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amazon SAMSUNG GALAXY A80 reviews
The rotating camera cluster of the Galaxy A80 is a good idea to both improve the quality of photos and bring eye-catching border design. However, the price is placed on par with high-end products will be a challenge for Galaxy A80 to conquer users.
The race to create a “borderless” smartphone completely opened up many new design doors. No longer running after Apple with “super big rabbit ears”, Android smartphone manufacturers have come up with all sorts of designs from water droplets, perforated holes to sneezing. The latest, Samsung has released the Galaxy A80 with the camera group “both rotating and sliding” quite interesting.
High-end design, separate from the rest of the Galaxy A series
Galaxy A80 is still in the high-end segment according to Samsung’s arrangement. Overall, the quality of the A80 is not inferior to those on the market, separate from the rest of the Galaxy A series. This is largely due to Samsung’s switch to using glass materials. Gorilla Glass 6 strength on the back and Gorilla Glass 3 on the front with aluminum frame, instead of the back plastic frame.
With a weight of 220g, Galaxy A80 is one of the heaviest smartphones that BiaReview evaluated. For readers to easily imagine, the Samsung Galaxy A70 brother with the same screen size also “weighs” only 183g, while the Galaxy A50 that the user once used is 166g. For female users, this weight of Galaxy A80 may be more or less difficult.
The thickness of the device is also a problem when it reaches 9.3mm due to the design of the camera cluster. In other words, if you are looking for a lightweight smartphone, the Galaxy A80 is not an ideal name. In addition, the rotating camera mechanism also makes the A80 lacking dust and water resistance.
There is a large screen size, up to 6.7 inches, but holding the Galaxy A80, at least for me, is quite easy thanks to the maximum-used screen border, almost no extra space, same screen aspect ratio is about 20: 9. When compared, the overall size of the Galaxy A80 is only slightly higher than iPhone XS Max.
The design of “zero-defect” screen of Galaxy A80 brings a very spacious usage feeling. The sides and edges of the screen were made very thin, only the “chin” part was still a little thicker. The device is pre-glued with a thin plastic screen like Samsung’s recent smartphones such as the Samsung Galaxy S10, Samsung Galaxy A70, but does not cover the curved edges so it raises the hand when swiping from the edges. If you are not too worried about scratches, you should remove the screen sticker to enjoy all smoothness when performing gestures.
Like the Samsung Galaxy A50 and A70, Galaxy A80 also has an optical fingerprint sensor under the screen. We mentioned that the speed of unlocking and accuracy of this sensor has been significantly improved compared to when using the Galaxy A50, but during the actual use of about a week If the sensor does not recognize the fingerprint or unlock slowly will still appear. In addition, it does not have 2D or 3D face detection feature (although there is a 3D ToF camera), probably to ensure the durability of the rotating camera cluster.
It is known that while nearly every smartphone with optical fingerprint sensor under the screen uses components from Goodix, based in Shenzhen, China, Samsung places its trust in Taiwan-based brand EgisTech.
On the back, except for being upgraded to tempered glass material, the biggest (and only) point of Galaxy A80 is the rotating camera cluster. This is actually the point that I think Samsung could have done better. Not only protruding from the body which is already thicker than usual, this camera group also occupies a lot of back area, lessening the aesthetic.
On how to set physical buttons, it seems that Samsung has learned from the Galaxy A70, when the power button and volume up and down are placed on either side of the device, making the fingers no longer have to be far away. However, this setting also has a small shortcoming, that is, when you put the machine on its side on a flat background (such as when watching a movie for example), the buttons will be very easy to touch, and how to fix it that only thing is to wear case for it. Luckily, the A80’s attached panel is of good quality, slim, smooth, does not make the machine thicken too much.
The bottom edge of the Galaxy A80 is a small surprise when it doesn’t have a 3.5mm headphone jack. While Samsung still has a USB Type-C headset in the box, the company no longer has the 3.5mm jack as well as the included adapter to show it, the “decay day” of this connector has come very close, and Samsung has Get ready for the separation. Inside the box there is a standard Type-C headset, but the Type-C to 3.5mm adapter is no longer available, so if you want to use your 3.5mm headset, you’ll have to buy more.
Besides Type-C connection port is sim slot and external speaker, Samsung is likely to change sim slot to give space above for camera cluster. This sim slot has been improved to fit in on / below style like the iPhone 2018 generation, and the device does not support microSD memory card. However, 128 GB of internal memory capacity is more than enough for most needs.
Screen
If there’s something you can trust on a Samsung smartphone, that’s the screen. Galaxy A80 uses 6.7-inch Super AMOLED panel, Full-HD + (1080 x 2400 pixel resolution) with a ratio of 20: 9 as the Galaxy A70 but without any defects, giving a very spacious usage experience.
Super AMOLED panels, support HDR as usual, give vivid, fresh display quality, wide viewing angle, high brightness enough to see clearly when used outdoors. The only unfortunate point on the Galaxy A80 is Full-HD + resolution which is slightly lower than the screen size, if you pay close attention, you may notice some details on the screen are not sharp.
With the overflow screen, Galaxy A80 does not have a voice speaker, but instead uses Sound on Display technology transmits sound to users’ ears thanks to vibrating mechanism. Users will need a bit of time to get used to how to apply their ears to the screen, but if they apply correctly to the upper half, the voice is very loud and clear.
Meanwhile, the Galaxy A80’s external speaker is a single speaker, with medium volume. During daily use, I often have to set the volume level up to 80% to listen comfortably. The speakerphone had no problem when it increased to the highest volume and the bass sounded quite good.
where can you get a SAMSUNG GALAXY A80 online
Samsung Galaxy A80 SM-A805F/DS Dual Sim (Factory Unlocked) 6.7″ 128GB 8GB RAM (Angel Gold): Buy it now
Samsung Galaxy A80 (128GB, 8GB RAM) 6.7″ Display, Rotating Triple Camera, Snapdragon 730, US & Global 4G LTE Dual SIM GSM Factory Unlocked SM-A805F/DS – International Model (Ghost White): Buy it now
Samsung Galaxy A80 SM-A805F/DS 128GB Dual-SIM (GSM Only, No CDMA) Factory Unlocked 4G/LTE Smartphone – International Version (Phantom Black): Buy it now
Fast performance, good multitasking with 8GB of RAM
Galaxy A80 is equipped with Snapdragon 730G processor and 8GB of RAM and 128 GB of internal memory. The Snapdragon 730G is one of Qualcomm’s most powerful mid-range chips at the present time, about 30% more powerful than Snapdragon 710. Basically 730G has the same standard 730 version with Kryo 470 Gold dual core 2.2GHz and 1.8GHz Kryo 470 Silver 6 core, 8nm process.
However, GPU 618 on 730G is overclocked so it is 15% stronger than 730, integrating Snapdragon Elite Gaming technology to optimize gaming. On the performance measurement applications and familiar games of BiaReview, this chip has good performance. In addition, 8GB RAM also helps to handle multitasking well, can keep 8-10 applications in the background without any problems.
With the demand for games, the A80 “handle” well on popular games today. Dead Trigger 2 is stable at a frame rate of 60fps.
In terms of software, the Galaxy A80 comes pre-installed with a customized One UI 1.1 version on Android 9 Pie. The interface of One UI is quite simple, the interesting point is that the default applications on the device are designed for more convenient use of one hand. This is very necessary considering the huge screen size of the A80.
In addition, One UI also has the ultimate “genuine” system interface, which helps reduce eye fatigue when used in low-light environments, while saving battery life thanks to the characteristics of AMOLED screens. The default keyboard is raised a small amount, similar to Apple iPhone X, convenient for typing. Samsung added a fast measurement application that takes advantage of the 3D ToF camera so users can measure the size of surrounding objects, quite accurately and interesting.
However, gesture manipulation of One UI is still not very convenient, users often have to reach into the corner to perform multitasking, more inconvenient than swipe and hold like iPhone X or most machines Android today.
Battery life is only moderate
Galaxy A80 is equipped with 3.700 mAh capacity battery, it sounds not so low, but when used in practice, you must be quite “save” to be enough for one day’s work. This is also understandable when the screen of the A80 is large, and if the selfie is regular, the rotating camera cluster will surely occupy a waste significant power.
In terms of software, the Galaxy A80 comes pre-installed with a customized One UI 1.1 version on Android 9 Pie. The interface of One UI is quite simple, the interesting point is that the default applications on the device are designed for more convenient use of one hand. This is very necessary considering the huge screen size of the A80.
In addition, One UI also has the ultimate “genuine” system interface, which helps reduce eye fatigue when used in low-light environments, while saving battery life thanks to the characteristics of AMOLED screens. The default keyboard is raised a small amount, similar to iPhone X, convenient for typing. Samsung added a fast measurement application that takes advantage of the 3D ToF camera so users can measure the size of surrounding objects, quite accurately and interesting.
Charging up to 100% battery from 0% will take about 1 hour and 34 minutes, of which the first 15 minutes are 25%, 30 minutes are 55%, 45 minutes are 75% and 1 hour is 90%. When charging fast, the device is quite hot and like other Samsung smartphones, the A80 only charges quickly when the screen is turned off. The A80 does not support wireless charging, its feature is still for S and Note high-end products.
The camera is very beautiful
With the sliding swivel design, the Galaxy A80 camera cluster, includes the 48MP main camera with Sony’s f / 2.0 IMX586 sensor, 8MP super wide-angle camera, f / 2.2 and a 3D ToF camera (Time- of-Flight) aperture f / 1.2 for measuring depth of field.
The camera’s slide rotation process is fast, about 1 second, but the rotor noise is quite loud, initially we mistakenly thought it was the Samsung sound effect added to increase the fun part.
It should be noted, the rotating rotating camera cluster needs space to be able to perform the rotation process, so if you leave the camera on a flat surface, the camera will not be able to rotate, jam about a few seconds and exit the photography application itself.
By default, the 48MP camera of the Galaxy A80 will not capture at the highest resolution but only at 12MP. However, the quality difference between 12MP and 48MP resolution is negligible, so you should not be too concerned about which mode to choose. Not to mention, HDR + mode will not work when shooting at 48MP resolution so this will be a big disadvantage if you take photos in complex lighting environments.
The Galaxy A80 offers very good image quality in bright enough conditions, whether natural or artificial lighting in the house. The image has a high level of detail, a wide band of light, the color is slightly pushed but still retains its natural features. The green color of the plants, the sky is well expressed, and we loves the color of the flowers when shooting with the A80.
The A80’s wide-angle camera also performs well in bright enough environments, from color to detail and bright bands.
Regarding the ability to capture fonts, thanks to the 3D ToF camera, Galaxy A80 identifies the subject very well. In bright enough conditions, there is almost no chance of deleting the subject, the background is also blurred very naturally. But in low light conditions, the image quality is also significantly reduced, the 3D ToF camera seems to have difficulty distinguishing areas such as hair or shoulders. Another new feature is that the A80 can record videos to remove fonts with good quality in bright conditions.
Summary
Undeniably, the Galaxy A80 is a product with impressive “swivel” camera and borderless display with good display quality. Not only the strange design, the “rotating slider camera” also offers a different shooting and video capture experience to remove fonts differently from other phones. It also has fast performance, good enough to play all applications on Android today.
However, the product has a drawback: the battery is a little small and lacks the audio jack and external memory card slot. In addition, the price at the time of launch is also a very challenging number, on par with high-end products that have superiority in performance and camera.