Samsung launched the Galaxy A11 on May 23rd, 2020 in Singapore.
The Samsung Galaxy A11 will retail at $198 making this a truly budget phone. So what’s new in the Galaxy A series and is the A11 worth it?
Let’s find out!
Features | Specification |
Display | 6.4-inch HD+ TFT, Infinity-O display |
Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 Octa Core |
Storage and RAM | 32GB storage with a 2GB RAM (Expandable up to 512GB) |
Camera | Triple camera with 13MP main camera, 5MP ultra wide, 2MP depth camera |
Dual Slim | Yes, 3 slots (2 for sim, 1 for SD card) |
Battery | 4000 mAh with 15W fast charging |
Colour | Black, Blue |
The Galaxy A series is a pretty interesting offering from Samsung because these are generally budget phones with a few premium features. You can see it with the Galaxy A11 with the triple camera setup.
Samsung Galaxy A11 Design & Display
The Galaxy A11 comes with a 6.4-inch HD+ TFT, Infinity-O display. A major downside in this phone is the TFT display. The traditional TFT display is inferior to the IPS LCD display.
Why Samsung went with the TFT display is not obvious except for one reason, it’s cheaper.
The 6.4-inch display is still pretty decent and has a notch camera on top and thick bezels on the bottom.
Samsung claims the display is immersive in the Galaxy A11, but we are not sure what the immersive bit is.
The build of the Samsung Galaxy A11 is made up of a plastic frame and a plastic back. The back of the A11 also houses a fingerprint sensor which is the traditional setup.
The phone does have a 3.5mm jack and a micro USB 2.0 port.
Processor, Storage and OS
The Samsung A11 is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 450, runs on One UI. So let’s discuss the chipset and the OS.
The Snapdragon 450 is a midrange chipset. It’s not a chipset known for gaming, but you can play games like PubG in low graphic settings pretty seamlessly.
The chipset also supports quick charge. The chipset also can support cameras up to 21MP if it’s a single camera and 13MP for a dual camera and that’s exactly what Samsung has gone with.
The Samsung OneUI is a pretty nifty OS that has all the necessary requirements of a great OS. From non-intrusive but informative notifications to the dark mode, the One UI has gone through a big overhaul.
The One UI also comes with sound and display enhancements that give you complete control on how you can hear and see things on your phone.
It’s pretty epic!
The A11 comes with a 2GB RAM with 32GB of storage which is very less these days and the minimum should be 64GB at least. The storage can be expanded up to 512GB with a dedicated SD card slot.
Even the 2GB RAM is a bit too less when you are multitasking or an upgrade on the OS happens and there’s a possibility of the phone slowing down.
Samsung Galaxy A11 Camera
Being a budget phone, the A11 can’t boast of too many premium features. But where they bring in the bit of premium is the ‘Camera’ section.
The Samsung Galaxy A11 boasts of a triple camera setup with a 13MP main camera, a 5MP ultra wide camera and a 2MP depth camera.
The front selfie camera is a 8MP shooter with a F/2.0 aperture.
The camera on the A11 is pretty decent especially with the triple camera setup. It can shoot 1080p videos @ 30fps and it’s the same for the selfie camera too.
The A11’s cameras can shoot portrait shots, have AI beauty effects, panorama and other features like Bokeh.
It takes pretty decent night shots as well.
The camera on the A11 is pretty decent for its budget and price and this is the feature that Samsung has prioritized over the other features.
Can the cameras beat the likes of Redmi Note series and Realme? That would be pretty difficult.
Battery
The battery on the Galaxy A11 is a 4000 mAh behemoth with fast charging capabilities. It has a 15W charger bundled that ensures that you can get a quick charge pretty fast!
Some of the budget competitors do provide a 30W fast charger. This battery will last you at least for a day and a half!
Overall Verdict
For a budget phone, the Samsung A11 is pretty good, but it’s not great.
Competing with the likes of Xiaomi and Realme and even Huawei, with their budget offerings, there’s nothing that stands out with the A11.
It’s looks are pretty standard and they aren’t innovative. Some of their additions such as fingerprint sensors are still housed in the back and don’t show any advancements.
The screen is a bit underpart with a TFT display and not an IPS LCD display. This is the major concern with the A11, it’s features don’t stand out.
Pros
- Nice large display
- Pretty decent mid-range processor that works well with the phone
- The Samsung ONE UI is one of the better OS’ out there when you compare it to other devices.
- The cameras on the Samsung Galaxy 11 are more than average and in fact are it’s saving grace
- The 4000 mAh battery with the fast charging capabilities are pretty awesome
Cons
- Overall average features, with nothing major standing out to beat the competition
- Not a good looking phone when you compare it with the competition
- The default internal storage of 32GB is too less
- Even the colour offerings it comes in Black, Blue, White and Red are boring
- TFT display is a bit underpar when compared to the IPS LCD used by other budget phones
Overall the Samsung A11 is forgettable and if you are a big fan of Samsung, then you can go for this budget offering!
Samsung Galaxy A11 Singapore Price
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