Samsung Galaxy A15 4G review: An efficient budget-friendly smartphone

When it comes to Samsung, there is a remarkable and relentless process through which they put forth their devices, whether it’s a flagship or a budget-friendly device. The same is true for the Galaxy ‘A’ series. A15 is the latest addition to this series. In the Galaxy A15 model, Samsung brings improvements in several aspects over last year‍‍`s A14. Let’s take a detailed look. 

Key Specifications of the Samsung Galaxy A15 4G  

Design and Build Quality 

One of the key selling points of Samsung smartphones is the design symmetry in each of their lines. Whether you’re going for the A series, M series, or the flagship S series, the main design elements remain more or less the same. The only difference is in the materials. 

The Galaxy A15 is also no different here as it looks much like the more expensive A35 and even the flagship S24. Except on the A15, the entire body is made from plastic. 

The dimension of the A15 comes in at 160.1 mm by 76.8 mm by 8.4 mm with 200 g of effective weight. In terms of physical footprint, the A15 is much more compact than the A14 which is a great thing for compact phone enthusiasts.

The plastic back has a frosted finish to give it a glass-like look and the frame comes with a matte coat. Ports and buttons are in their usual spot including the coveted 3.5 mm headphone jack. The power button this time also doubles as the fingerprint scanner. 

The only drawback with the A15 being a budget-friendly device would be the waterdrop notch, large chin, and the lack of a water protection rating. 

The Display 

The display on the Galaxy A15 is a 6.5-inch Super AMOLED panel with a 90 Hz refresh rate and 800 nits of peak brightness. The resolution comes in at 1080 by 2340 pixels with a 19.5:9 aspect ratio. It makes for around 396 ppi density on the panel. 

The large chin at the bottom might be out of standard for 2024, but the 84.3% screen-to-body ratio is what users will be getting for an affordable price. Aside from the specs, it‍‍`s hardly contentious that the A15 has one of the best budget smartphone displays today. 

The Super AMOLED tech from Samsung combined with the 90 Hz refresh rate brings a crisp and smooth user experience to the table. Needless to say, content consumption and browsing on this panel would bring a mid-range feel for its price. 

The Camera 

There is a triple camera setup on the Galaxy A15 vertically aligned on the back. Unlike most budget-friendly smartphones Samsung has included two useful sensors out of the three. The main sensor is a 50 MP f/1.8 shooter with AF. The secondary ones are a 5 MP f/2.2 ultrawide and a 2 MP f/2.4 macro shooter. 

The front shooter is a 13 MP f/2.0 sensor.

In terms of camera performance, the main shooter produced similar results to the A14. Pictures taken in bright light had great details and a characteristic warm tone to them. The dynamic range was pretty good as it showed a good balance overall. However, pictures taken in low light showed lens flare and occasional grains. Thankfully, the night mode did a pretty good job of dissipating them. 

Portrait mode on the main sensor worked well with good edge detection and subject focus. The ultrawide sensor produced some decent images in well-lit environments without any fish-eye effect. The front shooter can take decent social media-ready selfies with Samsung post-processed beautification and softening in place. 

The videography on the A15 is limited to 1080P at 30 fps. The low capacity is a bit surprising considering the A15 comes with an updated processor. 

Processor and Performance 

The Galaxy A15 is powered by Mediatek Helio G99 based on the 6 Nm architecture. The octa-core processor has a chip design of 2x2.2 GHz Cortex-A76 & 6x2.0 GHz Cortex-A55 with Mali-G57 MC2 GPU. 

The G99 is a processor that has been seen on devices going up to 30K in the Bangladeshi market. So seeing the same processor on a sub-20K smartphone is a steal of a deal in itself. 

In terms of performance, the G99 doesn’t slack. Games like PUBG can be played at Ultra with smooth fps. We didn’t notice any major hiccups or frame drops during the test. Similar titles like Genshin Impact, Asphalt 9, and COD ran with medium to high settings. The device did heat up after some time but it wasn’t anything unmanageable for the processor. 

Benchmark Scores 

Software 

The software on the A15 is One UI 6 based on Android 14. One UI replaced the Samsung Experience to entirely revamp their UI/UX. It is fast, smooth, and with minimal bloatware making it an ideal experience even in a budget smartphone like the A15. 

What’s even better? Samsung has committed to four years of software updates and five years of security updates on the A15. 

Battery and Charge Time 

The battery on the A15 is 5000 mAh. The device supports up to 25W of wired charging. However, the charger isn’t included in the box. Expect to get around 6 to 8 hours of screen time from a full charge. 

Pros and Cons of Samsung Galaxy A15 

Pros 

- Super AMOLED panel with 90 Hz refresh rate 
- Side-mounted fingerprint scanner 
- 3.5 mm headphone jack 
- Updated Helio G99 processor 
- 25W wired fast charging 
- One UI 6 based on Android 14.

Cons 

- No charger in the box 
- No dust/ water resistance IP rating
- No 4K video recording option 
- No wireless charging support 
- No reverse charging support 
- Doesn’t have OIS or EIS 

Price of Samsung Galaxy A15 4G in Bangladesh 

The Samsung Galaxy A15 4G’s 4/128 GB configuration is available in the Bangladeshi market for around 17,000 Taka. However, the price may vary depending on the sellers.

Verdict 

The Galaxy A15 4G brings a semi-updated design, a new chipset, a better display, and better post-processing compared to the outgoing Galaxy A14. With each year, Samsung is perfecting its ultra-budget line to blur the line between budget and mid-range even further. 

However, some intrinsic issues like no 4K recording, no water resistance rating, and an outdated display design might be disadvantageous for some users. 

Regardless, the Samsung Galaxy A15 4G is nearly a perfect option compared to other budget options in the market.