Samsung Galaxy A40: compactness and efficiency

Presentation

Member of the very large family of Galaxy A, the A40 occupies a segment gradually neglected by other manufacturers, mobiles under 300 €. Supposed to embody the balance between entry-level mobiles and the debauchery of medium to high-end models, this Galaxy A wants to convince users seeking to equip themselves without breaking the bank.

Opposite this Galaxy A40, sold for € 269, we find the unmistakable Redmi Note 7 or the Honor 20 Lite. Does Samsung manage to compete? This is what we will see.

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Ergonomics and design

In the jungle of very large smartphones, Samsung is taking the opposite course with this Galaxy A40. The screen is certainly 6 inches, but the optimization of the front face allows the mobile to remain compact and mostly usable with one hand. Anyone allergic to phablets will appreciate it.

The plastic back of the phone keeps fingerprints extremely easy, but it has a fairly elegant side thanks to a nice set of color gradations. The slightly curved edges help to grip. In addition, the fingerprint sensor is well placed and works smoothly. In short, Samsung has produced a beautiful compact smartphone. It's rare enough to be stressed.

Technical question, the mobile is doing pretty well, with two SIM locations, a microSD location and a successful screen / footprint ratio (85.5% of the front panel). Only the lack of waterproofing certification makes it lose its fifth star.

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Screen

Those who follow the market will not be surprised to learn that the Galaxy A40 has an excellent screen. Samsung has integrated a Super Amoled screen on its mid-range, and as usual the quality is there.

The colorimetry is at the top with a delta E measured at 1.3 and a color temperature at 6 900 K. No way, unless you have a bionic eye, to see a colorimetric drift. Note that these excellent results are obtained with the "basic" display mode. Fans of more vibrant colors will obviously be able to use the other profiles offered.

On the readability side, it is also very good with an "inifini" contrast (thanks to the Oled) and a maximum brightness of 487 cd: m². No problem, you can take your phone out in the sun without struggling to see the screen. The same goes for the minimum brightness, which drops to 1.7 cd: m²; you will not pierce your pupils if you catch your phone in the middle of the night. To top it off, the reflectance is rather contained (45%).

Nothing to declare either in use, the resolution of 437 ppi makes navigation very pleasant and the tactile delay is sufficiently contained (79 ms) not to be visible. In summary, the Galaxy A40 has a flawless screen that will do justice to your photos and videos.

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Performances

We find in the Galaxy A40 the same mobile chip as that of the Galaxy A8 released in 2018. A component not necessarily optimal, but which ensures quite acceptable performance, especially accompanied by the 4 GB of RAM of the phone. No slowdown was felt during our use.

The heating also remains completely reasonable with never more than 35 ° C on the surface. A perfectly acceptable temperature that will not fry your fingers.

Regarding video games, the phone will easily manage to operate all 3D games in the Play Store. The level of graphics is not necessarily at the top of the top, but it remains very correct and the fluidity is always impeccable.

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Audio

The headphone output of the Galaxy A40 has the merit of delivering a powerful and rather clean signal, but unfortunately the separation of the channels is a bit messy. The dynamic range (difference between the weakest and loudest sounds), on the other hand, is well marked.

As for the single speaker present on the lower edge of the mobile, it reproduces an extremely tight signal and exclusively concentrated on the high-mids. Enough to watch YouTube videos and make wireless calls, but little else.

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Photo

Like many phones on the market today, the A40 offers more than one photo module. The "standard" sensor of 16 Mpx is effectively accompanied by an ultra wide-angle of 5 Mpx, which offers a little versatility in the photographic exercise.

When there is enough light, the Galaxy A40 is capable of producing rather successful shots. The level of detail is good (with 16 Mpx, it is better), the contrast also, and the colors are rather faithful to reality. Only small problems, the mobile sometimes has a heavy hand on smoothing and the densest areas lose detail. Nothing terrible, but the competition (the Honor Play to name it) does better.

At night, on the other hand, it is much less glorious. Smoothing is even more present without succeeding in getting rid of the grain that spoils the quality of the image. The poorly controlled white balance gives a yellowish tone to the whole picture and crushes certain colors. The main lines of the image are properly rendered, but do not go looking for too much detail. But, anyway, the competition does little better.

Having an ultra wide-angle photo module on a smartphone is always nice since it allows you to broaden the usual horizon of your shots a little. But unfortunately, on mid-range smartphones, the quality is rarely there, including on this A40.

As we can see above, the photos from this module lack sharpness, details, colors and contrast. In short, the photo does not have much for it. Even the grain settles comfortably. In absolute terms, the photo is not unusable, but you should avoid looking too closely.

On the other hand, at night, the ultra wide angle is really not efficient. The shapes of the objects are preserved, but that's about it. All the details are drowned in a mix of blur, grain and chromatic aberrations, and the white balance is completely in the cabbages. We would much prefer to take a few steps back and use the main sensor.

The front camera is rather gifted in broad daylight and elegantly puts the subject forward thanks to a nice mastery of contrast and a good level of detail. However, at night, the presence of grain is significant.

Portrait mode falls into a common flaw, that of creating a bokeh (background blur) far too dense and homogeneous. Even if the clipping is rather well done, the person in the photo seems to be glued to the haste on a blur created via Photoshop. Not terrible either. Finally, in video, no problem to declare. The phone films in Full HD without difficulty, and manages the autofocus and light gaps well.

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Autonomy

With its 3100 mAh battery, the A40 manages to ensure correct autonomy, but slightly below what the competition offers. In our home autonomy test, which combines standby, web surfing, streaming, etc., the phone lasted just under 15 hours. In practice, the A40 will easily provide a day and a half of autonomy if you do not force too much. It is honorable, but the competition has made greater efforts in this area in recent months.

Good news, the charger supplied with the phone will allow the battery to go from 0 to 100% in about 1 h 30 min. A great feat for a phone of this range.

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Conclusion

The Galaxy A40 is undeniably a good Samsung phone. The construction is of quality and the screen also. But unfortunately, that is not enough to assert yourself in the face of fiercer competition than ever (Honor Play in mind). Especially when the photo quality is not there. A 4th star narrowly missed, therefore.

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