Samsung Galaxy A31 review: A good phone for the non-gamers out there

Samsung'south 2020 lineup of Milky way A series phones is already getting every bit big as the 2019 lineup, with enough of new launches in contempo weeks. Somewhere in the lower end of the spectrum lies the Milky way A31, which is clearly meant to target customers who don't want to shell out more than for the well-rounded Galaxy A51.

The Galaxy A31 has a number of attractive features in its spec sheet: A 6.4-inch Super AMOLED display, an in-brandish fingerprint sensor, 128GB of storage equally standard in many countries, four rear cameras, and a 5,000 mAh battery. What's non so attractive is the processor powering the telephone. The A31, forth with the Galaxy A41, uses the MediaTek Helio P65 chipset, which isn't keen for gaming, as I've already given away in the review's title.

Still, in that location's plenty to like in the Galaxy A31, so let's kickstart this review and discover out what that is.

Galaxy A31 design

Galaxy A31 review

The Galaxy A31's pattern hasn't physically inverse much from the Milky way A30 or the Galaxy A30s. It's got a plastic non-removable dorsum and the front is mostly covered past the screen. Information technology's got the same vi.four-inch Infinity-U Super AMOLED display as the Galaxy A30 and A30s, so the lesser bezel is notably thicker than the bezel on the top and on the sides.

Information technology would have been adept to meet an Infinity-O display like the Galaxy A51 here as well, but Samsung probably wanted to keep some stardom between the two, so it'southward excusable. What the Milky way A31 does have in common with the Galaxy A51 is the blueprint on the back, which looks stunning when the light plays off it at different angles. It'due south a "glasstic" panel, which means information technology'southward plastic that looks like drinking glass – information technology doesn't feel as premium equally Samsung's flagship phones, only information technology doesn't feel cheap, either.

It helps that despite the 5,000 mAh battery inside, the Galaxy A31 isn't very heavy. At 185 grams, it certainly pushes the boundaries of what can be considered a low-cal phone, simply the weight feels simply right and will not be an inconvenience for anybody. The Fifty-shaped rear camera setup is predictably the same as we've seen on the Galaxy A51 and other recent Milky way phones. There'due south no text telling you lot the resolution of the main photographic camera side by side to the camera sensors, something nosotros've seen on Samsung'south K serial phones, and that makes for an understated and classy overall expect.

Milky way A31 display

Galaxy A31 review

The display, existence a Super AMOLED console, is as good every bit you would await. Deep blacks, vivid simply non overly saturated colors, wide viewing angles, and high effulgence levels are all function of the bundle. The resolution is 2400 by 1080 pixels, so everything from text to videos looks sharp. Every bit mentioned earlier, the bottom bezel is notably larger than the bezels on other sides and tin can be jarring at times, but that is the only criticism you lot can level on this phone every bit far equally the viewing experience is concerned.

The Galaxy A31 comes with the same optical in-brandish fingerprint sensor every bit the Milky way A51. While I still prefer the old physical fingerprint readers, I also like this one a lot. It's much, much faster and more accurate than the in-display fingerprint tech Samsung was using on its mid-range phones last yr. Bluntly, it'southward even better than the more advanced ultrasonic fingerprint tech on Samsung's flagship phones, at least when you consider the difference in price between these A series phones and the company'southward pinnacle-of-the-line offerings.

Facial recognition is also available for those who prefer a more easily-gratuitous arroyo to unlocking their phones. Indeed, even I use facial recognition near of the time, combined with the lift-to-wake functionality that is office of pretty much every Galaxy telephone nowadays. Facial recognition almost e'er works well, especially when you register your face twice using the alternative look characteristic (more than details here).

Galaxy A31 cameras

The Galaxy A31 has a versatile camera setup on the back: In that location'south a 48MP master camera, an 8MP ultra-wide photographic camera, a 5MP macro photographic camera, and a 5MP depth photographic camera. The main camera does well plenty for phones in the lower mid-range segment, but only but. Exterior during the twenty-four hours, there'southward good particular preservation and little to no racket, though the photos sometimes wait rather bland.

At night and in depression-low-cal situations, the Galaxy A31 falters hard. With sufficient artificial lighting, photos accept depression racket but also a soft look. In very depression-light scenes, dissonance goes up considerably, and detail is pretty much completely lost. To make things worse, there's no dedicated Night mode here to help you get better results in tough lighting weather. The Galaxy A30 also didn't have one, simply this is 2020 and one would expect a Night manner on all but the cheapest of phones.

The absenteeism of a dedicated Night mode is specially felt when you use the ultra-wide camera, which can't take photos equally bright as the primary photographic camera in low-lite weather because of its considerably narrower aperture. Ultra-wide pictures taken outdoors during the twenty-four hours are serviceable just as long every bit you don't try to zoom in, because the 8-megapixel resolution isn't enough to resolve any meaningful detail. This is, however, a limitation on all of Samsung's mid-range phones with ultra-wide cameras.

Information technology'due south not just Night way that's missing on the Galaxy A31: It doesn't have either a wearisome-motion or hyperlapse way. The only modes y'all get apart from Photo and Video are Live Focus, Pro, Panorama, Macro, and Food. Macro manner is used for taking pictures with the macro camera, and as far as quality of those pictures is concerned, the results are pretty mediocre. With a measly v megapixels to work with, the macro photographic camera can't resolve much particular, and it is more than or less useless in depression-light weather.

You can also capture bokeh pictures with the Live Focus manner with the rear and front cameras. Bokeh photos look very nice, with good separation of the subject and background. Equally usual, you will see some artefacts around a person's hair, merely at that place are no other issues. As for video recording, the A31 is only okay. You tin can tape videos at Full HD resolution at 30 frames per 2nd, but not a lot of detail is captured and, like photos, the videos can sometimes look quite bland and lifeless.

Cheque out some regular, ultra-wide, bokeh, and macro pictures in the gallery beneath.

At the front end, the A31 is equipped with a 20-megapixel shooter that takes dissonance-costless selfies outdoors during the day, though detail preservation is strictly boilerplate and images lack sharpness. Noise creeps in equally presently every bit you move indoors and the pictures get quite soft. Overall, selfie quality on this phone will get the job done and nothing more, as you tin see in the photos below.

Milky way A31 software

The Galaxy A31 runs Android 10 with One UI ii.i out of the box, which is too what you notice on the flagship Galaxy S20 lineup. Naturally, the feature set is a lot smaller hither, though there are a few useful ones. That includes One UI 2.1 features similar Quick Share and Music Share. Quick Share is an AirDrop-like feature that lets quickly y'all transfer files to other Galaxy devices running One UI 2.1 over Wi-Fi – all it takes is iii taps, one for hitting the share push button, another for selecting Quick Share from the sharing card, and some other for selecting the device with which you want to share your data.

With Music Share, you can stay continued to a Bluetooth speaker and allow other devices play music on information technology by connecting to your phone instead of that Bluetooth speaker. The Galaxy A31 too comes with Samsung'southward Edge Screen and Edge Lightning features, which nosotros don't often see on non-flagship Galaxy smartphones. Plenty of standard One UI 2.0 and Android 10 features are included besides, such equally Link to Windows, Game Launcher, Dual Messenger, Secure Folder, Digital Wellbeing with Focus mode, themes back up, One-handed mode, Samsung Pass, and Always On Brandish.

Samsung Pay is too on-lath, though it simply works with NFC-based payment terminals (in India, there'due south support for wallets). Even so, there'southward no Bixby Phonation or Bixby Routines bachelor on the Galaxy A31. Neither is a screen recorder. As far every bit updates are concerned, you can wait the Galaxy A31 to get Android 11 and Android 12, along with whatever One UI version accompanies them. Security updates volition come every three months, although there could exist a few instances where yous have to await longer between two such updates.

Galaxy A31 operation

The A31 is powered past the MediaTek Helio P65, a 12nm fleck that packs two Cortex-A75 performance cores clocked at 2GHz, six depression-power Cortex-A55 cores clocked at ane.7GHz, and the Republic of mali-G52 MC2 GPU. The processor cores are newer than what you notice in the Exynos 7904 that powers the Milky way A30 then is the GPU, simply the Helio P65 is nonetheless underwhelming overall, at least when information technology comes to gaming.

When you're not gaming, the Galaxy A31 does well plenty. We tested the variant with 6GB of RAM, and apps open quickly and the animations are generally smooth, though there are the usual stutters and lag at times, like when you switch between ii apps. It'due south all par for the course on Galaxy phones in this segment, including the Galaxy A51, and won't give you cause for complaint as long every bit you temper your expectations.

What isn't par for the grade is the gaming functioning. Elementary games, similar Temple Run or Clash of Clans, obviously run without issues, but for the PUBG and Phone call of Duty lovers out there, this is the wrong telephone. It's not like the Galaxy A31 don't offering a playable experience, it'south but that you demand to be using the lowest graphics settings in order to achieve that goal.

In fact, Call of Duty simply doesn't have any graphical preset other than the low setting available. PUBG does, merely the telephone is unable to sustain a playable frame charge per unit over long sessions even at the medium setting. Samsung makes a large deal of how the telephone comes with its Game Booster software, but that doesn't do anything to really heave operation. Or maybe it's Game Booster that makes these games run likewise as they do. In any example, this phone isn't meant for serious gaming.

Galaxy A31 battery life

Mid-range phones and large batteries are e'er a match made in heaven, and the same is truthful for the Galaxy A31. With lite use that involves some browsing, watching a few YouTube videos, and replying to messages on WhatsApp on a Wi-Fi connection, the A31 can easily last for a 24-hour interval and a one-half before it needs to be charged once again. With mobile information active for long hours, total endurance tin can exist cut brusque to effectually a twenty-four hours, which is still impressive.

The same goes for moderate to somewhat heavy use, later which in that location's frequently plenty charge left over and so you don't have to connect the phone to the charger overnight. Even if you're gaming and watching videos all solar day long (with the coronavirus pandemic forcing people to spend as much time at home every bit possible, that's something many folks will probably do), the A31 will easily survive for at to the lowest degree 12-14 hours earlier it asks for a charge.

The Milky way A31 supports 15W fast charging (with a 15W charger provided in the box), just thanks to the size of the battery, it tin can accept nigh 2 hours to go from 0 to 100. So, if you lot're a heavy user, information technology would be a good idea to charge the phone overnight instead of doing and so afterwards you wake up.

Galaxy A31 audio, telephone call quality

The Galaxy A31, like every other Milky way phone that isn't a flagship, comes with a single speaker located at the lesser. The speaker never distorts and is loud plenty when you're in a modest room. But you may accept to use it at maximum volume if you want it to be fully aural, something I had to exercise when listening to podcasts.

Unfortunately, the earphones provided in the box are from Samsung's bargain bins, and then they aren't much better. At maximum volume, the in-box earphones sound quite shrill and can cause discomfort, so tertiary-political party earphones are recommended. Yous tin get fantabulous wired earphones at cheap prices these days, and combined with Dolby Atmos support on the phone, you lot tin easily upgrade to meliorate sound quality if you lot purchase the Milky way A31.

I had no bug when making calls on the A31. I could hear the person on the other side clearly and then could they, though that's only true in quiet places, like inside the house. Since the speaker isn't loud enough, you lot might want to utilize earphones when you're making calls outdoors. Network operation is excellent, for those wondering, with both of my SIM cards having naught problems getting a potent signal.

Milky way A31 verdict

I'll keep this short: If you're wondering whether the Galaxy A31 is a phone yous should buy or skip, yous accept to inquire yourself what your priorities are. If you lot call back you will be doing any serious gaming that involves playing titles similar PUBG, you are ameliorate off spending actress and ownership the Galaxy A51. If your budget is tight and y'all're non a heavy gamer, then the Galaxy A31 tin serve you well. Just don't expect it to excel in anything but battery life and display quality, and you lot volition have no complaints.

Pros	Cons
Slim, attractive design	Poor gaming functioning
Expectedly excellent Super AMOLED display	Cameras only have perfunctory pictures
Fantastic battery life	Camera lacks shooting modes like Night and dull-motion
Android 10 and I UI 2.i out of the box	Cheap earphones in the box, speaker not very loud
Versatile camera setup
Optical in-display fingerprint sensor works well
NFC-based Samsung Pay