The Samsung A70 is a behemoth when it comes to size, but what about specs? Everything you’d want to know can be found below. So, read on.
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The phone’s a mid-ranger, but its price tag is on the higher end of the spectrum.
One of the major things that would influence its price would be the warranty you get it with. Seller warranties are cheaper than company ones. Onboard memory affects the final price too.
The A70 rocks the rainbow effect Samsung loves using so much. We’re here for it as it makes the device look out of this world, in a subtle way.
The phone feels premium in your hand. It’s plastic and has a shine that makes it glass-like. Samsung calls this their ‘glasstic’ back. However, this also means the A70 is a huge fingerprint magnet.
It has a heft to it. It’s 183 g, which adds to the premium feel.
One of the first things that would catch your attention is its size. It’s a giant phone. If you have smaller hands, one-handed use won’t be comfortable.
That being said, its buttons are quite tactile and feel nice.
As the phone is so big, Samsung had to be smart with the placement of its buttons. We see this in the A70 as they’re easy to reach.
The device comes with a USB-C charging port, which isn’t a surprise. It also has a headphone jack which is appreciated.
If you’re wondering about its colour selection, don’t get your hopes up. There are 4 colour choices for you to choose from. They are the coral, black, blue and white. These are pretty basic. We think the black one is the best as it allows the rainbow effect to truly shine.
You’ll notice a lack of a fingerprint sensor. Before you panic, know that it’s built into the A70’s screen.
As mentioned, the A70 is huge. Its screen is 6.7 inches which makes it a phablet. Its size is great as the phone rocks a 86% screen to body ratio. The fact that it has a Super AMOLED panel makes this even better as the colours are in your face.
Samsung achieves such a ratio with an Infinity U-display. As a result, the selfie camera is hidden within the A7’s droplet of a notch. It’s not that noticeable, so if you’re a notch hater, you have the incentive to get your hands on the device.
As mentioned, its fingerprint sensor is in its screen. It’s fast and we have no complaints.
If you want to know more about its display, the resolution is 1080 x 2400 pixels. This means it’s not only Super AMOLED but FHD+. So, Samsung’s spoiling you.
The glass on its front is Gorilla Glass 3. Gorilla Glass 3 is strong, but it’s not as strong as the 5 or 6. The A70 is kind of expensive, so this is a bummer.
The phone’s performance is pretty good. It comes with the Snapdragon 675 processor, which makes daily use a breeze. It doesn’t get overworked fast, so lag is not an issue. This is especially true for multitasking.
Although its processor is great, we have an issue with its GPU. It has the Adreno 612 GPU, which can stutter.
Out of the box, the A70 has Android 9 installed. As expected, it’ll get the Android 10 update.
The amount of RAM it has contributes to its smooth performance. It has 6 gigs which is quite a good number. There’s an A70 variant that comes with 8 GBs of RAM if you’re interested. Considering that the newest S20 has 8 GBs of RAM, this is adequate.
The variants only come with 128 Gigs of storage though. However, they can be expanded with a microSD card.
The A70 comes with a sizeable battery. It’s 4500 mAh and can last at least 2 days with moderate use. If you’re excessive with it, know that the device can last about a day once fully charged.
The phone has a fast charge. It uses a 25 W charger, which can get it from 0-100% in about 2 hours.
The fact that the A70 was the first Samsung phone to ship with the 25 W fast charger makes it more appealing.
If you guessed it, the battery isn’t removable.
Unfortunately, the phone doesn’t support wireless charging. This made us scratch our heads as phones at the A70’s price point generally do.
There are 3 cameras on its rear. It boasts a primary 32 MP sensor, an 8 MP wide-angle one and a 5 MP depth sensor. Like most phones, the A70 shoots best in well-lit environments. It captures details and takes shots that are worth its price tag.
That being said, overexposure is a thing. It isn’t that evident in its wide-angle camera though. This is a trend we’ve seen in Samsung’s mid-rangers time and time again.
Sri Lanka is pretty sunny. Overexposed shots aren’t the best for us islanders.
When used in dim-lit environments, shots aren’t as detailed, but they’re not too bad. There’s a strange blurriness to them though. It makes everything look softer. To some, this is aesthetically pleasing.
In terms of its selfie camera, the A70 rocks a 32 MP sensor that’s as detailed as its primary one. Thankfully, it doesn’t produce pictures that are as overexposed.
To know if it bulldozes its competition, let’s go through some of its best alternatives:
The phones have very similar names, so this shows how alike they are.
Right off the bat, the A70s’ colour choices are different. It comes in red, white and black. The effect on its rear is different too, almost prism-like.
The phone is as big as the A70s. They both have a 6.7-inch screen, with a Super AMOLED FHD+ panel. You’ll also see a 86% screen to body ratio in the device.
Though it’s as big, it’s heavier than its counterpart. This isn’t by much as the device is 187 g while the A70 is 183.
It comes with the same processor and GPU too, but its cameras are different. The primary sensor on the A70s is 64 MP. It also comes with an 8 MP wide-angle and 5 MP depth sensor. This makes its camera better by leaps and bounds.
You also get models with different versions of RAM. The A70s comes with 128 gigs of storage and 6, or 8 gigs of RAM. If you want, you can use a microSD card to expand it up to 1 TB, which is insane.
The A71 is the new and improved A70. This doesn’t mean they’re that different in price.
It has a more powerful processor as it rocks the Snapdragon 710 chip, along with an Adreno 618 GPU.
Its screen is as big as the A70s. However, it has a better screen to body ratio at 87.2%. Yes, it’s also Super AMOLED and has FHD+ capabilities.
The phone has a superior camera. There are 4 on the rear. The primary one is 64 MP and the additional one is a 5 MP Macro lens.
The A71 looks very different. It has all 4 cameras in a square on the corner of its rear, which almost looks eye-like.
The pink version doesn’t masquerade as a coral, and there’s a version that comes in a cool mint-green.
If you’re wondering, the A71 is made entirely from plastic. It doesn’t look cheap though.
The verdict is in. You might have guessed that we’re fans of the Samsung A70. The phone comes with a processor that’s fit for its price tag. It lets you handle everyday tasks effortlessly and lets you multitask without lagging. The phone comes with a GPU that isn’t the best, but this isn’t the end of the world.
The device’s camera is great, but its tendency to overexpose can be hard for life in Sri Lanka.
In terms of display, you’ll have no room to complain. The colours are in-your-face and its screen is huge. We specifically loved that the A70 has a screen to body ratio that complements its stature.
Speaking of ergonomics, the phone is easy to use even though it’s big. This is due to the careful placing of its buttons. If you have smaller hands, this might not be enough.
And yes, the phone is made completely of plastic. For a mid-range-to-premium phone, this is disappointing, but Samsung loves the material.
Overall, the A70 is a device that you need to splurge on. So, what’re you waiting for?
