Samsung Galaxy A71: a successful 6.7-inch smartphone

Presentation

The third Samsung mobile launched here this year, the Galaxy A71 could be considered a lighter version of the all-new Galaxy Note 10 Lite.

Samsung thus offers a phablet (6.7 inch screen!) At less than € 500 which allows it to stand out from the "high-end killers" that abound in this price range, such as the Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro, the Honor 20 Pro, the Oppo Reno 2, and of course the Xiaomi Mi Note 10.

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Ergonomics and design

Samsung seems to have extended the design of its A51 to obtain the A71. He thus retrieves this large 6.7-inch panel, called Infinity-O, recognizable by its small central punch which houses the selfie module. This format allows the screen to occupy more than 87.5% of the front panel. Despite the absence of curved edges, you almost have the feeling of having only one slab in your hands. Guaranteed effect!

As often, the unlocking of the mobile can go through an optical fingerprint sensor placed under the screen. A solution which, despite a few hiccups here and there, improves with each new generation. On the back of the device, there is a photo block - now classic at Samsung - housing four photo modules and the flash. Although all plastic, the smartphone has good finishes, like these dorsal ridges which cause pretty light effects. We can still regret the absence of glass or metal to cover the mobile. In this price zone, some manufacturers offer more noble materials.

Although quite long, the A71 is not very heavy (179 g) and its pleasant use ... provided that you agree to use both hands. Regarding the connections, the A71 has two slots for nanoSIM cards and one for a microSD memory card that will allow you to expand the 128 GB of internal memory. It is also equipped with a USB-C port and a 3.5 mm mini-jack plug. Note that it is not waterproof or compatible with induction charging.

At first measurements, the headphone jack of this A71 seems more than adequate. It delivers a sound powerful enough to power the most energy-consuming headsets. The dynamic range is wide and the stereo reproduction is almost standard. Too much distortion, however, affects the quality of the audio signal.

The single speaker located on the lower edge delivers sound of acceptable quality. However, beyond 60 to 70% of the maximum volume, the sound begins to saturate. To be used only as an auxiliary solution therefore.

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Screen

Like the Galaxy Note 10 Lite, the Galaxy A71 is equipped with a 6.7-inch Amoled panel with a definition of 2,400 x 1,080 pixels (for a resolution of 393 ppi), all at a ratio of 20: 9. Not surprisingly, there are similarities between the two screens. Strength of the Oled, the contrast is almost infinite. The color reproduction is very faithful; as proof, we measured a Delta E at 1.9 (less than 3, and therefore at the threshold of perception of the human eye). As for the color temperature measured at 6,687 K, it is almost at the level of the video standard (6,500 K).

For the rest, with a well controlled reflectance (45%), infinite contrast and good maximum brightness (544 cd / m²), use in full sun should not be a problem. When the light comes down, the minimum brightness of 1.9 cd / m² will be very useful so as not to damage your eyes. Finally, still thanks to Oled technology, the afterglow is imperceptible and we evaluated the tactile delay at 60 ms, making the terminal display very fluid.

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Performances

The Galaxy A71 derives its computing power from an 8-core processor, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 730, accompanied by 6 GB of RAM. The graphics part is provided by an Adreno 618 GPU. This configuration was already in place on the manufacturer's Galaxy A80 released in spring 2019, except that the latter had 8 GB of RAM. During the multitasking test, this A71 proved to be really efficient. With 96.38 points, it does better than all the Samsung smartphones in our comparison, even the most high-end, like the Galaxy Note 10+ and the Galaxy Fold.

When our game simulator finished, the soufflé dropped a little. The score of just 53.70 points is the worst of the Snapdragon 730 smartphones we tested. On average, the A71 barely exceeds 30 fps in game, under the minimum rate necessary to play smoothly. For comparison, the Xiaomi Mi 9T, with a similar configuration, maintains without worry more than 40 fps.

Our performance tests are carried out with viSer, the application developed by the company SmartViser.

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Photo

The Samsung Galaxy A71 uses the same optical unit with 4 sensors as the A51. The only notable difference concerns the main sensor which goes to 64 megapixels and opens at f / 1.8 (against f / 2 for the A51). Apart from the A70s, which had not been released in Spain, the A71 is, for the moment, the only Samsung smartphone with such a sensor.

The ISOCEL GW1 64 Mpx sensor uses pixel binning and therefore assembles 4 pixels in 1 to improve the quality of the shots, especially in low light. By default, the sensor then produces 16 megapixel photos.

In broad daylight, the A71 comes out of it honorably, with a remarkable dive, limited optical aberrations and a very correct level of detail. However, the photo is not natural enough and clearly turns red; we can recognize Samsung's leg here. Opposite, the very good Xiaomi Mi Note 10 offers a more natural result with better controlled colorimetry and less forced contrasts.

The A71 is more trouble when the light runs out. Despite a high definition sensor and the use of the binning pixel, the mobile does not compare with the Mi Note 10. The image seems a little underexposed and the strong smoothing almost suggests that a layer of grease covers the 'goal. Finally, the level of details is not good enough, especially with regard to what the Mi Note 10 provides. The sharpness of the Chinese mobile is so much higher that the photo of the A71 seems blurred. This result in low light is a real disappointment.

Ultra wide-angle modules rarely produce flattering results, especially when we look at the shots at 100%. The A71 is no exception. The shot lacks sharpness and the barrel distortions are very marked. The fish-eye effect is then quite pronounced on this 12 mm equivalent in 24x36. Opposite, the Xiaomi, thanks to a more defined sensor, more successful software processing and an optic bringing less distortions, offers a much sharper and more detailed image.

Under 3 lux lighting, the UGA module displays its limits a little more. In addition to all the defects already mentioned, there is an excessive smoothing which removes any realistic aspect from the photo, even if most of the details of the scene are identifiable. However, we could not be too harsh on this Samsung, because rare are the devices to produce an ideal result in these conditions.

For the video part, the Samsung Galaxy A71 is capable of recording up to 4K at 30 fps. Note that it can also capture sequences in 240 fps or 960 fps in Full HD. We somewhat regret the absence of optical stabilization. Only digital stabilization is present, and it does not work in 4K or in low light.

At the front, it's a 32-megapixel sensor that acts as a selfie machine. It is equipped with a lens equivalent to 26 mm and opening at f / 2.2. The level of details is quite good, but the smoothing of the faces activated by default is a little too strong and we advise to deactivate it (except personal preferences).

The macro module of 5 MP can be useful to capture the details of an object or a flower. However, as often with this kind of smartphone system, the shadow of the mobile associated with the short focal length of the lens means that you cannot get as close as you would like to achieve a good macro shot.

Finally, the portrait mode is quite convincing, the clipping is well done and the background blur rather natural.

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Autonomy

To power its Galaxy A71, Samsung has chosen to install an accumulator with a capacity of 4,500 mAh. According to our endurance protocol, the mobile turned off after 5:11 pm A very correct autonomy which allows it to hang the fifth star, but which remains well below that of the Galaxy A70. Last year, with an equivalent battery, it lasted 22 h 49 min.

With the 25 W "super fast" charger delivered from the factory, the phone took 1 h 14 min to fully charge.

Our battery tests are automated by viSer, the application developed by the company SmartViser. The results obtained with viSer come from measurements carried out under real conditions of use (calls, SMS, videos, launching of applications, web browsing, etc.).

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Conclusion

The Galaxy A71 is a good big screen smartphone for those who don't want to spend too much. Nevertheless, past this beautiful screen, we remain skeptical in front of its plastic finishes or its autonomy, certainly good, but which we expected better, or even this underused photo section. After this test, it almost seems that Samsung has not done everything to tweak its phone. Opposite, the Oppo Reno2, the Honor 20 Pro, a Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro and especially the Xiaomi Mi Note 10 seem to be more relevant choices.

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