Samsung‌ Galaxy‌ A01 Review: Infinity Display and Dual Rear Camera

Samsung‌ ‌Galaxy‌ ‌A01‌ review on performance, design, price, and battery life. Detailed explanation about the phone’s technical specifications

In 2020, Samsung rolled out its newest product. The manufacturer introduced the new model under the name Samsung‌ ‌Galaxy‌ ‌A01. This model aims for casual smartphone users who still want many perks a phone can give. The device boasts plenty of features, while Samsung keeps the price tag under $100.

Samsung‌ ‌Galaxy‌ ‌A01 looks ‌interesting at a glance. The 5.7-inch screen is nothing but massive. It boasts HD resolution, the latest Android, and a 2GHz Octa-core processor.

Definitely a device fits for today’s demand for both communication and entertainment. This Samsung‌ ‌Galaxy‌ ‌A01 review takes a look into everything in more detail.

Key Specs

Samsung‌ ‌Galaxy‌ ‌A01 specifications:

• Weight: 151g
• Dimensions: 147 x 71 x 8.3mm
• OS: Android 10
• Screen size: 5.7-inch
• Resolution: 1520 x 720
• CPU: 2GHz Octa-core, Qualcomm Snapdragon 439
• RAM: 2GB
• Storage: 16GB
• Battery: 3,000mAh, Non-removable
• Rear camera: 13MP, 2MP secondary camera
• Front camera: 5MP

Design

Samsung‌ ‌Galaxy‌ ‌A01’s dimension is 147 x 71 x 8.3mm. It weighs very light at 151g despite its size. The phone is quite slim while it has a sizable form factor. It’s comfortable to hold at our hands. For this particular model, the phone uses plastic as the casing material.

Samsung‌ ‌Galaxy‌ ‌A01 follows the popular design trends among today’s smartphones. Here, we can see a phone with as much as its front space is occupied by the display. But it’s not totally without bezels.

The bezel framing is still pretty thick, actually. Especially the bottom part. At the top, you can see a notch housing the front camera. There are only two keys on the device side, the Power button, and the Volume keys.

The back cover uses a matte black color which is very elegant in our opinion. The components also appear simple and uncluttered. The dual camera lies on the top left corner. Apart from that, you will only see the Samsung logo.

To conclude, Samsung Galaxy A01 design is not disappointing. It’s far from premium but charming nonetheless. It simply looks casual. The build quality is also decent. Durable and lightweight, this phone is capable enough for everyday use.

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Display

Samsung‌ ‌Galaxy‌ ‌A01 features a 5.7-inch display. It has a resolution of 1520 x 720 and an 19:9 aspect ratio. The resolution puts the phone’s display into an HD+ category. For the screen density, the display measures at 295 pixels-per-inch. The type of the display itself is LCD.

This specification makes Samsung‌ Galaxy‌ A01’s display favorable. From day-to-day app scrolling to entertainment, the display suits any activity. Icons and images appear sharp. Colors on images are accentuated well enough.

Not only the display quality but also the size of the display makes this phone attractive. At 5.7-inch, you can enjoy a wide viewing experience. For example, when watching movies or streaming videos.

The display still provides enough space when the touchscreen input is required. For example, when editing a document or writing an email. There is plenty of space for both the touch keyboard and the documents.

It also applies when playing games. The control buttons won’t feel like it takes up the space of the game itself. So it’s comfortable and it doesn’t feel restricted. You can also stack up two apps at once.

As for brightness, the phone is not the sharpest but it is not bad either. You can see things clearly in an outdoor light. The auto-brightness mode sometimes can be a miss. But overall, we didn’t find any significant trouble with it.

Camera

One of the highlights of this phone is the camera. On the back, you’ll find two cameras. The main camera has a 13MP lens. The second camera is much less at 2MP. It serves as a lens for depth for attaining that desirable blur effect.

The selfie camera is 5MP. If the back camera has an LED flash, this feature is absent on the selfie camera. The notch doesn’t leave any more room for additional components.

Let’s discuss the picture quality. With a 13MP rear camera, you can be sure to get above-average results. In our opinion, Samsung‌ Galaxy A01 captures objects well.

In terms of colors and details, the phone delivers image results worth showing to social media. However, the phone is far from perfect in low light. Users will still be dealing with noises.

As mentioned earlier, you can add a twist to your photos by utilizing the second camera. Blur the background and create a bokeh effect using the 2MP second lens. The feature is fun to use. In the Camera app, users can use the “Live focus” shooting mode.

Inside the Camera app, we saw more features and settings available. Among them are Pro (manual) Mode, HDR, and gesture trigger.

To find out more details about the Camera app, it’s better to consult Samsung Galaxy A01 user manual. As a final note for the camera, video recording on this phone‌ allows 1080p outputs.

Storage

Samsung Galaxy A01 packs a 16GB internal storage on their system. To be honest, we’re not really a fan of low storage capacity. We wish this device could provide more. Especially because the real capacity is only 8GB.

After subtracted by what’s used by the system, 8GB is what’s left for users. This capacity would run out quickly. Especially for someone who likes to install a lot of apps and store plenty of personal files.

The solution is external storage, which Samsung‌ ‌Galaxy‌ ‌A01‌ ‌thankfully provides. Users can add up to a 512GB SD card storage. A massive capacity, this can be some kind of solace for the lackluster internal storage.

Performance

Samsung‌ ‌Galaxy‌ ‌A01‌ ‌runs on an Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 439. This CPU has a clock rate of 2GHz. A big number, the RAM that accompanies this setup is only 2GB.

Moving beyond the hardware, the phone runs on an Android operating system for its software. The version used is Android 10.

At 2GHz, we expected Samsung‌ Galaxy ‌A01 to be fast. The phone does not disappoint in this matter. It is snappy and responsive. It takes less than a second to launch an app. The fluidity when switching screens and multi-task is satisfying. We found this phone is very capable if you have a somewhat fast-paced life.

The RAM, at 2GB, may not be the biggest capacity for a 2020 smartphone. But it responds well enough to basic to medium processing demand. It can handle when users have plenty of apps opening at once. Samsung‌ ‌Galaxy‌ ‌A01‌ ‌is also a capable phone for casual gaming.

Any imperfection only shows when we’re trying to push the phone into its limit. In this case, the phone may struggle when running 3D games. It can still run, but you won’t be able to enjoy the highest graphic setting without experiencing any lag. But this is not a surprise for us.

What we like the most about Samsung‌ ‌Galaxy‌ ‌A01‌ ‌is its Android. Strapped with the most recent version, users can be sure they enjoy the latest software technology. Android 10 boasts many features previously absent in its predecessor.

Among the favorites is dark mode. It’s a feature where you can toggle a dark theme. This way it can reduce strain to your eyes when looking at the screen. Android 10 also increased privacy measures. For example, now you can search Google Maps on incognito mode.

Beyond what’s originally come from Android, Samsung also adds its own customization. You can still find themes and launchers that are typical in Samsung phones. There are also Samsung’s own apps and features.

One of them is Biometrics. Lacking a fingerprint sensor, this is how Samsung‌ ‌Galaxy‌ ‌A01‌ ‌compensates. The phone makes it possible to have a Face unlock method as a way to secure your phone. Some third-party apps are also pre-installed, such as LinkedIn and Microsoft Office mobile.

All in all, this Samsung‌ ‌Galaxy‌ ‌A01‌ ‌review for performance shows one thing. This phone is beyond satisfactory. It’s not the best on the market, of course, but you get a lot of value from it relative to the affordable price.

Connectivity

Samsung‌ Galaxy‌ A01 runs on the fast LTE band also with support for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Being a 2020 smartphone, users can be sure they will have no restriction when it comes to the network. You can have a smooth calling experience and fast internet.

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Even better, this phone uses the latest USB type-C as its port. It means faster data transfer and reversible plug. Its Bluetooth version is 4.2 instead of the newest version 5. But this is a minor flaw for use.

For the GPS, we found the phone works fast and accurate when detecting location. Lastly, Samsung‌ ‌Galaxy‌ ‌A01 unfortunately doesn’t provide NFC.

Battery

Samsung‌ ‌Galaxy‌ ‌A01 has a 3,000mAh battery. It is non-removable with a claimed standby time of 11.5 days. The talk time is 19.7 hours. The battery on Samsung Galaxy A01 is not the strength of this phone.

There are some competitors that offer better specs. The capacity of the battery is enough to hold 1 day of normal use. If you use the phone heavily, you will need to charge more often.

However, at least this phone offers 7.75W fast charging. It can cut off some time spent charging the phone. You won’t need to wait as long to fill it up.

Is the Samsung‌ ‌Galaxy‌ ‌A01‌ a good phone?

From our Samsung‌ ‌Galaxy‌ ‌A01‌ review above, we are confident in this phone’s capabilities. Considering buyers indeed not expecting a top-tier model. At the price of $79.99, you get a phone with a big display and dual-camera. Not only limited to that, but you can also enjoy a fast performance from the 2GHz processor, and the intuitive Android 10.

Samsung‌ ‌Galaxy‌ ‌A01 is not without its flaws. Our concern was the internal storage capacity that’s limited. Without long, you will need to add an SD card because 16GB is not enough. But overall, many of the phone’s advantages still outweigh its flaws.

For additional comparison, you can check other Samsung phones within a similar price range. As one example, read this comparison between Samsung Galaxy A10e and Samsung Galaxy A20.