Samsung Galaxy A05 Review - Best Budget Samsung Phone?
Samsung has a phone in every price point from a thousand dollars down to 100 dollars. They remain a force in terms of high-end phones with the foldable, flips, and flagships giving other brands a run for their money. The entry-level and budget space has serious competition with brands like Xiaomi, Tecno, Infinix, and Realme offering many options that might be better than the Samsung Galaxy A05. In this review, we are going to be talking about everything there is to know about the Galaxy A05 and if it is worth buying.
Samsung Galaxy A05 Review – Should You Buy?
Our review of Samsung Galaxy A05
Positives
- Excellent Software Experience
- Good Design & Build Quality
- Great Display
- Fast Charging & Good Battery Life
Negatives
- No fingerprint Sensor
Samsung Galaxy A05 Price & Design Aspect
The Samsung Galaxy A05 is the base model of the A series for 2024 and it seems to be getting the hype. Depending on where you are watching from you might pay below or slightly above $100 to buy the base model. If you are in Nigeria you can buy it for around 90 to 95K at the time of writing. I have the black color option here with me and while in picture it looks like it has a matte plastic finish the reality is that it has a glossy finish. My color option here is prone to fingerprint stains and Samsung is not giving you a case in the box of the phone. With just a glance you can tell it’s a Samsung phone and it is becoming a bit difficult to differentiate the more expensive Samsung phones from the cheap ones. They all look the same at least until you hold them in your hands. In terms of design, I would also say there are some bits of refinement coming from the Galaxy A04 of last year. The Galaxy A05 looks better. We have two cameras at the back, with a primary 50MP camera and a 2MP secondary lens at the back. It has a single down-firing speaker that sounds decent for the price, maybe only the Tecno Spark 20 might sound better around the same price. I might compare it with the Redmi 13C let me know in the comment if you want that. It also charges through a USB C port and there is also a headphone port as expected for a phone within its price. What is not expected is that It does have a fingerprint scanner you only get an unlock key on the right side with the volume keys slightly above. I don’t think there is any competing phone out there that doesn’t have a fingerprint scanner. The frames are plastic and overall in hand it is slippery, you need to put a case on the phone when you buy it. I’m impressed by the looks of the phone and how it separates itself from other phones out there that continue to look the same.
Display Aspect
Flipping upfront we have a 6.7-inch PLS LCD display with a 720p resolution and 60Hz refresh rate. I wonder why Samsung is compromising on the high refresh rate because all other competing phones have a 90Hz refresh rate. Some might say that the average consumer might not care but I beg to differ. Once you see how smoother it gets with a refresh rate then you might not want to go back. Is the display bad I will say no it is responsive to touch and bright. Colors also pop on the screen. It is just as expected on a budget phone. The other issue is the display style we have what Samsung calls infinity U which looks dated. I appreciate the punch hole cut out on the Tecno Spark 20 and I feel it should be the standard even at this price category. I might be nit picking which is because I have seen it on other cheap phones and I expect Samsung to set the standards. The size might make it impossible for some users to operate it with one hand. Having a high refresh rate on the display might have made the phone even easier to recommend.
Software Aspect
Software is one aspect where the Samsung Galaxy A05 has an edge at least. It is running on Android 13 based on One UI 5.1 core edition. What core simply means that you are going to miss out on some features of the one UI. Like the secure folder, Edge Panels, and Knox security. If you don’t know you won’t be able to separate it from the main One UI 5. One thing I love is the wallpaper theming which isn’t available on the competing phones. You are also guaranteed at least two software updates on the phone. Android 14 will soon be on the phone, and Android 15 is assured, it might even go beyond but Samsung hasn’t made it clear. Since you don’t have the Fingerprint scanner there is a face unlock option in the setting but I don’t use it and I won’t recommend it. However, it works just fine not fast enough though. Another thing I was quick to test is a split screen and you can open two apps on the phone at the same time. The Redmi 13C users were quick to acknowledge the absence of the feature on the phone well it’s available here. In terms of software, everything feels typical of a Samsung phone and the experience is smooth.
Performance Aspect
The phone is powered by the Mediatek Helio G85 which the same chipset is found on the closest phones it’s competing with. I have been impressed with multitasking and gaming. You also need to know that it is by no means a gaming phone. The phone performs just as expected. You get 4GB RAM and 64GB storage space with the base model and you have to pay a bit more for the 4GB and 128GB storage space option. There are other options out there with more RAM and storage around the same price point.
Samsung Galaxy A05 Camera Review
The Galaxy A05 has a 50MP primary camera, and a second 2MP lens at the back. The selfie camera is 8MP and on paper the obvious improvement seem to be the 8MP selfie camera when compared with the Galaxy A04. Before we start talking about the images from the camera, there are noticeable lags when taking pictures using the camera app. You will also see how it struggles when you switch between the options in the camera app. The images you get from the phone are decent when you factor in the price. However there are instances where you need to remain still when taking photos. You need to be in an area with good light when snapping pictures, and your hands need to be still. There is portrait mode and they are quite decent though there are in consistent. The selfie camera is average at best as HDR is completely off most of the time. It can shoot videos at 1080p 60 fps or 30fps and there isn’t any form of stability.
Battery Life & Charging Speed
It has a 5000mAh battery and the phone supports 25 watts fast charging which is impressive. For the price, no other phone comes close. The problem is that you have to buy the 25-watt fast charger separately because Samsung is not giving you one in the box. The battery life is superb and it can last a whole day on a single charge.
Rounding Up
Finally is the phone worth buying? There is a bit of a problem recommending it even though it’s not a bad phone. The lack of a fingerprint scanner and high refresh rate on the display might be deal breakers to some people. On the other hand, there is good software experience and updates which is rare at this price point. What else do you want to know about the Samsung Galaxy A05? Let me know in the comment section.