Samsung Galaxy A21 review: large device, small price

Samsung is famous for its large, powerful phones and obscenely expensive. But what buy you $ 250 in the Galaxy assortment these days? Getting your head about Samsung budget offers is a difficult task understanding in view of the confusing designation scheme and year -style models, but Galaxy A21 is one of the latest prices for prices from the Korean manufacturer. It is available on a number of American transport companies now, including Boost, the phone we have reviewed. While the A21 provides a large screen and a decent battery life, the total performance of the phone and cameras (for the price) must give lovers of the large phone who are aware of the budget.

Specifications

Goodness

Not very good

Design, devices, what is in the box

Galaxy A21 is familiar – it’s a little longer and wider than the S20 Ultra (although Ultra is thicker). A21 does not share the expensive cousin screen ratio, though; While the S20 Ultra SPORTS is a 6.9 -inch screen, the A21 packs a screen less than 6.5 inches. The edges have barely distracted, especially in this price sector. Also do not distract your attention: a personal photo camera hole tucked in the upper left corner.

The screen of the IPS LCD panel is beautiful and vibrant, but it is only 720 pixels – which is very harsh in this size, shaking to 270 pixels per inch. It also does not become bright enough to use the open air comfortably on a sunny day. There is a little shade around the Selfie Cam Punch camera, although it is not particularly disturbing when you don’t look for it.

The keys to the storage and energy unit live along the right edge of the phone, and while the power button is good, the volume control items are road Very high on the plastic phone frame. Unless you have special feelings in particular, you will have to hurt the phone in your hand to adjust the sound level. The fingerprint scanner on a background is far from hand-when you keep the phone in a normal position, my index finger hardly reaches the bottom of the sensor. This is not a small hand phone.

The lower edge of the phone has a USB-C port, a 3.5 mm headphone (shouting), and one loudspeaker for escaping. The speaker actually looks fine, all the things that have been considered. It is not a plate as I expected, but it is located to the left of the USB port, making it exceptionally easy to cover it when carrying the phone in the landscape.

Like its frame, the A21 back plate is plastic. I have nothing against plastic bodies in phones. The glass is sensitive and costly. But the Samsung plastic use here has a glossy and reflective finish, which means that it holds and the oil appears from your hands very well and stands badly with anything that he might feel scratching. It is not difficult to find cases, but the phone does not come with one-only 12W power brick and USB-A-TO-C.

Software, performance and battery life

Samsung Oneui leather is a known amount at this stage. But if the Galaxy phone has not been used since Touchwiz: it’s okay. The Samsung applications group of applications – The Dialer, The Calculator, The Gallery, Et Ctera – but in general, OneUi is mature and thoughtful. It does not have any graphic drunkenness to dump the experiment, and I did not mind living in it during my presence with the A21.

Unfortunately, the phone definitely Packed With Bloatware. Facebook and Amazon Microsoft apps and applications and two weather apps, and at least four music broadcast applications are all downloaded, among others. Boost Mobile himself also had its way with my review unit, as she stuffed with unwanted “safe Wi-Fi” utility-which cost an additional $ 2 a month to enable, as repeated notifications will remind you. There is no unlocked variable for the phone, and I assume that other transport companies are more or less.

Looking at the MediaTek Helio P35 processor from A21 and three carts of RAM, you may not expect to be particularly fast – and you will be right. The multiplicity of tasks is a little bang, but in general, the performance was not bad enough to frustrate me outside the individual occasion as the application will take some rhythms. The phone is clearly struggling under the weight of games more demanding like ASPhalt 9: Legends, but the most simple titles like Mario Kart Tour works well.

The battery life is solid. Once more than two days of intermittent mixed use, I managed to go out about five and a half from the screen time. Given that time included games, Wi-Fi and 4G videos, take pictures, and go out for nine hours or so overnight, this is really impressive.

Cameras

Galaxy A21 comes with a quad -camera setting, and the prominent brand indicates next to the sensors impatiently. There is the basic shooter 16.1 megapixels, the eight MP eight megapixels, a megapixel micro, and a megapixel depth sensor. The last two cameras are not desirable. Many of the manufactures have taken this recently: jam in two additional cameras and fragmented about the number of what you got. I hope they stop.

Macro performance (see above) is straightforward. Smooth pictures and colors are perverted even in perfect lighting. It is better to be better than taking a picture of the basic shooter.

Looking at the price of A21, though, I do not do Hate Pictures of major and broad cameras. They can produce some passable shots with good light, which is about everything you can request in the budget sector. But they are struggling everywhere. High dynamic scenes are especially difficult, and are displayed uniformly either the most prominent compact events or blacks. Low light photography is also non -transfer.

With a little patience and some hateful editing, some shots that will be acceptable to social media may be recorded, but do not expect any miracles such as pixels 4A.

Should you buy it? Classification 7/10

Samsung Galaxy A21

Certainly, if you want a giant phone from your transport company and your budget $ 250. The A21 is really a truly large price, and it takes well enough for people who are less sought by their electronics. Just be ready to disable a ton of bloating.

I will take a closer look at the phones used and renewed first. You can get Galaxy S9+ unbelievable on SWAPPA for almost the same price, and it will be a generally better experience. But if your carrier offers attractive incentives or financing that meets your needs, you can do worse than the A21.

Purchase it if:

• You want a big phone and make your transportation company easy for you to seize this goal.

• You do not need a strong device.

Do not buy it if:

• You can save a better phone in a 350-400 dollar range.

• You want to take a lot of pictures.

Where to buy:

• Samsung – 9.99

• T-Mobile-9.99

• Verizon – 9.99

• Cellular United States – 9.99 ($ ​​80; usually $ 249.99)