Chinese brands like Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo have been releasing excellent midrange phones one after another, disrupting a market that has been dominated by Samsung for years, leaving the Korean tech giant no choice but to step it up. And it has. With the introduction of the next generation of the A-Series, the company is offering close-to-premium phones for a lot less money. Included in the lineup is the Samsung Galaxy A70, a stellar phone that boasts blazingly fast performance, terrific battery life, and a great display.
You can get a factory unlocked unit of the Galaxy A70 for a huge $80 off
Samsung has been hitting it out of the ballpark with the Galaxy A Series (including the excellent and more affordable A50), and this phone is no exception. Appearance-wise, the A70 looks almost exactly like the rest of its siblings, with variations in material, display, and rear cameras. This phone’s back panel is made of plastic that gives off a cool iridescent sheen. While it looks good, it’s definitely a fingerprint magnet and not scratch-proof, so you’re better off purchasing a phone case to protect it. The power button and volume rocker can be seen on the right side, while the bottom edge has the USB-C port and (thankfully) a headphone jack.
The A70 has an in-display fingerprint sensor that’s frankly unresponsive. It usually won’t work during your first attempt. You’re better off using facial recognition to unlock it instead. Fortunately, the A70’s triple rear camera system is a delight. There’s a 32-megapixel f/1.7 main sensor that takes sharp and crisp high-resolution photographs, an 8-megapixel f/2.2 ultra-wide camera lens for breathtaking landscape shots, and a 5-megapixel f/2.2 depth-sensing lens for blurred background portraits.
Samsung’s “Infinity-U” display debuts with this phone, and is named after the U-shaped notch up top that houses the front camera. It isn’t as annoyingly big as on other phones, but it still might irritate avid video watchers. The 6.7-inch Super AMOLED display is stunning though. Colors are vibrant, the blacks are inky-deep, and everything looks incredibly detailed. It isn’t as completely bezel-less like the Galaxy S10, but you won’t likely complain considering the phone’s much lower cost.
Powered by the Snapdragon 675, the Galaxy A70 is plenty snappy and quite adept at multitasking. This octa-core processor works with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal memory. Opening apps is fast, and you can even use this phone for playing graphically demanding games such as PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds at 30+ fps (frames per second) with hardly any glitch. Lastly, its 4,500mAh battery supports 25W fast charging and can easily get you through a full day. With light usage, you can even stretch the battery life to two days.
The Samsung Galaxy A70 has an impressive triple camera array, a bold and beautiful display, and an epic battery life. Despite the unresponsive fingerprint scanner, this is a fantastic phone that offers a premium experience at a very reasonable price.
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