Spending more time on your phone these days? Whether it’s out of pandemic boredom, or working-from-home-needs, I bet a lot of us are evaluating our handsets right now. It’s a great time then to see some new phones coming on the market. Two of the newest are from Samsung: The Samsung Galaxy A51 and Galaxy A71. What’s the difference and what’s it like using these phones? I’m going to dig in so you don’t need to wonder.
Review: Samsung Galaxy A51 and Galaxy A71 smartphones
These smartphones are designed to create what Samsung says are “accessible and exciting mobile experiences for Canadians”. While I’m all about the excitement of a new smartphone, I’ll reserve judgement on how much of a game changer these are…
What is Samsung Galaxy A?
Samsung’s Galaxy A lineup is designed to give you everything you want from a phone in an affordable package. With many of the standard features of higher end phones, the Galaxy A phones will save you some dough. The Galaxy A71 costs about $599.99 and the Galaxy A51 is available for $479.99.
Despite the lower price point, the Galaxy A71 and Galaxy A51 promise long-lasting battery life, a quad camera and Samsung’s easy on the eyes Infinity-O display. These new phones are slim, light and beautifully designed, and they also sport a headphone jack. There’s no Qi or wireless charging available, however.
What’s the difference: Samsung Galaxy A51 and Galaxy A71
The key difference between these phones is the internal memory and speed. Otherwise they’re largely the same. The Galaxy A51 has 64gb memory and the A71 comes with 128gb. The A51 has an advanced Octa-core processor and 4GB of RAM deliver smooth and efficient performance. The A71 has the Octa-ore processor and 6GB RAM with expandable memory, up to a 512GB MicroSD card.
These phones come with the full suite of Samsung and Google apps, like Gmail, Messages, a web browser, camera and lots more. Since those are kind of standard equipment, I won’t get into the details on them. I’m also not going to bother with the specs here, because you guys have likley already googled that.
Samsung makes sexy screens: AMOLED & Infinity-O
Samsung phones always look sharp in my opinion. Their screens are stunning and vibrant 6.5” Super AMOLED displays, and they use what’s called in Samsung language the “Infinity-O Display”, which really just means it’s got an edge-to-edge design so you get a full visual experience. The screens are extremely lifelike and look like you could reach right into them.
Quad camera array on Galaxy A51 & A71
Quad camera array on Galaxy A51 & A71Photos have always been amazing in my experience reviewing Samsung phones, so the Samsung Galaxy A51 and Galaxy A71 should be no different. The ultra high-res 48MP Main Camera takes crisp, clear photos day and night.
A 123° 12MP ultra wide angle lens lets you take in more of the view, while the 5MP Macro lens for super close-ups. Stabilization helps keep your videos smooth too.
I took the Samsung Galaxy A51 and Galaxy A71 out for an evening of photography and found that it took lovely photos even on a cold, dark and stormy night. I will say the overall photo quality isn’t as great as some of the higher end phones, Samsungs included, (I noticed a bit of washout and some dullness in late evening shots), but most folks will be happy with the quality for price exchange here.
Similarly, the Macro photos don’t both that OMG-level of detail and I had to work to get photos in focus. Bottom line, serious phone photogs will likley want to upgrade, but for the average Janes and Joes, this will be just fine.
Shooting videos
The Galaxy A51 and Galaxy A71 don;t have 4K or 8K video capabilities like some of the newer phones out there, just HD video recording. But for most folks in most uses, this is more than fine right now, and means you don’t need a lot of extra storage.
Battery Life
The Samsung Galaxy A51 and Galaxy A71 have batteries designed to last the day. The Galaxy A71 and Galaxy A51 come with 4,500 mAh and 4,000 mAh batteries, respectively, and both devices come with fast 15W charging capabilities.
Watching Videos is a dream
Watching videos on this phone is enjoyable; the colour replication seems pretty good, and the screen is crsip and detailed. It might lack some of the immersive depth and sharpness of other higher end screens, but you’re getting these phones at a lower price than some of those others.
Overall review Samsung Galaxy A51 and Galaxy A71
Overall, the Samsung Galaxy A51 and Galaxy A71 are great phones; they measure up quite well against the higher end Samsung phones, and you’d be hard pressed to feel like you’re missing much here. Saving literally hundreds of dollars will also have you feeling pretty good about one of these too.
I have no complaints about this phone at this price… any things I do feel are missing here can be found by increasing my budget to move to Samsung’s S-range phones.
The Galaxy A71 is available to purchase for $599.99CAD and the Galaxy A51 is available for $479.99. and as you know you can get better deals through Canadian cell carriers.
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