Samsung Galaxy A73 5G is a perfect mid-range phone, with an imperfect price

While Samsung has kept to its formula with the new A73 device, it has not got rid of the misgivings from the previous generation

Last year, when Samsung had launched its A72 device in the mid-range segment, it had received a fair bit of praise. Even though the price was still high, the phone had an excellent screen, better battery life and with some misgivings, and a good camera set up. It also allowed 25W charging. The speakers, however, were not that great, the refresh rate was just 90Hz and the processor was still a lower one.

While Samsung has kept to its formula with the new A73 device, it hasn’t got rid of the misgivings from the previous generation. Instead, the price has been bumped up to Rs 41,999. It is overpriced compared to the mid-phone segment market. Camera has been upgraded to more pixels, but issues from the previous generation remain.

Design

Ergonomically, the A72 was a better design than the S20FE. Thankfully, Samsung has not changed the design aspect. The phone has a huge screen, but the fairly squarish bezels allow for better handling than the more curved design. The mint colour, which we received for review, lends the phone an attractive look, but the plastic quality doesn’t do justice to the price. The corners are prone to scratches though, so a cover is recommended. The volume and power button are on the right-hand side, but the placement is a bit odd. Given the size of the screen, the buttons should have been a bit lower, so that you don’t have to slide the phone for one-handed operation. The camera bump at the back is less pronounced, so it doesn’t allow much rocking when kept on a flat surface. Sadly, the headphone jack has gone missing.

Screen and speakers

This is one aspect where Samsung hasn’t disappointed in all its devices. The Super Amoled plus display is the best feature of the phone. There is an optical fingerprint scanner under the screen and not an ultrasonic one, but you rarewly notice the difference. The screen has enough oomph to keep you enamoured with its brightness and 120hz refresh rate. Samsung did bump up the specs compared to the previous iteration. The blacks are pronounced and the Widevine L1 support, which lets users play FHD+ content on OTT apps, enhances the viewing experience. But the speakers do not do justice to the screen. Although Samsung promises Dolby Atmos support, the speakers do not have the depth or the volume to provide that experience. This was one aspect that needed improvement from the last iteration, but sadly little has been done in this regard. The bass was also low and could have been more pronounced.

Camera

Mid-segment phones are often characterised by low camera performance and reduced quality compared to their flagship peers. Samsung upended this concept, last year, with the A72 and has now done it again with A73. The phone features an excellent back camera and an improved front camera. Keeping the gimmick of pixels aside, the picture quality is improved compared to the FE models as well. The picture is sharper and there is less smoothening from Samsung’s side. The colours are more realistic. The low-light performance was as bad as before. Optical Image Stabilisation also did not work perfectly. But for this range, it is one of the best camera setups. The problem being the software. A lot many features that you find at the top end segment, like portrait video were missing from A73’s repertoire.

Processor and battery life

This is where Samsung’s phone turns to be a disappointment. The 778G is no doubt a good Snapdragon processor, but at that price point one would expect something in the 8 series. The processor, otherwise, performs very well for regular everyday tasks and for light gaming. Asphalt worked very well with the phone, but when it came to Fortnite, it didn’t play as smoothly. There was very little heating, but the overall experience suffered. Battery life, though, was not a concern. With a 5000mAH battery life, Samsung claims for the phone to run two days. With light use it can achieve that target, but medium use would run it for good a day and a half. If you use GPS for 2 hours, expect a fifth of your battery life to just disappear. In that case, the phone survived less than a day.

Verdict

The benefit that comes with Samsung is the promise of four coming updates, which is really enticing. At a lower price point, this phone was a perfect buy. The bloatware was a problem, but not as much a headache as earlier. Lack of a charger and cap at 25W was another issue, but you can look past it. If you can wait a few months, this phone would be a steal at a 20 - 25 per cent discount.