GadgetByte Nepal

Samsung Galaxy A04 is an entry-level smartphone. It boasts all the basic specs like 4G connectivity, a dual camera setup, an HD+ display, and a 5000mAh battery. Running the show under the hood is an Helio G35 chipset. But how good is it? Is it an ideal choice for the sub-15k price segment? Let’s find that in our Samsung Galaxy A04 review.

Samsung Galaxy A04 Specifications:

• Dimenstions: 164.4 x 76.3 x 9.1mm; 192 gm
• Display: 6.5″ Infinity-V PLS LCD, 60Hz
• Resolution: HD+ (720 x 1600 pixels)
• CPU: Octa-core (2.3Ghz)
• Memory: 4/6/8GB RAM, 32/64/128GB storage
• Rear Camera: Dual camera;
  – 50MP, f/1.8 primary shooter
  – 2MP, f/2.4 depth sensor
• Front Camera: 5MP
• Battery: 5000mAh, 15W Adaptive charging
• Colors: Black, Green, Red, and White (White not available in Nepal)
• Price in Nepal: Rs. 14,999 (3/32GB), Rs. 16,999 (4/64GB)

Samsung Galaxy A04 Review:

OneUI Core

Let’s talk about the OneUI core experience first. It is built on top of Android 12. The lighter version of Samsung’s proprietary OS looks good. You get all those regular Samsung features with fewer customizations. Thankfully, Samsung hasn’t installed bloatware here but you do get a bunch of Microsoft and Google apps preinstalled. Most of them can be uninstalled.

Moving on, there are a few bugs here and there though. One of the most common encounters is with the app auto closing and freezing. On top of that, there are frequent hiccups while multitasking, and scrolling on social media. I guess this also has to do with the phone’s entry-level chip, the Helio P35.

Performance

The phone boasts an entry-level Mediatek Helio P35 chip from 2018. The P35 gets the job done for those wanting the basic experience. It can handle day-to-day activities like using social media, multitasking, light gaming, etc.  But the catch is that its performance is just average.

In case you are willing to play some games on this guy, I’ll advise you to stick to basic games like Subway Surfers, Candy Crush, Temple Run, and such. I tried playing PUBG and the max it can go is–balanced graphics at a Medium frame rate. To no surprise, graphics rendering takes a significantly longer time on PUBG. The game is barely playable and not so enjoyable on this phone. Apart from that, A04 is good to go for light gaming.

Design

Talking about the design, the phone is made up of plastic as expected. The front side houses a waterdrop notch which I think is the norm for budget phones these days. The device weighs 192 grams which is a bit heavier if you are coming from a lightweight phone. Nevertheless, it doesn’t feel bulky though. I like the camera module on the rear side, arising from the surface. But, the headphone jack placement is at the bottom left side which feels a bit awkward while gaming in portrait mode.

Display

Let’s get into the display now. The device sports a 6.5-inch PLS LCD display with a standard 60Hz refresh rate. I was quite reluctant about the viewing angles but they are completely fine. The display is calibrated for a warmer tone. So, if you prefer warmer colors, there won’t be any complaints. Content watching on Youtube felt decent with max resolution available at 1080p. The sunlight readability is also okay in this price range.

Cellular Reception with VoLTE

Also, let me talk about cellular reception. The phone supports a 4G network and Nepal Telecom’s VoLTE works super fine. For those unaware, VoLTE enhances the overall voice quality by using the 4G network for both calls and data simultaneously. As a result, the call quality was crisp and loud on this phone. Moreover, you can also do Carrier Video calling without having to turn the mobile data on.

Camera

Moving to the optics, the phone flaunts a dual camera setup. The main camera is a 50MP shooter with an f/1.8 aperture followed by a 2MP depth sensing unit.

Daylight Pictures

Pictures from this primary camera are decent in daylighting conditions.  Outputs are usually on the warmer side with a good amount of details. It clicks pixel-binned photos at 12MP resolution. One thing to note is that although the camera is a 50MP shooter, I couldn’t find the dedicated 50MP mode on this phone.

Daytime Shots

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Portraits

Portrait shots from the device are great for the price. The edge detection is satisfactory and the skin tone is okay for human subjects. You can adjust the blur level before clicking portraits too.

Portraits Main Cam

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Night Shots

Well coming to the nighttime shots, the phone can snap average shots with some amount of light available. There is no dedicated night mode here. But as a budget phone, I cannot complain much here.

Night

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Selfies

Coming to the front side, the phone sports a 5MP selfie camera. You can get average selfies in daylighting situations. The skin tone is not that accurate for portraits–given that it is a 5MP camera. The bokeh amount is okay though.

Selfies

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Videography

Talking of videography, the Galaxy A04 can shoot at 1080p 30fps max. As expected, the phone lacks any sort of stabilization while the quality is okay for the price. Meanwhile, I found the front camera to be okay for video calls.

Battery

Finally, let’s get into the battery life. This guy packs a 5000mAh battery. With some light gaming, social media scrolling, and multimedia usage, the battery lasted easily for a day in my usage. In fact, the 5000mAh battery is more than enough for those basic uses. The 15W charger takes 2 and a half hours to fully charge the cell. The USB Type-C port is appreciable, but a fast charger would be more appreciable, to be honest.

Samsung Galaxy A04 Review: Conclusion

Coming to the conclusion, the Samsung Galaxy A04 is the one to go for those looking for a nice display and capable camera with a budget tagline. I found the software experience to be average due to the Helio P35 combo. If only, Samsung had opted for a better SoC here. And I wish it featured a fingerprint scanner.

Still, the experience isn’t too bad either. After all, the phone is designed for starters and basic users. Except for the Helio P35, its design, and display, to the battery, is worth the price. Content watching is also pleasing with its warm tones. So, the phone is good to go for those who want a basic experience with light gaming.

Samsung Galaxy A04 Review: Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Good Design
• One UI Core
• Good outputs from the main camera
• Long-lasting battery

Cons:

• Below average performance of Helio P35
• Stutters and auto app freezing
• Average selfies