Galaxy A51 is tragic proof that Samsung can't beat the iPhone SE

Galaxy A51 is tragic proof that Samsung tin can't vanquish the iPhone SE

(Epitome credit: Future)

The Samsung Milky way A51 might not be quite as well-rounded as the iPhone SE 2020 or the Google Pixel 3a, but one affair's for sure — it knows how to make a positive first impression.

It happens the moment you turn the Milky way A51 on, and see that expansive half dozen.5-inch AMOLED panel push all the way out to the corners, interrupted by cipher except a tiny aperture for the front-facing camera.

Check out our Samsung Galaxy A51 review
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Plus: Galaxy A51 vs. iPhone SE

The Galaxy A51's pattern tin't help only read like a statement of intent from Samsung; a company all-time known for its Galaxy S flagships after neglecting to take upkeep handsets seriously for many years. It'due south hard to believe information technology wasn't long ago that the tech behemothic was trying to entice shoppers with uninspired propositions similar the Galaxy J7 Prime — a forgettable device that you lot'd assume no thought was put into, as if it was churned out to meet a cost bracket and cypher else.

Samsung, ane of the biggest players in the industry, should be able to practice amend — and better information technology did, beginning with terminal year's Galaxy A50. The A51 is an evolution of that renewed focus on low- and mid-tier phones, and, at a price of $399, the A51'south a competent addition to the crowded segment. Similar the Galaxy A50, this new telephone will probably exist a runaway success.

There's just one problem. The Galaxy A51 may be ane of the all-time cheap phones, simply it isn't built to be the all-time. It's built to be attractive.

Quantity over quality

The Galaxy A51 is a product of numbers. There'due south the 6.5-inch OLED screen I already mentioned; a whopping four camera lenses on the dorsum, one of which can capture 48-megapixel shots; a beefy four,000-mAh battery; and a generous 128GB of storage built in.

On paper, it all sounds impressive. Withal, when you brainstorm to investigate how those numbers actually contribute to the overall parcel, they only seem indulgent.

That 4,000-mAh battery should deliver exceptional longevity, simply it but turned in 9 hours and xvi minutes of LTE web surfing in Tom's Guide's custom bombardment test. That'south within minutes of the iPhone SE 2020, which has a comically-pocket-size 1,821-mAh battery less than half every bit large equally the power pack in the Galaxy A51. Then what, exactly, does all that extra juice buy you?

I'one thousand similarly ambivalent well-nigh the A51's storage. Having all that capacity available to yous up front end is nice, sure. Simply it matters less on an Android telephone, where you normally tin can just slot in a microSD card whenever you're feeling cramped for infinite.

But the Galaxy A51's most egregious oversight has to exist that quad-lens camera. It perfectly encapsulates Samsung's flawed philosophy that keeps this telephone from beingness equally good as the iPhone SE and Pixel 3a.

Equally far every bit I'g concerned, modern phones don't really need more than three cameras: a chief broad-angle shooter; an ultrawide one for landscapes and other visually-sprawling scenes; and a telephoto for dramatic, bokeh-manner portraits. The telephoto tends to be the first one to get in more economical phones, so for the sake of the field the Galaxy A51 plays in, let's say a maximum of two is all that'due south necessary.

Well, y'all get double that with the A51. There'due south the wide-angle and the ultrawide, simply there's also a depth sensor, which helps the phone simulate wide-aperture bokeh to mediocre effect; every bit well as a macro lens, which is the nearly surprising and — let's be honest — least useful optic of all.

Nobody wants to accept pictures with a bad camera — whether you've got four lenses or one — and you're probably going to shoot less often if your camera isn't good plenty. Therein lies the rub with the Galaxy A51.

The iPhone SE and Pixel 3a both tout unmarried-lens cameras, backed by sensors like to the ones that underpin those companies' more than premium handsets. They're non flashy; both are only rated at 12 MP, and in Apple's case, you don't fifty-fifty get Night Mode for your troubles. And nonetheless, given the choice between those phones — which also cost $399 — and this Milky way, I would select Samsung'due south rivals every fourth dimension.

The emphasis on a quantity of eyes and high megapixel counts versus independent camera quality is perhaps the greatest falsehood phone makers continually thrust upon consumers, and the A51 is a shining instance of that. Information technology also got me wondering — what would it have price Samsung to equip the A51 with i or two good lenses and sensors instead of several middling ones?

And then once again, that's sort of an irrelevant question. When you're dealing in buzzwords, four lenses for $399 merely sounds impressive, and grabs a shopper'south attention. The fact that the A51 produces extremely noisy low-calorie-free shots or has problem focusing won't matter when Samsung sells a boatload of these phones, which they probably will.

What we'd like to run into in a cheap phone

I stress that the criticism here comes from a identify of concern and disappointment. I wanted to love the A51 — I even adopt its design to the Milky way S20'due south — but between those aforementioned photographic camera woes and the telephone'due south inconsistent performance, it's tough to look past the flaws.

If Samsung wants to move a lot of these phones, I suspect the company has done everything it should have. Merely if it wants to make a better phone for $399, it'south going to demand to expect to the competition for a flake of inspiration — both positive and negative.

Samsung Galaxy A51 and iPhone SE — (Image credit: Future)

While the iPhone SE is a steal for the level of power it offers, it's far from a flawless device. Most people today desire a screen that's larger than 4.7 inches and a pattern penned inside the final v years, plus its battery is truly paltry. However, the SE's camera is worlds better than those you typically find in phones at this price, and once more, the A13 Bionic's flagship-caliber functioning makes the cheapest iPhone a tough offering to refuse.

For next twelvemonth'southward Milky way A52, fewer-simply-better sensors, loaded with some of the automobile learning tricks that brand Samsung's premium mobile cameras so much better, could exist a beginning to chipping away at Apple and Google'southward imaging advantage.

Turning to operation, it'd be unreasonable to wait Samsung to offer a phone with a high-end chipset at such a depression cost; it's just something the company has never exhibited an involvement in doing — not to mention such a movement would totally pull the carpeting out from underneath the three-times more than expensive Galaxy S20 line. However, the Milky way A51 deserves a better CPU than the sluggish Exynos 9611, which routinely lagged when asked to open apps and delivered stuttering animations across the telephone'southward One UI interface during our testing.

Information technology's unclear whether the A51's performance deficiencies take more to practice with inadequate optimization rather than particular flaws of the silicon itself. Regardless, Google was able to excerpt a slap-up user experience and far better efficiency out of the Snapdragon 670 in final year's Pixel 3a. Whether Samsung needs to bequeath a faster Exynos chip to its $400 offering, or turn to Qualcomm as the company does for its North American flagships, the Galaxy A51'southward successor needs to run better than this at any cost.

Outlook

Even with the Galaxy A51's shortcomings, Samsung's latest midrange phone gives the states a lot to look frontward to. It's refreshing to run across the globe's biggest telephone maker attempt to evangelize products within achieve for those who take less to spend — peculiarly considering the financial predicaments so many people are facing the world over.

If you're looking to spend $400 on a phone and you desire the biggest, nigh vibrant display possible and are willing to concede the best possible functioning to get it, the Galaxy A51 is a respectable option. I wouldn't plough it down if you can discover information technology at a good discount.

Nevertheless, if Samsung truly wants to produce the best cheap phones — and not merely the acknowledged ones — it's going to have to reconsider its philosophy, and terminate playing the numbers game. It will have to stop manufacturing devices that look proficient for the coin, and throw its weight backside devices that actually are.

Adam Ismail is a staff writer at Jalopnik and previously worked on Tom'southward Guide covering smartphones, car tech and gaming. His love for all things mobile began with the original Motorola Droid; since then he'south owned a variety of Android and iOS-powered handsets, refusing to stay loyal to one platform. His work has also appeared on Digital Trends and GTPlanet. When he's not fiddling with the latest devices, he's at an indie pop bear witness, recording a podcast or playing Sega Dreamcast.