Samsung Galaxy A70 review: A mid-range smartphone for entertainment seekers

Samsung has cluttered the mid-range smartphone market like no other brand. The company's A- and M-series are taking on Xiaomi, Oppo and Nokia in the budget and sub-premium categories. The latest of the lot, the Galaxy A70, plays on the company's strength of sporting large, beautiful displays. But in a close battle between competitors that are almost indistinguishable in terms of specifications, let's find out if A70 has more to offer.

Design 4/5

At first glance, the A70 stands out for its 6.7-inch Super AMOLED display. The giant display with its tall aspect ratio of 20:9 may not be suited for comfortable single-hand use, but Samsung’s Infinity-U display — full-screen display with a waterdrop camera notch at the centre — is as immersive as it gets with a handheld device, and closely rivals the the premium OnePlus 7 Pro (Rs 48,900).

The polycarbonate back panel is extremely reflective and bounces off a range of colours. It feels more scratch-resistant than glass but is so prone to fingerprint smudges that you might want to carry a lint-free cloth along. That said, it is sturdy and can do without a cover in careful hands. The choice of material on the back panel and its curved display gives a the phone a better grip than most phones close to its size. The phone’s second most prominent feature, its triple-camera setup (24MP+8MP+5MP) with a flash, is neatly stacked on the left.

Performance 4/5

The 32-megapixel primary camera in auto mode has a solid AI backing. Pictures in good light reproduce surroundings with accuracy. Portraits aren’t as natural, but then few people will mind their blemishes being rendered invisible. The 8-megapixel wide angle lens is extremely useful for both photos and videos, especially since the camera in full screen mode fits in a lot. The 5MP sensor for live focus, or “bokeh” mode, is a value-addition for clicking faces and objects in natural light. But overall, the camera setup struggles in low light and produces grainy images in dark indoors. 

The 4,000mAh battery sounds great on paper but the large, bright screen consumes a lot of power. The phone still lasts between 24 and 36 hours on regular use depending on screen brightness. It also comes with a 25W fast charger, which is an upgrade of the standard 15W.

After using the underpowered Galaxy M30 (for half the price), I was surprised how well the A70 handles multi-tasking, graphic-intensive games. The new Snapdragon 675 SoC is a solid performer. Streaming Netflix or playing games like Player's Unknown Battleground, aka PUBG, was free of lags and very immersive. The contrast and colour reproduction blows you away. The experience, however, is still not as smooth as what you’d get with a Snapdragon 800 series processor in a flagship, but it comes pretty close.

Overall 4/5

The Samsung Galaxy A70 is a beautiful phone that is meant to entertain. My only complaint is with the in-screen fingerprint scanner, which is less accurate than industry standards. Still, spending Rs 28,990 on the A70 is a worthwhile investment if you’d like a phablet in your pocket.