If the relatively compact Galaxy A30 and A50 haven't caught your eye, you might want to spend a few minutes with their sibling - the bigger, faster and more expensive Galaxy A70. In the revamped Galaxy A series, this smartphone takes almost the top position.
The A70 will appeal to any user who needs a larger device that offers ease of use and a quality display, large battery and good camera. The smartphone fully possesses all these qualities.
Samsung Galaxy A70 Specifications
- Release date: 2019, March
- Colors: Coral, Blue, Black, White
- Dimensions: 164.3 x 76.7 x 7.9 mm.
- Weight: 183 g.
- Screen: 6.7" in, 1080 x 2400, Super AMOLED
- Camera : Triple, 32MP
- Chipset: Qualcomm SDM675 Snapdragon 675 (11 nm)
- CPU: Octa-core (2x2.0 GHz Kryo 460 Gold & 6x1.7 GHz Kryo 460 Silver)
- Memory: 128 GB, 6/8 GB RAM
- Battery: 4500, Non-removable Li-Po
- Network: GSM / HSPA / LTE
- Operating system: Android 9.0 (Pie)
- Sensors: Fingerprint (under display), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass
If you are curious to find out all the details before reading the full review, visit the page for Samsung Galaxy A70 Specs, where you will find even the smallest detail about the phone.
Design
We can't tell you that the Galaxy A70 seriously sets itself apart from its brethren. The designers of the South Korean company Samsung have used the same approaches that we see in the other models of the A series. That is - rounded edges, a shiny back panel with a beautiful gradient and thin bezels.
The latter, by the way, have become thinner than those in the Galaxy A50. Note the bottom bezel. That's where it's most noticeable.
Thanks to the bezels, the Galaxy A70 has become more imposing. Its diagonal is 6.7 inches. It doesn't look like a giant, though. Rather, it is graceful, attractive and far from the definition of "spade".
It is 7.9 mm thick and 76.7 mm wide. This device will fit your palm perfectly. You'll have a hard time handling the Galaxy A70 with one hand. Be prepared to use the other hand often. The casing can be described as moderately slippery.
Let's pay more attention to the back panel, which Samsung calls 3D Glasstic. Tests show that it scratches easily, so don't delay in getting a case. This is the practice with quite a few models on the market.
The end result from a design perspective is good. The back panel is beautiful, and the rainbow colors are noticeable in its black version. The Galaxy A70 is also available in two other colour options - white and sky blue.
Fingerprint scanner
As in the Galaxy A50, the fingerprint scanner is located in the display. It's low enough that you can use it comfortably. That's a good indicator and definitely a plus if we have to convince you to buy it.
Some adaptation is required for the scanner to work successfully. After that, you will unlock the device instantly. But if you don't get used to this way of unlocking, try facial recognition. It works flawlessly and satisfactorily fast.
Display
The Galaxy A70 features a 6.7-inch Super AMOLED display with a 2400x1080 pixel resolution matrix. The latter pleases with an enviable image quality. Given the good brightness range of 1.9 to 400 cd/m2, you can use your Galaxy A70 in complete darkness as well as on the street on a sunny day.
Thanks to thin bezels and a tiny notch, the display occupies 86% of the front panel area. That's a pretty high benchmark. Close to that of the flagship device - Galaxy S10+ - 88.9%. In comparison, the iPhone XS has a screen occupying 84.4% of the front panel area.
Performance
Unlike its smaller brethren, the Galaxy A70 is equipped not with a Samsung processor - Exynos, but with Qualcomm Snapdragon 675. This is an 8-core chip consisting of two cores running at 2 GHz and 6 cores with a maximum frequency of 1.78 GHz. Adreno 612 is used as the graphics. Performance tests show that the power of this solution is almost at the level of Snapdragon 712.
If you are wondering whether you will be able to play your favorite games owning Galaxy A70, then don't hesitate. The device is fast enough, even if you're stuck on a graphics-heavy product. There is some heating on the casing, but it's not severe.
Memory
Samsung has endowed the Galaxy A70 with 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of internal storage. Considering the fact that the company offers only one version of the device, the microSD card support up to 512 GB is almost redundant. For consumers, however, that much memory is a serious perk.
The company has provided a range of wireless interfaces in the form of Bluetooth 5.0, Wi-Fi and NFC.
Cameras
The question of the quality of photos and videos excites a lot of users. Therefore, we go straight to the features of the Galaxy A70. The smartphone is equipped with 3 modules, two of which we already know from the Galaxy A50 and Galaxy A9 - the 8-megapixel wide-angle module and the 5-megapixel to create a bokeh effect. Both have an f/2.2 aperture.
A 32-megapixel light-sensitive sensor with f/1.7 aperture is used as the main module. The main camera shoots not bad, especially if there is enough natural light.
Separately, we should mention the HDR mode and 8x digital zoom. They will definitely be properly appreciated by fans of mobile photography.
You should know that when the light level deteriorates, the detail is reduced.
A 32-megapixel sensor with f/2.0 optics plays the role of the front-facing camera in the Galaxy A70. Neither the front nor any of the main camera modules are equipped with optical stabilization.
With the Galaxy A70 in hand, you can record 4K resolution video at a frame rate of 30fps.
Autonomous operation
Samsung Galaxy A70 is equipped with a 4500 mAh battery. The manufacturer has provided a fast charging function. From the original charger, the smartphone is charged from 20% to 100% in 2 hours and 10 minutes.
In everyday use, without playing games, but just listening to music, using mail synchronization or perhaps social networking and taking pictures, the Galaxy A70 will serve you about a day and a half.
Given the battery capacity, one would have expected more, but this metric isn't bad either. Autonomous performance covers the standard in this class of smartphones, and tests show that it outperforms the result of the ASUS Zenfone Max Pro M2.
Conclusion
The Galaxy A70 is a well-conceived smartphone. It catches the eye with an attractive look and a quality display. Inside, it has a fast modern processor, a large battery, and its ergonomics predispose to hours of continuous use.
In keeping with market trends, it offers a fingerprint scanner and facial recognition, so you can rest assured that your data is protected from prying eyes.
Pros and cons
This Samsung model has its disadvantages and advantages.
Pros: design, display, camera, processor.
Cons: fingerprint scanner performance, easily scratchable back panel.
Samsung Galaxy A70 video review
Disclaimer: The information presented in this article is based on our team's personal experience with the Samsung Galaxy A70 and third-party sources. While every effort has been made to provide accurate and reliable information, readers should keep in mind that this is a subjective assessment. The writing of this article was not paid for or sponsored by Samsung.
