Samsung’s Galaxy A series devices have been a big hit since the recent revamping. Last year threw up the A50 and A70 as very popular choices with smartpone buyers in many markets around the world. The Galaxy A71 is a follow-up to the A70 and hopes to gain the same appeal as its predecessor.
In this Samsung Galaxy A71 unboxing and hands-on review, we give you a quick glimpse of the device and share our first impressions.
Samsung Galaxy A71 Quick Specs
What we have is a 6.7-inch Super AMOLED display and Android 10 running under the hood. It has a 64 MP rear quad camera, a 32 MP selfie camera embedded in a centered punch hole, 8 GB RAM (there is a 6 GB RAM variant as well), 128 GB internal memory, and a 4500 mAh battery.
Its fingerprint scanner is embedded in the display and so won’t be found anywhere near the L-shaped camera island at the back.
Samsung Galaxy A71 Unboxing
In the box is the phone itself, a USB-C cable, fast charging adapter/brick, 3.5mm headset, a silicon case, as well as paper documentation. It is standard fare. There is nothing missing from the usual suspects.
The unit we got to play with is the Prism Crush Blue colour.
Setting up the Galaxy A71 was a smooth and straightforward experience. Samsung’s Smart Switch app helped a great deal in moving everything from an older phone – apps, videos, images, contacts, call logs, and SMS – over to it in a matter of minutes. It even carried over the active wallpaper from the old device. Every smartphone brand should have such an app.
Samsung Galaxy A71 First Impressions
The first time you power on the A71, the AMOLED display welcomes you in all its gorgeousness – sharp, bright, and punchy. Whether you like your displays that way or not, you can’t ignore it. It draws your attention anyway.
With the Samsung Galaxy A71 unboxing and setting up out of the way, it is time to share our first impressions of this budget smartphone.
Samsung’s A series are designed to offer some premium experience at lower price points, and the A71 pulls it off effortlessly. Picking it up in your hands, there is no doubt about the premium feel. Even better, it is quite lightweight in the hand as well.
Here at Mobilityarena, there is a general disdain for the notch, especially those wide ones. Punch hole displays have been around for a while now and we are not sure yet what our position is. Perhaps we are indifferent about punch holes, as long as they are not big and bogus.
We will take a good selfie camera any day though, be it located in a notch, in a punch hole, or in a sliding mechanism. Just give us good photos. And the A71’s 32-megapixel selfie camera does that, so we are good.
Rear camera modules have gotten ugly in the last one year though, whether L-shaped, vertical, horizontal, circular, or diamond shaped. As we have packed more and more lenses into those modules, things have kept going south.
We think the L-shaped island at the back of the Galaxy A71 is ugly as well, but if the quick sample photos we took with it is anything to go by, who cares? If a camera takes good photos, it can look as ugly as it likes.
That aside, the prism gradient pattern on the shell of the phone is a delight to see. That shell is plastic, not glass; and that is a good thing. Glass bodies are terrible fingerprint magnets, not to mention being highly prone to breaking.
Using the phone, One UI is a delight, and the version here runs on Android 10. In usage, the user interface is smooth and snappy, as we expected. The combination of Snapdragon 730 chipset, 8 GB RAM and 128 GB storage memory, in the Galaxy A71 makes for a jolly good show. It is smooth sailing all the way.
We did run into a snag with our unit: for some reason, the charging port stopped working. We had to send it back. Hopefully, that is an isolated case and not a common problem with the model.
PS: If you live in a region with active 5G networks, you might be interested in the A71’s 5G variant. There are two 5G variants targeted at two different regions,a nd so having different 5G network support, so be sure to ask for the model that is meant for your region.
As part of this Samsung Galaxy A71 unboxing and hands-on, we are including answers to some of the most common questions that we have been asked about the phone.
Does Samsung A71 support fast charging?
Yes; Samsung Galaxy A71 supports 25W fast charging standard, and a 25W charger is provided in the box.
Does Samsung A71 have Gorilla Glass?
According to the manufacturer, Samsung A71’s Super AMOLED display is protected by a layer of Gorilla Glass 3. No; we didn’t drop the phone to test it.
Does Samsung A71 have a headphone jack?
Yes; Samsung Galaxy A71 has a 3.5mm headphone jack and a headset is provided in the box.
How much is Samsung Galaxy A71?
United States residents will find the 8GB RAM variant sells for $400 and above on Amazon, as well as with their carriers at similar price points and on payment plans. The 6GB RAM variant goes for around $370. Samsung Galaxy A71 5G goes for $500 and above.
The 8GB RAM variant does not seem to be officially available in Nigeria, but the 6GB RAM variant sells for about N180,000 at major retailers around the country, including on Jumia, Slot, Pointek, Jiji, and Konga.