If you would like to know what's good and what's not about this sub-Php10K Samsung smartphone, please read on.
It has been a couple of weeks now since the new Samsung Galaxy A20 became my main daily smartphone. And with that amount of time I have already spent with this budget-friendly smartphone from Samsung, I think I am now ready to share with you my review of this phone. So if you would like to know what's good and what's not about this sub-Php10K phone, please read on.
This year's Galaxy A series by Samsung is actually the most exciting series of phones they have ever released in the entry and midrange category here in the Philippines. That's mostly because apart from the series' new beautiful designs and quite impressive set of specs and features, they are the most affordable compared to the previous Galaxy A phones that the company had or still have in the market.
One of these few Galaxy A 2019 series is the Samsung Galaxy A20 and is ready to compete head to head with its rivals in the budget segment of the local smartphone scene. Of course there is still the Galaxy A10, slightly watered down variant compared to the A20 and is more affordable, but if you want a little more and willing to spend a couple more thousands of pesos, then have a look at the next tier - the Galaxy A20.
What's in the box?
Samsung Galaxy A20 handset
USB Type-C cable
15W Adaptive Fast Charger
SIM ejector tool
Standard pair of earphones
User Guide and Warranty card
BUILD and DESIGN
The Samsung Galaxy A20 sports an Infinity-V display and a Glasstic design. In other words, its display has the waterdrop-like notch that is housing the front camera, Samsung is calling it Infinity-V display, and then that glossy back panel that's made of polycarbonate plastic material fashioned to look and feel like glass, hence "glasstic."
Some of us may not like the notch part but there are more reasons to appreciate it on the A20. One of those is it does not get in the way when streaming videos on YouTube or Netflix. And even when playing mobile games such as Mobile Legends, the Infinity-V notch is automatically blacked out as if you are using a notch-less smartphone, plus there is a slick animation around the notch's edges when launching the front-facing camera for taking selfies. And those are really nice little software optimizations that I liked. Also, the notch is not that very big in size. It's big enough to just house the front camera for our selfie and phone unlocking needs. Speaking of, yes you read that right, in addition to its traditional fingerprint scanner on its back, you can also use a Face Unlock feature on this phone if wish to.
The glasstic part, while it is indeed made of plastic, it looks and feels way more premium than I anticipated. The curved edges of the back panel make the device so comfortable to use and feel thinner despite housing a huge battery pack inside it. Obviously, the only downside here is that it's super fingerprint and smudge hungry of a surface. Unfortunately, the packaging does not come with free clear case, so if that is something you cannot live with on smartphone, you better buy a protective case for your Galaxy A20.
As for myself, I am really not a fan of using smartphone cases. At most, I would use one for a week or two then after that I would just use the phones as they are. With the Galaxy A20, I never considered buying a case for it, though it would add protection for the phone such as from scratches which I am already seeing some as of writing by the way, the case would also hinder me from fully experiencing how good it feels the device is in the hands. Additionally, because of the phone's thinness and its glasstic design, I can effortlessly slide it in and out of my pocket. So it is really up to your preferences.
On the right side of the device are the volume rocker and power/lock key that are work all the time. On the other side is the triple SIM tray that supports up to 4G LTE network connectivity and a microSD card slot up to 512GB. At the bottom are the 3.5mm audio jack, speaker that supports Dolby Atmos technology when using headphones and compatible devices for a much improved listening experience and the USB Type-C port, one of the most welcomed features in this price range.
The default speaker on this device while it does provide good sound quality, I don't find it loud enough even when in full volume. But when using headphones, and the Dolby Atmos turned on, the listening experience is much elevated and more immersive.
DISPLAY
One of the best smartphone display technologies in the world, AMOLED display, is manufactured by Samsung. The blacks, whites, and color contrast are just excellent. Thankfully though, Samsung brings that technology to this Galaxy A20 making it one of the most affordable Android smartphones out there sporting a Super AMOLED display panel. There is just a little catch though, the resolution is only at 720p. And although sometimes I can easily notice rough edges on images and texts, the Super AMOLED display quality compensates and still the overall viewing experience is great.
Sad to say there is no Always-On Display feature and LED light for notifications on this one.
SOFTWARE and PERFORMANCE
Right out of the box, the Samsung Galaxy A20 runs on the latest Android 9 Pie with One UI on top and the entire machine is powered by Samsung's Exynos 7884 octa-core processor with Mali G71 GPU and 3GB RAM alongside it. Let me also mention here that this device only comes with 32GB on native storage of which about 21GB are available to users upon initial boot. Good thing is, it has its own dedicated microSD card slot for additional storage space in case the need arises.
The Samsung One UI is a brand new user interface from the South Korean electronics company. Fans and smartphone enthusiasts have been praising this latest interface from Samsung ever since it debuted. And based on my personal experience with it, in addition to being the most beautiful and impressive piece of software the company has ever created so far, it is a well optimized software. Since having this phone I never experienced any stuttering, delay in responses or even freezing apps. It may not be one of the fastest out there today, but everything has been nothing but buttery smooth, from switching between apps down to launching and using the camera app.
With this One UI, one of the other things to like is the Night Mode feature built right in the system. So if you are a fan of everything Night or Dark Mode, this one has it.
For the phone's security and privacy, there is the fingerprint scanner situated on the back panel in addition to the face unlock. It is oval in shape and I think its actual location is a little higher higher than it should be. The sensor's performance so far has been okay, I mean I never encountered any problem using it all the time to unlock the phone, it works every single. The only thing here is it takes about one full second to wake up the screen as soon as it recognizes my print. It works all the time, but not one of the fastest I have ever tried.
As mentioned above, the Galaxy A20 has 3GB of RAM and powered by Exynos 7884 processor. Overall performance has been very satisfying. Samsung does not market this phone with any type of AI implementation in the system but the phone is very good in RAM management. No matter how many apps I have running in the background, the phone is smart enough to make sure that resources are accordingly allocated based on what app is currently being used, thus making the user experience excellent.
BATTERY and FAST CHARGING
I am absolutely sure that this phone's battery and charging performances will never disappoint you, thanks to its massive and long lasting 4000mAh battery and 15W fast charging system. That's a huge battery and yet Samsung managed to keep the phone as slim as 7.8mm and then top up that with the fast charge tech, it's just a steal of a deal for its price tag.
The battery lasts long enough that on average it takes me about two days before needing to charge it again. And when it comes to its charging time, from zero percent to 100%, it only takes nearly two hours to complete. It is even much faster, of course, when you are not using the phone while being charged.
CAMERA
The Samsung Galaxy A20 carries a dual camera set up on the back pegged at 13MP for the primary shooter equipped with f1.9 aperture and a 5MP secondary camera with ultrawide angle lens. On the front is an 8MP selfie shooter.
The rear cameras have different modes to choose from such as Panorama, Pro, Live Focus, Photo (automatic) and video. For the selfie camera there is Photo, Video, and Live Focus and of course the Beauty mode for better selfie photos. The Beauty mode together with live filters are also available for the back facing cameras. For video recording, it can film up to 1080p at 30fps. There is no video stabilizer but autofocus is present and works fine.
The Galaxy A20's camera performance turns out to be quite good most especially in a well lit environment. The selfie camera works pretty good as well. Not one of the best camera phones in the budget segment, but still provides quite good photos and videos worth sharing on social media.
If I am not mistaken, I think this Galaxy A20 is the only device that offers an ultrawide angle lens in this price range, which is very nice actually. With its huge battery, it is perfect for long travel and taking good ultrawide angle shots of places and sceneries along the way.
See sample photos from this smartphone below.
FINAL WORDS
As I have already said in my Unboxing and Initial Impressions post, for its price tag of only Php9,990, the Samsung Galaxy A20 is a well rounded smartphone thanks to its superb build quality, sleek design both in the hardware and software department, and some of its features and specs that are still very hard to find from the competition in the sub Php10,000 price category. When I posted that initial impressions article, I was not very impressed with the camera yet. But after using the phone since then, I realized the camera is actually good for its asking price.
Considering again the price tag and all that this phone offers right out of the box, Samsung did deliver a smartphone worth buying and keeping for years.
Samsung Galaxy A20 specs:
- 6.4-inch HD+ Super AMOLED Infinity-V Display
- 1560 x 720 resolution
- Octa-core Exynos 7884 processor
- Mali G71 GPU
- 3GB RAM
- 32GB internal storage
- Supports microSD card up to 512GB
- 13MP + 5MP dual rear camera with F1.9 and F2.2 apertures, Wide-angle, Autofocus, LED flash
- 8MP front camera with F2.0 aperture
- Android 9 Pie with Samsung One UI
- WiFi, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS. GLONASS, Beidou, NFC
- Dual SIM + dedicated microSD slot
- USB Type-C port
- 3.5mm Audiojack port
- Fingerprint scanner
- Face Unlock
- Gyro Sensor
- 158.4 x 74.7 x 7.8mm
- 169 grams
- 15W Fast Charge
- Black, Deep Blue
- 4000mAh battery
- Php9,990
