Samsung Galaxy A11

October 23, 2020 by theyolarbi Product Review, Videos from Theyo Larbi

Hello there! This is the review of the Samsung Galaxy A11. A unique phone, yet with very similar specifications to the Galaxy M11. This is another great budget phone with some awesome features.

NETWORK	Technology	GSM / HSPA / LTE

LAUNCH	Announced	2020, March 13
LAUNCH	Status	Available. Released 2020, May 01

BODY	Dimensions	161.4 x 76.3 x 8 mm (6.35 x 3.00 x 0.31 in)
	Weight	177 g (6.24 oz)
	Build	Glass front, plastic back, plastic frame
	SIM	Single SIM (Nano-SIM) or Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by)

DISPLAY	Type	PLS LCD
	Size	6.4 inches, 100.5 cm² (~81.6% screen-to-body ratio)
	Resolution	720 x 1560 pixels, 19.5:9 ratio (~268 ppi density)

PLATFORM	OS	Android 10, upgradable to Android 11, One UI 3.1
	Chipset	Qualcomm SDM450 Snapdragon 450 (14 nm)
	CPU	Octa-core 1.8 GHz Cortex-A53
	GPU	Adreno 506

MEMORY	Card slot	microSDXC (dedicated slot)
	Internal	32GB 2GB RAM, 32GB 3GB RAM, 64GB 3GB RAM, 64GB 4GB RAM
		eMMC 5.1

MAIN CAMERA	Triple	13 MP, f/1.8, 27mm (wide), AF 5 MP, f/2.2, 115˚ (ultrawide) 2 MP, f/2.4, (depth)
	Features	LED flash, panorama, HDR
	Video	1080p@30fps

SELFIE CAMERA	Single	8 MP, f/2.0
	Video	1080p@30fps

SOUND	Loudspeaker	Yes
	3.5mm jack	Yes

COMMS	WLAN	Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot
	Bluetooth	4.2, A2DP, LE
	GPS	Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, BDS
	NFC	No
	Radio	FM radio
	USB	USB Type-C 2.0

FEATURES	Sensors	Fingerprint (rear-mounted), accelerometer, proximity

BATTERY	Type	Li-Po 4000 mAh, non-removable
	Charging	Fast charging 15W

MISC	Colors	Black, White, Blue, Red
	Models	SM-A115F/DS, SM-A115F, SM-A115M, SM-A115M/DS, SM-A115U, SM-A115A, SM-A115AZ, SM-A115U1, SM-A115W, SM-A115AP, SM-S115DL
	SAR EU	0.52 W/kg (head) 0.99 W/kg (body)
	Price	About 160 EUR

So, when I grabbed this phone for a while and started recording b-roll shots for this review, I noticed something familiar about it. Let’s see if you do too.

So, for the design, we have an all plastic phone which weighs 177g (6.24 oz) and a has a massive screen. And yeah, it’s a big phone for me, if you have small hands like I do. Using it with hand isn’t always possible, especially reaching the top and bottom.

You probably have to put a screen protector on this phone at all time. I accidentally dropped and cracked it before making this video, so just keep that in mind. And you can see that the crack extends throughout the screen.

Speaking of the screen, it’s a 6.4 inches PLS TFT with 81.6% screen to body ratio. With a 720 x 1560 px at 19.5:9. And finally, a 268 pixel per inch density

The left side of the phone houses a dual nano sim cards support and an additional micro SD card slot for expandable storage.

At the top is a 3.5mm headphone jack and a secondary microphone for stereo audio recording

The right showcases the volume rockers on the top and the power button just beneath it

The bottom houses the main microphone, USB-C connector and a single firing speaker

The back has this nice casing around it, but it’s quite reflective and a massive fingerprint magnet. There, you’ll find a triple camera setup, a single LED flash, the fingerprint scanner and a Samsung logo at the bottom.

It’s running on Android 10 on Samsung’s One UI skin

A Snapdragon 450 chipset

32GB storage and 2GB or 3GB of RAM

And if you want more storage you can opt for the 64GB internal storage with 3GB RAM

4000mAh battery

With these specs, your daily gaming shouldn’t come at any problem

So if you watched my review of the Samsung M11, you would know that the design of that phone is exactly similar to this.

The exact design, the exact screen size and resolution, the exact ports placements, same camera and even the exact same chipsets.

The only differences I could pick up are the battery size, weight difference and the camera bump. I think it’s just one, because, the bigger 5000mAH battery of the M11 definitely makes it heavier. And because the A11 has a smaller battery, it is slimmer, hence, protruding cameras.

Setting up a finger for extra security takes less than a min to complete. And overall, the scanner works just fine. I had quite a negligible number of accidental readings but they’re so minimal that I can forgive.

Besides the fingerprint sensor is an option for face recognition which uses the front facing camera to scan and unlock your device.

For the rear facing cameras, we a 13MP, f1.8 wide lens, a 5MP f2.2 ultrawide and a 2MP, f2.4 depth sensor

The camera app is straight forward and quite simple to navigate through too. And you even have the option for PRO mode, where you get to tweak some camera settings, like the white balance and ISO

LIVE FOCUS using the 2MP depth sensor to get you some bokeh shots as well.

We get 1080p@30fps video recording

The 8MP front facing camera is great and all, but I hate the fact that it is zoomed in. there’s this crop when taking pictures or recording videos. And if you should even use the wider camera settings, it’s still cropped in. unfortunately, you can’t change anything on this cos it’s just a single lens up front

1080p@30fps video recording

One great feature I see a lot of phones implementing these days, is the option to switch to DARK MODE. Which turns every app, basically black. This helps reduce eye strains at night and even improve battery life.

I really liked the M11 and since it’s basically the same phone as this, I like this one too.

So yeah, if you have about GHc 800 with you and you’re looking for a new phone to buy, this is one worth considering. I would advise to get M11 for GHC 920 cos of the bigger battery. And if the screen is where you care about the most, then definitely go for the A20, with the Super AMOLED screen