Samsung Galaxy A20 Design and build quality
It looks good, but nowhere is it more exciting than similarly priced phones from Xiaomi and Realme. The body is made entirely of plastic. The construction is quite robust, but a metal frame would have been better for structural integrity. As you'd expect from Samsung, the build precision is good. However, there are some spots, like the USB port and the speaker grill, that look a bit messy. Also, the volume knob has inconsistent tactile feedback.
The blue hue of our review unit appears subtle, aside from its reflective nature. The phone has a recessed fingerprint sensor. However, the rear camera sticks out a bit. If you go ahead you will get a slim edge design. The phone has a notch in the water that is small. For a budget phone, the garden section is compact too.
Samsung Galaxy A20 screen
Samsung absolutely nailed it in the display department. The phone has a beautiful 6.4-inch HD + AMOLED display. It provides impressive contrast and vibrant colors that are rarely seen at this price. The screen offers deep blacks and the viewing angles are impressive too. Similarly priced phones with LCD screens simply can't match Samsung's OLED panels. It is a smart move for the Korean company to use its power. Samsung is one of the largest providers of OLED panels in the mobile industry and it wisely uses this position to its advantage.
Samsung Galaxy A20 software and performance
Samsung has come a long way in terms of software customization. The Korean brand is ditching its cluttered, flashy TouchWiz UI and now offers a sleek One UI. In the case of the Galaxy A20, you get One UI 1.1 based on Android 9 Pie. I like the new look, but I wonder why Samsung decided to go with extra large icons. Fortunately, you can fix this problem by changing the grid pattern. The best addition is the dark theme that looks perfect on the OLED screen.
The fingerprint sensor on the back of the phone acts like a charm. It's way better than the flaky in-display fingerprint sensor found on the more expensive A70 (review). During basic browsing, the phone works quite well. I didn't notice any lag while scrolling through the home screens or opening the app drawer. However, the phone often stumbles when multitasking. And if you have more than half a dozen apps running in the background, switching between them will require unusually long load times. On the other hand, Samsung's app drawer search function works faster than on the Galaxy A70.
To change the wallpaper, wait for the slow market to load. It is not optimized so scrolling through the list of funds will stutter. Sometimes the phone even left the wallpaper and theme menu. This made me feel bad about the gaming performance of the phone. Surprisingly, this budget PUBG phone works in intermediate settings. The game looks good and runs smooth most of the time. However, I did notice a slight hiccup while operating the vehicle in the game. Switching to low settings solves this problem. Considering the price, this device works well with the Exynos 7884 chip with 3GB of RAM.
The Galaxy A20 comes with a headset, which is amazing. But after listening to them for an hour or two, you realize that these headphones are strictly for taking calls. It gets a bit better when you connect a decent pair of IEMs. All in all, the output through the 2.5mm audio jack isn't quite as good as its nemesis, the Redmi Note 7. The built-in mono speaker is loud enough to enjoy random YouTube videos. But if you are planning to watch a movie, you'd better use headphones or a Bluetooth speaker.
Samsung Galaxy A20 comes with storage expansion and dedicated SIM card slots. The performance of the phone was good. However, I noticed that the WiFi receiver is not as strong as the Redmi Note 7.
Samsung Galaxy A20 cameras
The phone's camera interface is quite simple. You can slide your finger to switch between standard, panorama, live focus (bokeh) and video mode. In addition, there is a professional mode with which you can fine-tune white balance, ISO and shutter speed.
When it comes to image quality, the standard sensor captures more detail than the wide-angle lens. The latter also suffers from a remarkable barrel distortion. However, the wide-angle lens is better at rendering colors. Photos taken with the standard 13 MP camera show a cool blue cast with faded colors. On the other hand, the 5 MP wide-angle lens has a natural warm tone with a much better dynamic range. The photos are fun to share via WhatsApp and Facebook. However, if you view these images on a PC, you will be amazed at the amount of visual noise along the edges. The cameras on the Galaxy A20 lack a night mode. It's no wonder that low-light shots are ruined by artifacts and the pastel effect.
Galaxy A20 records Full HD videos at 30fps. The videos look nervous due to the lack of a stabilization system. The mobile has an 8.0 MP front camera. Samsung has also added normal and wide mode to this fixed focus module. In fact, it is easily achieved with different zoom levels. The beauty of the camera mode adds enough blur to your face to keep you good.
Samsung Galaxy A20 battery
The device contains a 4000 mAh battery. Comes with a 15W fast charger that takes less than two hours to charge. While using it as my daily controller, the phone consistently lasts for a day and a half on a single charge. My usage included a few PUBG downloads, about six hours of music streaming via Bluetooth, and checking WhatsApp and Twitter all day.
Xiaomi's Redmi line has become synonymous with budget smartphones in India. It attracts consumers with interesting designs and powerful hardware. With the Galaxy A20, the Korean phone manufacturer has managed to offer an advanced screen at an affordable price. If you love to watch movies on your phone, the Galaxy A20 is for you. But if you're looking for a performance-oriented device with great cameras, the Redmi Note 7 is still a better option.
