Unfortunately, the most popular phone companies are increasing the prices of their high-end devices every day. Those flagship phones that cost about $ 700 were left in the past. However, Samsung is one of those companies that have not forgotten users who want quality but at a more affordable price and for this reason, recently launched the new Samsung Galaxy A51.
This device is last year’s Galaxy A50 update . It offers a modern design and some high-end features, but it also sacrifices some performance and camera details for $ 400.
Will the Galaxy A51 be a good investment? Will it be able to compete with Apple‘s popular iPhone SE ? After using it for several days, I give you my verdict.
Design
If there is one feature that stands out and catches the attention of this phone is its design.
On the front of the phone, you can see an edge-to-edge screen, with a perforation cutout in the middle for the front camera. On the back, specifically in the upper left, you will find a rectangular protrusion, which is where the camera is housed, similar to the Galaxy S20 series.
The rectangle that borders the rear camera doesn’t protrude much, which not only makes the phone look more elegant, but also allows it to be more stable when placed on the desk.
On the left side of the phone is the SIM tray, while on the right is the power button and volume control. At the bottom you’ll see a USB-C port, and a headphone jack, which means you won’t have to suffer when you want to charge your phone and wear headphones at the same time.
The screen of the Galaxy A51 is quite modern not only because it covers the entire front of the phone, but also because it has a large 6.5-inch size, much larger than the 4.7-inch screen of the iPhone SE or Pixel 3a.
The Galaxy A51 comes in several colors: silver, black and blue, and although the one we tested is black, I must admit that in the photos, blue looks more striking.
Despite the fact that the screen is not as impressive as that of the Galaxy S20 series phones and the back is plastic instead of glass, the truth is that a phone with a lot of style and a design that makes you fall in love.
screen
The Galaxy A51’s screen is 6.5 inches and boasts a 1,080 x 2,400 resolution, but perhaps most importantly its AMOLED technology, which offers deep black levels and vivid colors.
This quality makes the screen of this phone better than that of its closest competitor, the iPhone SE, since we remember that the mid-range Apple phone adopts OLED technology. It also gives the device an advantage over the Moto G Stylus, which matches the resolution, but features LCD technology.
At the bottom of the screen, it has an optical fingerprint sensor. In the tests that I did, the sensor worked well, although sometimes it took several seconds to recognize my fingerprint, which can be a bit frustrating.
performance
Although its design makes it look like a high-end phone, its performance reveals its true nature.
Under the hood, this phone features a Samsung Exynos 9611 processor, along with 4GB, 6GB, or 8GB of RAM, depending on the model you choose.
While the Exynos 9611 is marketed as a new chip, it’s actually just a recycled Exynos 9610 that enables the 48-megapixel main camera sensor. The Exynos 9610 appeared in last year’s Galaxy A50, and at that time it was already underpowered. In a world with the iPhone SE equipped with A13, and even the Google Pixel 3a equipped with Snapdragon 670, the truth is that the Galaxy A51 lags a bit behind for its performance.
When I tested the phone, it had no trouble executing some basic tasks, however when the apps I used included animations, its performance was not so smooth and sometimes it froze. The same thing happened when I tried to play with him.
software
Samsung’s One UI has improved over the years, however it’s still a long way from Android. If you are looking for a superior experience, you should consider purchasing Pixel 3a instead.
One UI has its own very personal aesthetic although personally, I prefer the cleaner look of Android stock.
On this phone, you will get the second iteration of One UI, One UI 2.0, which is on Android 10. It looks good and the truth is easy to adapt if you come from a different manufacturer.
The Galaxy A51 is likely to receive an update or two, but don’t expect them to be the best. You will have to deal with Bixby on the Galaxy A51 as there is no native way to reassign the Bixby shortcut to another wizard.
Camera quality
One of the great attributes of Samsung phones is its camera and despite the fact that the Galaxy A51 is mid-range, it is not far behind.
At the rear, the Galaxy A51 features a four-lens camera. The main sensor is 48 megapixels, followed by an ultra-wide 12-megapixel sensor, another 5-megapixel macro, and a 5-megapixel depth sensor.
In the tests I carried out, you can see how the camera manages to capture great photos in places with good lighting, probably due to its large 48-megapixel sensor. Also, I liked how it recreates the details of all the components of the shot with great accuracy and vivid colors. However, sometimes it exaggerates the intensity of the real colors and makes the photos look somewhat fictitious.
When I tested the camera in places such as poor lighting, the situation changed completely, as the photos weren’t as good, the quality of the details and the vivid colors that stand out in the photos with good lighting were lost.
It is worth noting that this device also has a macro lens that unfortunately does not have its own autofocus. With it you can achieve some good results with some work, but it is probably a function that not everyone knows how to use well.
A powerful battery
The Galaxy A51 has a large 4,000 mAh battery and in the tests that I carried out, it not only met my expectations, but also exceeded them.
The phone was able to withstand a full day of frequent use, which included calls, YouTube videos, gameplay, and dozens of messages. Also, with the same charge, I was able to use it the next day for a couple of hours more. If for you the battery, you will love this device.
However, unlike other phones in this price range, the Samsung Galaxy A51 does not offer wireless charging. It has a fast 15 watt charge, which is slow for that technology.
Price and availability
The Samsung Galaxy A51 costs $ 400, which places it in the same price range as the iPhone SE, Google Pixel 3a, and Motorola Moto G Stylus.
The device is available from May 8 on the Samsung website , as well as Verizon , Sprint, AT&T and unlocked on Amazon . It’s worth noting that Verizon is offering the phone for just $ 10 a month for 24 months, bringing the total down to just $ 240.
For its part, the Samsung website offers you the opportunity to receive your old device so that you only have to pay $ 229.99 dollars.
If you are a music lover, you will love to know that the Galaxy A51 comes with the option of two months of YouTube Premium and six months of Spotify Premium free for new users.
Is it worth buying?
The Galaxy A51 is a phone with great qualities and a convenient price, but it’s not perfect. Surely for its price, Samsung has limited itself to making major improvements to its camera and has some software shortcomings that can be annoying. And in addition, it has two major competitors in the market such as the iPhone SE and the Pixel 3a.
However, it has a very elegant design and an extraordinary battery and if you can take advantage of some promotions such as the one offered by Verizon and Samsung, you could get a very good phone for less than $ 300 dollars.