Samsung Galaxy A15 5G overview: Do you have to purchase it?

The Galaxy A15 5G is a plastic cellphone, prime to backside, and also you’ll discover that the second you contact it. But, whereas it isn’t manufactured from premium supplies, I used to be nonetheless shocked by how good this system seems. It’s obtained the identical easy aesthetics because the Galaxy S24 household, with a matte end on the again, three floating digicam modules, and a flat body. Even once you do get the plastic physique in your hand, it received’t choose up fingerprints—it skips the shiny end that we see on many funds telephones. It additionally feels reassuringly dense and strong.

There’s a small island jutting out from the remainder of the body containing each the quantity rocker and energy button. This makes them just a little simpler to seek out by really feel, notably the facility button, which is recessed and features a fingerprint sensor. It’s not as quick because the sensors on dearer telephones, however it’s been dependable sufficient for me. Each buttons are plastic, however they really feel sturdy. There’s a mono speaker on the underside edge, which isn’t ok for music. Even for voice, you’ll must crank the quantity.

The show is the centerpiece right here. Samsung has skimped on funds smartphone screens up to now, however not this time. The Galaxy A15 5G steps as much as a 6.5-inch OLED display screen, providing vibrant colours and deep blacks that blow the outgoing Galaxy A14 5G‘s LCD panel out of the water. It doesn’t fairly have the decision or brightness of the S24 shows, however 1080p and 800 nits is nothing to sneeze at for this worth level. You need to use the Galaxy A15 5G in pretty vibrant outside mild, and it’s nonetheless legible. The 90Hz refresh fee additionally ensures scrolling and animations are easy.

Whereas the panel itself is sweet, the way in which it matches into the chassis seems a bit low cost. There’s an enormous, LCD-like bezel all the way in which across the show, with a bit of a bigger chin on the backside. The A15 5G additionally has a waterdrop show notch on the prime for the front-facing 13MP digicam. Dearer telephones have since moved to hole-punch shows that mix in with the bezel higher.

The Galaxy A15 5G packs a succesful MediaTek Dimensity 6100 Plus processor. It’s an 8-core chip, however not like dearer elements, solely two of these cores are the quicker variants (Cortex-A76). The six remaining are environment friendly however slower A55 CPUs. The Galaxy A15 is unencumbered by messaging, searching the net, and normal smartphone time-wasting. It’s simply quick sufficient to utilize that 90Hz display screen whereas scrolling across the OS. You may play some easy video games, however heavier 3D video games or multitasking will push this cellphone to its restrict — I began to see some lag right here.

It is probably not the quickest cellphone, however the Galaxy A15 5G supplies “ok” efficiency for a very long time between prices. The 5,000mAh battery can simply make it two days per cost, however three days is feasible in case you train just a bit self-control. The Galaxy A15 5G prices at 25W, which is sweet for a funds cellphone. The battery can fill fully in about 90 minutes, however Samsung doesn’t embody a plug — take a look at our greatest charger picks for some choices in case you want one.

The Galaxy A15 5G runs Android 14 out of the field, however you would possibly by no means comprehend it in case you don’t test the settings. Android 14 is buried beneath a thick layer of One UI 6. Should you’ve used any current Samsung cellphone, the A15 5G will look acquainted. The interface is comparatively clear with out all of the add-ons for AI, a stylus, and different options not current on Samsung’s funds telephones. There’s additionally full assist for Materials You theming. Samsung does generally tend to bundle too many apps with One UI — streaming video, calendar, well being monitoring, procuring, and extra. There are additionally Microsoft apps like Linked in and Outlook. Should you don’t use any of this, it’ll take some time to uninstall or disable all of it.

The software program isn’t fairly as refined as Google’s Pixel UI or as utilitarian as Motorola’s My UX, however it provides unbelievable long-term assist. Most funds telephones are fortunate to see a handful of updates, however Samsung guarantees 4 years of full OS updates plus a further 12 months of safety patches past that. No different OEM is providing such prolonged assist on a funds cellphone. That is even an enchancment over the Galaxy A14 5G, which solely will get two full OS updates (one remaining).

You wouldn’t count on a $200 cellphone to have wonderful cameras, and the Galaxy A15 5G doesn’t. Nonetheless, it’s greater than ok for a funds digicam cellphone, given the worth. The first 50MP shooter produces 12MP binned photos which have barely over-emphasized colours, however the element is sweet for topics which might be well-lit.

Exposures are a bit lengthy, making motion laborious to seize, and don’t rely on a single shot to get the job completed in poor lighting. The digicam could be very hit-and-miss (largely miss) at night time. In additional different lighting, you’ll discover the Galaxy A15 5G’s dynamic vary is missing in comparison with dearer gadgets, too. However once more, this can be a affordable shooter for the worth, so long as you don’t count on an excessive amount of from it in tricker situations.

The 5MP ultrawide is nothing particular, however I admire that Samsung added one when 2023’s Galaxy A14 5G solely had a depth sensor. There isn’t a lot element to spare, so don’t trouble cropping. It’s ok for landscapes or well-lit massive group pictures, although. The 2MP macro digicam makes a return this 12 months, unchanged from the Galaxy A14 5G. It’s nonetheless not value utilizing as a result of lack of element. The 13MP selfie digicam can be the identical. It takes first rate sufficient pictures of topics, however any background element suffers from extreme softness. Lastly, video recording is competent however not wonderful, topping out at 1080p and 30fps — I’d’ve favored to see 60fps for smoother clips.

You may take a look at among the full-res pictures I took on this Drive folder.

• OnePlus Nord N30 5G ($299 at Amazon): The Nord N30 prices $100 greater than the A15 5G, and in return, you get a reliable Snapdragon processor, a 108MP digicam, and super-fast 50W charging. The software program and replace assure, nevertheless, are a marked step down from the Galaxy A15 5G.
• Moto G Energy (2024) ($199.99 at Motorola): Motorola’s cellphone has a barely quicker MediaTek processor, together with double the RAM and a bigger show. Nonetheless, it prices $100 extra (however is usually discounted) and received’t see as many OS updates.
• Samsung Galaxy A25 5G ($299.99 at Amazon): The Galaxy A25 5G has the identical satisfactory software program and wonderful replace promise because the Galaxy A15 5G, however it provides a brighter OLED display screen, extra reminiscence, and a quicker Exynos processor. This boosts the worth to $300, however the A25 5G is usually on sale, making it a a lot better purchase.
• Samsung Galaxy A14 5G ($199.99 at Samsung): 2023’s Galaxy A14 5G remains to be an choice if you will discover it on sale for nearer to $100. It’s just a little slower, and the display screen is LCD as an alternative of OLED, however it nonetheless has three years of safety patches and one main OS replace nonetheless forward of it.