Samsung Galaxy A71: Things You Should Know.

Samsung Galaxy A71 is a budget phone with premium features. In typical Samsung fashion, It has multiple variations, including the Galaxy A71 5G for North America. Here are the full specs of Galaxy A71.

Table: Samsung Galaxy A71 Full Specifications.

Network SupportGSM / LTE / HSPA / 5G
SIMPre-installed Nano-SIM.
Display6.7” Super AMOLED+
Resolution1080 x 2400 pixels (393 PPI density).
OSAndroid 10, One UI 2.
ProcessorOcta-Core Qualcomm SDM765 Snapdragon.
External SD card?Yes.
SD card Slot typemicroSDXC.
Internal Memory128 GB (only 105 GB usable).
RAM6GB.
Main CameraTotal 4 cameras. 64 Mega Pixel (MP) wide camera, 12 MP ultrawide camera, 5 MP macro camera, 5 MP depth camera.
Front Camera32 MP.
3.5 mm Headphone Jack?Yes.
Fingerprint Sensor?Yes.
Wireless Charging?No.
Battery Non-removable 4500 mAh.
Fast ChargingYes.

Should you buy Galaxy A71 or not? Learning about the pros and cons of Galaxy A71 is the perfect way to make a decision. This way, instead of relying on others’ reviews, you be the judge and make a decision about your future purchase. 

Pros of Galaxy A71:

These are the pros of Galaxy A71.

Price:

I would say the price is the biggest pros of A71. The specs are high, but the price is not that high compared to other Samsung high-end phones. However, many argue that at this price point, phones with better specs from other manufacturers are available.

Screen:

The Galaxy A71 has a Super AMOLED+ screen, and its resolution is 1080 x 2400 pixels (393 PPI density). The screen resolution is so high that you won’t be able to distinguish individual pixels. AMOLED+ screens provide vivid color, and it is far superior to an LCD screen. 

Fast Charging:

Though the Galaxy A71 does not have wireless charging, it has fast charging technology. As a result, charging this phone does not take too much time. 

Camera:

In my opinion, the cameras are the most significant selling point of this phone. This phone has four back camera. 64 Mega Pixel (MP) wide camera, 12 MP ultrawide camera, 5 MP macro camera, 5 MP depth camera. A71 also has a 32 MP (wide) front camera.

Expandable Storage:

Every Galaxy A71 comes with 128 GB memory (only 105 GB is usable). It is very convenient because, on the iPhone, you have to shell out hundreds of dollars for memory upgrade. Galaxy A71 has an expandable memory slot, where you can insert a microSD card up to 1TB.

Here’s an example. The 128 GB iPhone 12 Pro costs $999, and the next storage version, 256 GB, costs $1099. There’s no difference between these two phones except the internal storage capacity. So, Apple is charging you $100 for 128GB memory. Now check the price of this 128 GB Samsung microSD card on Amazon. This is significantly cheaper than Apple’s storage expansion asking price. It is insane that Apple’s storage option is 400% expensive than the average market price. By now, we hope you do realize the benefit of expandable storage space.

Screen Protector:

We all put a screen protector on our newly purchased phone. The good thing about the Galaxy A71 is that it comes with a screen protector installed. 

Phone Case:

Samsung ships the A71 with a phone case in the box.

3.5mm Headphone Jack:

Galaxy A71 has a 3.5mm headphone jack port. Nowadays, most Samsung phones come without it. 3.5mm jack is very helpful because you can charge and listen to music at the same time.

FM Radio:

Galaxy A71 has an FM radio. The 3.5mm headphone jack wire works as an FM radio antenna. 

Useful Apps in Galaxy A71:

In Galaxy A71, there are many useful apps. The following apps in Galaxy A71 are beneficial.

Game Launcher:

You can use the Game Launcher app to record your phone screen and system audio to record your android gameplay. A third-party screen recorder app can only record the phone screen, not system audio. So, this is very useful for YouTubers. 

MHL Support:

Every Samsung phone, including the Galaxy A71, supports MHL. Using the MHL-HDMI cable, you can mirror your phone screen to any projector or TV. This feature helps you to give a presentation from the phone or watch a movie on the projector.

MHL is a fantastic piece of technology that many does not know. MHL stands for Mobile High Definition Link. On Amazon, if you search “mhl to hdmi”, you will get thousands of results. This cable will help you transfer your phone screens display signal to an HDMI port. Before you buy your MHL to HDMI cable, please make sure which USB your phone supports, whether it is a micro USB, mini USB, or USB type C.

Buy a USB Type C MHL to HDMI cable for your Galaxy A71, for example, similar to this one. Connect one end of the MHL cable to your phone, and connect the other HDMI end to a TV or projector, and power up the cable with a USB power supply. After configuring your TV or projector to HDMI input, your phone screen will show up on your TV or projector. Now, enjoy movies, gameplay on your TV or projector. Moreover, you can give a presentation on office settings with your A71 without any laptop or computer. Isn’t it great?

Scan QR Code:

Galaxy A71 has a built-in QR code scanning feature. From the notification panel, you can activate this feature.

SmartThings, Smart View:

If you have Samsung Devices in your home, you can control those devices using your Galaxy A71 with SmartThings and SmartView.

Free Offers:

Samsung gives the following free offers to every new Galaxy A71 customers.

  • Spotify Premium: Free 6-month subscription.
  • YouTube Premium: Free 2-month subscription.
  • Postmates: Free 1-Year subscription with a $25 credit.
  • $50 Galaxy store credit.

Samsung Financing:

Samsung offers 0% APR financing to purchase this Galaxy A71 phone. Samsung would give you 36 to 48 months to pay in full without any interest. If you buy your phone from Samsung.com, Samsung will guide you step-by-step to get this financial offer.

Cons of Galaxy A71 :

These are the cons of Galaxy A71.

Less Powerful processor:

Galaxy A71 has a less powerful processor. When new, you would not feel any performance difference from other similar category phones. However, within 12-18 months, it will show its real weakness identical to other mid-range Samsung phones. It would become slow and laggy.

Plastic Back:

This A71 has a plastic back. So, it does not feel premium at all. Moreover, a plastic back will chip its paint after a few years. At that point this phone will look very ugly.

No Wireless Charging:

Galaxy A71 does not have any wireless charging feature. 

Samsung BloatWare:

Though I love Samsung Phones, I dislike their software. Samsung always ships its phone with a lot of bloatware pre-installed. A71 is not different either. This Galaxy A71 comes with 43 preloaded apps. There are several duplicate apps too. 

You may think it’s not a big deal for your A71 because you have plenty of remaining storage capacity left for you. But the problem with pre-installed bloatware is that those apps have some root permission to access your user data that a 3rd party apps don’t have. 

Moreover, A pre-installed app can run several processes in the background, which you will never be able to detect. For example, the Facebook app runs several processes in the background that consume a lot of battery and processing power. It not only limits the battery but also prevents other apps from running smoothly, such as Maps. It is why Google maps crash if you have Facebook installed. 

Pre-installed Microsoft Bloatware:

Samsung preloads every Galaxy A71 with the following Microsoft apps.

  • Office Mobile
  • Microsoft One Drive
  • LinkedIn
  • Microsoft Outlook

3rd Party Bloatware:

Samsung ships its every A71 phone with the following 3rd party Apps.

  • Booking.com
  • Wego Flights & Hotels
  • Facebook
  • Spotify
  • Netflix

Duplicate Apps in Galaxy A71:

Samsung is infamous for shipping its phone with duplicate apps. Galaxy A71 is not an exception, either. The following are the duplicate apps in a Galaxy A71.

Duplicate App Store:

  • Google Play Store
  • Galaxy Store

Duplicate Music App:

  • YT Music
  • Spotify

Duplicate Browser:

  • Google Chrome
  • Samsung Internet

Duplicate Online Storage:

  • Google Drive
  • Microsoft OneDrive

Numerous Email Client:

  • Gmail
  • Samsung Email
  • Microsoft Outlook

Unnecessary Pre-installed Apps:

There are apps on Galaxy A71, which are not necessary at all times. It could be beneficial for some, but not for all people. Moreover, anyone can download these apps from the App store. So, there’s no point in pre-installing the following apps.

LinkedIn, Booking.com, Facebook, Spotify, Wego Flights (seriously!), Netflix, Samsung Member, Samsung Global Goals, Samsung Notes, Galaxy Wearables, Google Search, Outlook, Play Movie & TV, Duo.

Useless Bixby:

Samsung is terrible at software. Bixby is the prime example. It does not work most of the time. Still, Samsung ships this unnecessary software with every phone. 

Non-Removable Battery:

The A71 battery is non-removable. It is a disadvantage because the removable battery is useful in many scenarios. An old phone loses its battery capacity. So, it charges slowly but discharges rapidly, making the phone unusable for a practical purpose. Moreover, if Samsung OS detects the battery has become weak, it will slow down the processor to protect the battery from further deterioration. The slow processor will make a Samsung phone laggy. It is why an old Samsung phone lags and hangs. Replacing the old battery with a new one will solve all these problems. But, the A71 battery is non-removable. So, when your Galaxy A71 phone gets old and becomes slow, you have to replace it.

Not Water Resistant:

Samsung A71 is not IP67 certified. It means it’s not water-resistant. 

Optical On-screen Fingerprint Sensor:

It is better to have something than none. But, the Galaxy A71 has an on-screen fingerprint sensor. It is not an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor, which is better than this A71 optical on-screen fingerprint sensor. The optical sensor is slower and inaccurate. You have to place your finger at precisely the right place; otherwise, the fingerprint sensor would not recognize your fingerprint. It is frustrating.

No Carrier Unlocked:

As of writing this article, the Galaxy A71 has no carrier unlocked version in North America. 

Samsung Phones Don’t Last Long:

We all know that Samsung phones don’t last long. A new Galaxy A71 will operate smoothly. But after only a few years, this A71 will become very slow and laggy. The AMOLED+ display will lose it’s sharp and crispiness. It will become dull. 

No Extended Software Update:

Apple provides regular software updates to all of its iPhone. They never abandon their phones. But Samsung stops giving any software update after only 12-18 months of release. So, after only 18 months, you will not receive any OS update anymore.

Samsung Phone Becomes Hot:

Samsung phone overheats quickly. For the last ten years, Samsung failed to fix the phone overheating issue. Samsung acts like it never exist. 

If you play any video game, run YouTube, Netflix, or run an app that uses a lot of processing power — such as video editor — the phone would become so hot that it would be impossible to hold it in hand. When the phone overheats, your phone will become slow and laggy. 

Your Galaxy A71 can also overheat while you record a video with the phone cameras.

Button Layout:

Galaxy A71 has an impractical button layout. All the buttons — volume up, volume down, and power — are on the same side. So, it’s not easy to take a screenshot.

No microphone on the Rear:

There is no microphone on the rear of the phone near all the four cameras. During a video recording, the phone uses the two side microphones positioned near the top and bottom of the phone. So, the audio quality in video recording is not that great.

Galaxy A71 Frequently Asked Question (FAQ):

Does Samsung A71 support HDMI?

Yes, Samsung A71 supports the HDMI. You only have to buy an MHL to HDMI cable, connect one end of the MHL cable to your phone, and connect the other HDMI end to a TV or projector input, and power up the cable with a USB power supply. After configuring your TV or projector to HDMI input, your phone screen will show up on your TV or projector.

Can Samsung A71 charge wirelessly?

No, Samsung A71 can’t charge wirelessly.

Does the Samsung A71 come with a screen protector?

Yes, Samsung A71 comes with a screen protector pre-installed on the phone.

Does the Samsung A71 come with a case?

Yes, Samsung A71 comes with a phone case in the box.

Does the Samsung A71 come with headphones?

Yes, Samsung A71 comes with a headphone.

Can Samsung A71 support 5G?

Yes, Samsung A71 supports 5G.

Can Samsung A71 screen record?

Yes, Galaxy A71 can screen record.

Does the Samsung A71 have NFC?

Yes, Galaxy A71 has built-in NFC.

Is Samsung A71 waterproof?

No, Samsung A71 is not waterproof.

Does the Samsung A71 have wifi calling?

Yes, Samsung A71 has wifi calling feature built-in.

Can Samsung a71 play Fortnite?

Yes, Samsung A71 can play Fortnite.

Can Samsung A71 take 3d photos?

Yes, A71 can take 3d photos.

Conclusion:

Galaxy A71 is a very solid midrange phone. Everything in this world has pros and cons. If you feel the pros of this phone out weights the cons and it meets your expectation, then definitely buy the Galaxy A71. If you feel otherwise, then it is also your decision.

Source: https://www.samsung.com/us/mobile/galaxy-a71-5g/