Samsung Galaxy A31 review: Capable and reliable
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Critic
3.5
User
3.9
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Samsung Galaxy A31
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The A-series from
Samsung
has been kind of a ‘testing’ ground for the company. The South Korean tech giant often brings features to the A-series devices before they are refined and upgraded to the premium Galaxy S series of phones. We have seen this in the past and the latest in line of A-series smartphones is the Galaxy A31. We used the new Galaxy A31 for some time and here is our review:
Design
The
Samsung Galaxy A31
looks like most of the other A-series smartphones. In fact, the phone looks a lot similar to the
Galaxy A51
, which the company launched this year. However, the interesting thing to note is that despite a huge battery the smartphone remains light in weight and is also pretty sleek. The smartphone comes with a Samsung Infinity U display surrounded by thin bezels. The punch-hole display also houses a 20MP selfie camera. The device comes with a shiny back panel which smooth finish which makes the device a fingerprint magnet. In order to create a distinct look, Samsung has divided the back panel into four parts of different shades and a pattern of lines placed at the bottom. The design enables the rear panel of the device to shine when it catches light from different angles giving a rainbow effect. Along with the Samsung branding, the rear of the device also houses a quad-camera setup. One can find the power button and the volume rockers placed on the right side of the device, while the SIM card tray is located on the left. The bottom of the smartphone houses the speaker grill, charging port and the 3.5mm audio jack.
Display
The Samsung Galaxy A31 features a 6.4-inch full HD+ display with 1080×2400 pixel resolution. We found the display to be pretty good as it manages to offer an adequate amount of brightness both indoors and outdoors. The large display offers wide viewing angles and once enjoys playing games and watching online content on the device. One of the interesting and most handy features of the display is the screen edge shortcut (it is quite a nifty feature). The screen edge shortcut enables users to quickly access the apps of their choice without unlocking the phone. You just have to swipe from the right and access the apps on the small vertical screen. You can always place the apps of your choice on this screen. Other than this, you get the usual Blue light filter, system-wide dark mode, and always-on display functionality in the display. There is also an in-display fingerprint sensor that works pretty well and you don’t have to struggle in unlocking your device.
Performance
The Samsung Galaxy A31 is powered by an octa-core MediaTek Helio P65 processor which is not a great one. We would have appreciated a better processor like the one which the company offers in the
Galaxy M21
and Galaxy M31. The smartphone packs 4GB/6GB of RAM and offer two storage variants of 64GB and 128GB. Users can also add more storage by installing a microSD card. That’s said the smartphone is a smooth performer if not great. The device managed multi-tasking well, but we witnessed lag while playing games. Moreover, the graphics were also not up to the mark. Other than this, the smartphone is capable of handling routine tasks very well and you will not have a problem with that. But if you are buying it for playing games then it will not be an ideal choice. On the other hand, the smartphone offers a good audio experience and you can enjoy music and movies on both speakers and with headphones on.
The Samsung Galaxy A31 runs Android 10 operating system topped with the company’s own layer of One UI 2. The software experience is largely the same as the other Samsung smartphones. The user interface is quite clean and you also get an app drawer which means that you can keep your home screen clutter-free. Just like the other Samsung devices this one also comes with its share of bloatware which includes apps like Facebook, Amazon, Snapchat, and others. The software of the device also brings some interesting features like digital wellbeing, dark mode, non-intrusive incoming call UI, themes support, one-hand mode, and others.
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Camera
Talking about the camera, the Samsung Galaxy A31 sports a quad-camera setup which comprises 48MP main sensor with LED flash, f/2.0 aperture, 8MP 123° ultra-wide-angle camera with f/2.2 aperture, 5MP depth sensor with f/2.4 aperture and 5MP macro sensor with f/2.4 aperture. The front houses a 20MP selfie shooter with f/2.2 aperture. The camera performance of the phone was satisfactory. The camera performs well but it also has its share of drawbacks.
The smartphone offered vibrant and sharp images in daylight but the quality of the images captured at night was not that great. Also at times, the smartphone camera was not able to focus on the object properly. The ultra-wide-angle camera produced good results but it lacked the sharpness and detail offered by the primary sensor. Moreover, we were not quite happy with the macro shooter and felt that the company did a better job with the macro camera of Galaxy M31. The portrait shots turned well as the camera was able to differentiate between the background and subject and the blurring was done perfectly. Another feature that is missing in the Galaxy A31 and was present in the much affordable Galaxy M31 is the dedicated Night Mode. Due to the absence of this mode, the shots taken during the night were below average. The 20MP selfie camera does a satisfactory job as both the selfies are taken indoor and outdoor turned out to be good.
Battery
The Samsung Galaxy A31 is backed by a 5000mAh battery. Looking at the phone one cannot analyse that it houses such a huge battery. The company has also included a 15W charger in the sales pack which takes about 150 minutes to charge the smartphone completely. During our testing, we found that the smartphone easily lasted a day on a single charge.
Verdict
The Samsung Galaxy A31 is a decent smartphone but it is facing competition in-house only. Priced at Rs 20,999, the smartphone ticks all the boxes but its M-series sibling the Galaxy M31 is a better and much affordable option. Display and battery are the highlights of the smartphone. And one cannot overlook its comfortable and sleek design. In all, it is a capable smartphone designed for Samsung fans only.
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3.9
Based on 18 ratings
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