Design
Just a year ago, the idea that Samsung would be one of those rare companies was determined not to follow the trend of designing screen defects, but the change in its business strategy since early 2019 also caused Everything changes according to.
Besides a few special names like Samsung Galaxy Fold or Samsung Galaxy A80, basically all of this years Samsung smartphones have V or U-shaped screens and the Samsung Galaxy A20s is not really an exception.
So the word “familiar” can be used to describe the front appearance of the Galaxy A20s. The edge of the display is a V-shaped notch where the selfie camera sensor and speaker are placed. Except for the thick lower edge due to technology limitations, the remaining three sides of the Galaxy A20s are thin and spacious. However, the edge of the Galaxy A20s is much higher than the screen – a weakness we’ve seen on low-cost Realme and Redmi devices – which makes the edge-swiping feel more or less affected.
Owning a 6.5-inch screen, weighing 183g and 8mm thick, the Galaxy A20s is not for those who are looking for a thin and light smartphone. In return, the grip of the device is very compact and solid, the 20: 9 screen ratio plus thin borders also makes it easier to hold and operate with one hand.
The major design changes of the Galaxy A20s appear on the back, when Samsung has refined Glasstic 3D imitation plastic so that the gradient effect appears more, more noticeable, feels shiny and eye-catching. It comes in black, blue, green and red, but I’m still impressed with the red.
The main camera cluster is also a noticeable upgrade of the Galaxy A20s, when Samsung has added a depth sensor camera to help remove fonts, bringing the total number of rear cameras of the machine to 3, just fits With the market trend has just increased competitiveness.
On the bottom, the Galaxy A20s still retains the 3.5mm headphone jack, which is a good thing i guess. That old era of the 3.5mm headphone jack is coming toward an end with the popularity of true wireless headphones, and honestly we should cherish those last days, while they’re still here. Besides, there is a USB Type-C connector and a familiar single speaker strip.
The dual sim nano tray and removable microSD memory card are always the plus points of Samsung devices. You don’t have to choose between using a sim or memory card, and the maximum support capacity of 1TB allows users to consider choosing the cheaper version of lower internal memory to save costs.
Overall, Samsung has made significant design changes with the Galaxy A20s. More polished and more modern, it is the right direction to gradually conquer users.
Does not using Super AMOLED panels have a big problem?
Among the new Samsung smartphones, only the A20s is no longer relying on the familiar Super AMOLED panel, instead of the IPS LCD panel. This means we will not have the Always-on Display feature, and we can’t really enjoy that deep black characteristic from this panel. But, is that really a big deal?
In terms of specifications, Galaxy A20s has a 6.5-inch screen with HD + resolution (720 x 1560 pixels), a pixel density of 264ppi. HD + resolution is hard to say is ideal for the large screen of the A20s, but when used in reality, the detail and sharpness is still completely acceptable.
At first, I was skeptical about the display quality, especially the color of the Galaxy A20s, because the Super AMOLED panel nonetheless has many superior advantages. The IPS LCD panel on the Galaxy A20s didn’t really disappoint or anything. The colors are bright, and you get wide viewing angles too, the blacks aren’t as deep as with Super AMOLED, but honestly it still works fine for daily use, from browsing the web to watching movies.
Performance is sufficient for basic tasks
Do not use homegrown goods Exynos, Galaxy A20s is equipped with Snapdragon 450 chip, 3GB RAM and 32GB of internal memory. Compared to rivals in the same price range from China, it is obvious that the configuration is not the strong point, of the A20s. Still, it matters how the Samsung phone performs during real usage, like in everyday stuff when you’re actually using it.
Regarding software, the Galaxy A20s comes pre-installed with Android 9 Pie, One UI 1.1 interface instead of 1.5 as the new Samsung flagships. We still have a system-wide dark mode, which doesn’t save energy like Super AMOLED displays but will reduce eye strain in low light conditions. Options and icons of One UI are also optimized for one-hand use by Samsung.
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Battery life is quite an advantage
Galaxy A20s is equipped with 4,000 mAh battery, the level of capacity has almost become “standard” for smartphones today. In the familiar measurements of BiaReview, the device has good battery life even without a Super AMOLED screen, in part to the screen resolution of only HD +. Using daily for basic tasks such as surfing the web, watching Youtube and playing light games, I can use the A20s for more than 1.5 days to charge.
Support fast charging is an advantage of the A20s compared to the elder A20. It comes with Samsung Adaptive Fast Charging 15W charger, fully charging the battery from 10% takes about 2 hours.
Camera quality commensurate with the price
So, like said right at the start of the article, one of the more obvious changes on the Galaxy A20s is that Samsung added a depth-of-field camera, to help it remove fonts, kinda. Overall, the Galaxy A20s comes with three rear cameras, including a 13MP main lens plus f / 1.8 aperture; then there is an 8MP ultra wide-angle sensor, f / 2.2 aperture, and a 5MP depth-of-field camera with f / 2.2 aperture as well. Up front, there’s only one 8MP selfie camera f / 2.0 aperture.
Due to the development of digital photography on mobile phones, even cheap cameras can shoot “delicious” in favorable light conditions, of course the Galaxy A20s is no exception. Machine good light balance, obtained many details, colors expressed fresh.
Taking photos in backlit and underexposed conditions is always a big obstacle that even high-end mid-range machines can hardly overcome, let alone low-cost devices like the Galaxy A20s. As expected, balancing light for subjects in backlit conditions is a difficult task for the Galaxy A20s, and the detail of the image is greatly reduced when shooting in low light, not to mention the status of the camera focus. There is no Night Mode to improve the brightness range and detail is also the significant absence on this machine.
Additional depth-of-field camera, so the image quality of Galaxy A20s has been significantly improved. In well-lit conditions, the colors are reproduced well, the background is smooth, less prone to being subjected to the subject, but like the main camera, image detail is significantly reduced when shooting in low light, but the camera still identifies the owner can and partly eliminate the problem of removing wrong fonts.
Wide-angle cameras are becoming increasingly popular in the market, and it can be said that Samsung is one of the leading names in spreading that trend. It allows users to be creative with new angles, but perhaps we should still only use it in bright enough conditions.
There is not much information about the A20s’ selfie camera, but with the same 8MP resolution and f / 2.0 aperture, it is likely that this is still the camera of the A20 seniors that Samsung brought to it. When bright enough, the image has good detail, bright colors, but seems to be applied to beauty automatically, most noticeably on the skin is smoothed out excessively.
Reviews on the camera of the Galaxy A20s, the quality of them can be said to be commensurate with the price, really hard to ask for more.
Summary
With the Galaxy A20s, Samsung is testing a new move. Without running a configuration race, the A20s upgraded to a more modern design, while still maintaining the core needs of performance and entertainment experience.
Tech Reviewer & Product Analyst
Định Bia has spent over 10 years testing consumer electronics with a focus on smart technology. He work as a product advisor at Biareview where he helped customers find the right devices for their needs. He personally tests every product featured on this site using a consistent evaluation framework covering quality, durability, and value. All reviews are based on experience, not influenced by the manufacturer.