Samsung Galaxy A01: nostalgia or complete failure?

Many users, referring to technical reviews before buying, have long stopped expecting intelligible criticism and clear recommendations from sites. They were replaced by laudatory praises and paid advertising, but our team is not ready to deceive readers and pass off a dummy for an incredible breakthrough, so the guest of today's review will have a hard time. Or is it still not?

The controversial smartphone Samsung Galaxy A01 of the Korean brand has become the subject of controversy on more than one forum. What kind of beast is this, a retrospective of the past decade, or a complete failure for $ 80, which the company is trying to hide in every possible way? Let's figure it out!

About the brand's affairs at the moment

Even an uninterested user knows and remembers the great confrontation between the Korean brand Samsung and the American company Apple. Meanwhile, time does not flow, but runs, former opponents no longer collide with their heads in the techno arena, providing this opportunity to bright newcomers: Xiaomi, Huawei, Oppo and others. The roads have parted ways, some believe: "the more cameras, the better!" Who is right?

South Korea's latest creation Galaxy Fold, with a foldable screen, made a lot of noise in 2019, but it didn't pay off at all. It seems that now the creators are experiencing a real creative crisis and only years of accumulated reputation saves them from complete collapse. Ordinary phones are already tired, foldable are not for sale, so where is the golden mean?

Perhaps the answer will be found this year, because the developers are working hard to create a unique AI for the next generation flagships. The time has come for us to return to the past and remember the long forgotten.

Appearance and equipment

The little son came to his father and asked the little one: “Samsung Galaxy A01 - is it good or, nevertheless, bad?”. Perhaps the father will not find what to answer, and the developers, even more so.

The basis of the smartphone is a classic monolithic block, with parameters 146.3 x 70.9 x 8.3 mm. Compared to the flagships of the outgoing 2019, which do not even fit in the hand, this model is truly miniature. The diagonal of the screen was 5.7 inches. Using the gadget does not cause discomfort, because of the small width, the phone does not need to be intercepted with the other hand and be nervous all the time, no matter how it flies onto the tile. Probably counting on the accuracy of the buyers, Samsung saved on the famous oleophobic coating and additional protective glass.

And on that note, we end all the good things about the 2024 new product. The body of the smartphone is made of matte plastic, which is neither durable nor presentable. In the upper left corner is a rectangular block of two cameras and an LED flash.

Where is the Android fingerprint? you ask, and we will honestly answer that we ourselves do not know, but we dare to assume that it will turn out to be sensory, not fingerprint. Whether this is true or not, it will become clear in January 2024, when the full details of the Galaxy A01 are released.

There were only three colors: black, red and blue. Not a lot, Samsung, not a lot.

If the A01 has already fallen into your hands, then do not harbor false hopes, but run after the cover and protective glass. Fortunately, the shape is standard, no folds and 10 chambers.

The only hope is that the brand will be generous with factory covers that have recently become fashionable. Without it, the back of the device will turn into empty cheap stuff before midnight. The face of the device is also quite easily soiled, at the same time it meets the requirements of a frameless screen with a stretch. Below is an impressive "chin", the buttons are touch-sensitive. On top there is a teardrop-shaped front camera. It does not spoil the appearance much, so that designers can sleep peacefully. However, not for long! After all, we are in a hurry to the even more distant past, where manufacturers placed the speaker on the phone cover. Thanks to Steve Jobs, they've been hidden on side frames for several years. Why Samsung suddenly decided to return to 2013 is not clear to us.

As we already said, nothing remarkable in color combinations, neither the northern lights, nor emerald green, not even a flare in the shape of the letter "S" was added. In a word, minimalism. The rest of the equipment is standard: a coupon, certificates, charger, adapter, USB-cable, paper clip and transparent case.

Specifications

Screen

Get ready for some real conspiracy theories that we have to figure out together. For example, one source claims that the Galaxy A01's screen is based on one of the latest technologies used in bendable smartphones, the Infinity V. It is shock-resistant while producing richer colors. The other is leaning towards an ordinary liquid crystal screen (popularly IPS), which is more like the truth. Dedicated Samsung fans were perplexed how the vaunted Amoled, its own development is available and, unexpectedly, the brand opts for a budget matrix, which is generally good both in color rendering (about 16 million shades) and in brightness, but where is this bar "King of smartphones"?

The display is not protected by anything, so that scratches and cracks are entirely on the direct hands of buyers. Forget Full HD, 4K and all the other joys of 2024 right away. Harsh budget segment and 720 x 1560 resolution with HD +. Unpretentious users will appreciate even 720p, but only on one condition (weather condition, to be precise). The screen produces 301 ppi, which is very good, but the brightness is weak, the smartphone is defenseless under the sun, but in cloudy weather the image is clear and bright (right, Petersburgers?).

Filling

We are approaching a field where even the most disastrous novelty is capable of rehabilitating itself. Did the Samsung Galaxy A01 succeed?

The developers did not call the phone a gaming or blogging one. And, it seems, he is unlikely to pull the first title. The processor performance matches only the fourth generation Snapdragon. That is, no 3D games, heavy applications, fast loading. As the saying goes, those who understand life are in no hurry (we hope that with the purchase). The eight-core chipset is split into two clusters of 4 cores. The first is responsible for complex processes and gives out a frequency of 1.95 GHz, the other for maintaining the system in a normal state with a frequency of 1.45 GHz. On the plus side, the case hardly heats up.There is no information about the video processor at all, although as you can see, it will not particularly affect the situation.

Finally, Samsung understood how the time machine works, because we are greeted by the brand new Android 10.0 operating system. As you know, it harmoniously combines the rudiments of neural networks that predict user actions, an interesting design, convenient factory applications and good speed. Complements its shell with the famous minimalism, reduced notification icons and a "dark theme" function.

As a result, the filling of the Samsung Galaxy A01 is something average for busy people who need a phone to view time and SMS messages, but it's still the same terry budget.

Autonomy and additional functions

Logic has joined the chat.

The South Korean brand got to the point with a small and remote autonomy, although many manufacturers sin with this. The novelty is not afraid of heavy games, movie marathons, three-hour photo sessions, and loads in general. So 3000 mAh will be enough for buyers with a surplus. Meanwhile, the phone will stay in standby mode only 72 hours, with active use it will last only a day. As for calls, there are all 30 free hours. The model does not imply fast charging, so the phone can be charged up to 100% in 2-2.5 hours.

Communication in the Galaxy A01 is a dark matter. In the capital, 4G is steadily catching, and in smaller cities you will have to be content with 3G or EDGE, and no wireless headset! The company invites us to remember the times of Bluetooth (4.2) 2011, with the same fragile connection as the new generation of wireless headphones.

Camera and memory

We got to that position of our review when it becomes completely clear that Samsung's new product is not designed for beautiful photos that can hardly be distinguished from professional filming.

The main camera consists of a monolithic block of two lenses. The first is 13MP, with a 28mm focus, to capture more space in the frame. It helped her with a mediocre f / 2.2 aperture. There are no real photos on the camera, but theory already makes us understand that a really high-quality picture can not be expected. Neither a wide angle nor good lighting will save you from a soapy picture, out of focus and, of course, complete defenselessness at night. The second lens - 2 megapixels, according to experts, was added exclusively for portrait mode (the aperture in it is even worse).

The front camera will not please us much either. Its maximum is only 5 megapixels. For a smartphone, 2024 is a real disaster, because in the era of social networks, there is nowhere without photos. So be careful and think for what purpose you are buying a gadget!

With the amount of memory, the creators also did not lose, because if the camera is bad, then you won't need much gigabytes. RAM was 2 GB, which is negligible, with such characteristics it will definitely not work to overclock the speed by extraneous methods. External memory is surprisingly 16 GB. Even somehow a lot for the Galaxy A01, don't you think?

Advantages and disadvantages

• Large screen;
• Low price;
• Advanced operating system;
• Competent approach to phone size;
• Cover as a gift;
• Good matrix;
• Support for two SIM cards.

• Fragile, easily soiled materials;
• Outdated wireless communication;
• Weak processor;
• Small amount of memory;
• Fades in sunny weather;
• Mediocre autonomy;
• Boring design.

Where to buy and at what price

There is still no exact release date, but it is known for sure that the gadget will definitely get to the CIS. The approximate price for a novelty was 10,000 rubles. How interesting it turns out, the announcement in 2019, the presentation in 2024. Samsung, you have last year's smartphone, or what?

The model raises a lot of doubts and contradictions. We can assume that the era of push-button phones is leaving forever. In 2024 and subsequent years, for SMS, calls and radio, it is precisely touch-sensitive phones with weak characteristics and, as a result, a reduced price will be created.