse videos. There’s Super Steady which crops footage from the ultra-wide camera for more stable videos.

Samsung Galaxy F41 review: Battery and audio

Samsung has been very generous with battery capacities on its affordable phones. The 6000mAh battery on the F41 could comfortably last for more than a day and a half on a single charge. The 15W adaptive fast charging is, however, quite slow by modern standards and takes around 2.5 hours for a full charge. But yes, with such a large tank even 50% is good enough to drive away all anxieties. 

The Galaxy F41 has a mono loudspeaker that delivers about average results. However, the Dolby atmos support on headphones makes it a good content consumption device. 

Samsung Galaxy F41 review verdict: should you buy it?

Samsung Galaxy F41 belongs to a new series but it strictly and safely adheres to the tried and tested M-series formula. This is perhaps ok because Samsung’s M30 series has been a massive success and appeals to consumers in India. 

The Galaxy F41 offers an AMOLED screen for a very affordable price, has a very assuring 6000mAh battery capacity, a tasteful software, and, as always, will also benefit from Samsung branding. 

The performance hardware isn’t class-leading but it should suffice for basic and moderate consumers. The camera performance is on par with what we usually see in this price segment. 

It does sound like a  sweet deal for the introductory effective price of Rs. 13,999 during the Big Billion Days 2020 sale. 

 Pros 

• Good quality AMOLED display
• Excellent battery backup
• Fast fingerprint and face unlock
• HD Streaming Support
• Ergonomic design

Cons

• Not great for gaming 
• Fast charging isn’t fast enough

Samsung F41 Unboxing & Quick Overview Video [in Hindi]