Samsung is definitely aggressive in its mid-range segment. They have the Galaxy S series for the premium and flagship series and then there’s the J series for the affordable market and between the two is the Galaxy A series. Recently, Samsung Philippines has launched the Samsung Galaxy A6 series in the country and today, we’ll review the better of the two brothers, the Samsung Galaxy A6+

Design and Hardware

What I like about Samsung smartphones is that they’re really solid to hold and since we’re getting a Galaxy A series smartphone, the Galaxy A6+ 2018 is actually made up of metal. The feel of the smartphone is quite premium and yes, the design of the smartphone shares the same design DNA as other Samsung smartphones.

The smartphone features a curved back which makes the smartphone have an ergonomic feel. Despite its metal build and feel, the smartphone doesn’t feel slippery when I’m holding it. The power button of the smartphone is neatly placed on the right side of the smartphone while on the other side are the volume rocker.

The smartphone still uses a micro USB port and then there’s the headphone jack beside it. The smartphone also houses two card trays in which one of them the main sim card slot while the other one houses the secondary sim card and also the MicroSD card of the smartphone.

The smartphone’s fingerprint scanner is placed below the camera of the smartphone which is similar to the one the on the Samsung Galaxy S9+. It can recognize my fingerprint really fast and in case you’re not a fan of that, there’s a face recognition too which can is good enough but not the fastest one in the market.

Display

The Samsung Galaxy A6+ 2018 got a 6-inch display with an 18.5:9 display aspect ratio which is mostly seen on Samsung smartphones. There are no capacitive or hardware buttons on the smartphone as the Samsung Galaxy A6+ 2018 embraces the Infinity display similar to their flagship smartphones.

There’s a super AMOLED display panel too which is pretty good colors that are really vivid and vibrant. It’s very usable outside and I really have no problems using the smartphone outside. There are rounded edges too which adds sexiness to the display of the smartphone.

Despite having an infinity display, the smartphone does have some thicker bezels than I expected. Well, it’s not that big but it’s quite noticeable enough when you use the smartphone every day.

Battery Life

Inside the smartphone is a pretty juicy 3500mAh of battery. In our PC Mark test, the smartphone got a very respectable score of 10 hours and 11 minutes which basically translates that the Samsung Galaxy A6+ will last a day of normal usage despite playing some games.

Software and Performance

The Samsung Galaxy A6+ 2018 got a Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 processor inside along with 4GB of RAM and when it comes to software, it’s running on 8.0.0 with the same UI that we’re seeing on Samsung Android smartphones. Is it bad? No. I actually love the Samsung UI and it was pretty smooth and really easy to navigate.

Just like the other Samsung smartphones, it will come with the basic Microsoft applications which are probably useful for everyone so I really don’t have a complaint on this one and the, of course, there are the applications that are pre-installed on the smartphone including SmartThings, Samsung Health, and Galaxy Apps. The Samsung Galaxy A6+ will also come with Samsung members which will give you freebies and discounts that are exclusive to Samsung smartphone users.

When it comes to performance, well, it’s what I expected from a smartphone with Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 inside. Check out the games that I was able to run on the smartphone and also its frame rates.

PUBG Mobile: High Frame rate, smooth graphics

The frame rates are pretty unstable at start and it dips whenever there are enemies or too much gunfight on the scene.

GTA LCS: High Settings

The game is pretty much stable at 27fps and nothing really to worry about it.

Asphalt 9: High Settings

The game is set at high settings and it’s playable despite the 21fps. It is suggested to set it at lower settings

Real Racing 3

The game is playable and the frame rates were pretty stable.

You can check out the GameBench Benchmarking app at (https://www.gamebench.net)

You can also download the app at the Play Store (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gamebench.metricscollector)

Camera

The Samsung Galaxy A6+ got a 16MP+5MP dual rear lens camera and also a 24-megapixel front camera with LED flash on both of them. Thankfully, there’s a Live focus feature on the app that lets you do bokeh shots similar to their flagship smartphones with dual lens camera and surprisingly, the smartphone got a Bixby vision which will probably be barely used by most consumers.

The smartphone also got some stickers if you love to take selfies and some quirky elements on your selfies. Other features that are available on the camera app are the Pro mode, Panorama, continuous shot, night mode, sports mode, and sound & shot.

When it comes to shooting, the smartphone fares pretty well and I was really happy with the rear camera of the smartphone whether I’m shooting inside my place or even at lowlight. The selfies are pretty good too even at lowlight. The LED Flash on the front is pretty great too as it can capture brighter and well-toned selfies at low light. Check out the shots that I took using the smartphone. Check out the shots that I took using the smartphone:

Verdict

The Samsung Galaxy A6+ is a solid device. It has a good build, the camera of the smartphone is really good, and the battery of the smartphone was really long. However, the smartphone is a little bit pricey compared to its competitors and you also get entry-mid level SoC inside. But hey, do remember that this is a Samsung device so the name is really a premium.

The Samsung Galaxy A6+ is now available for Php22,990