The Galaxy A01: A Budget-Friendly Option with Basic Features

If you only have $100 to $150 to spend on a phone, you need something that covers all its bases without breaking the bank. Fortunately, Samsung's cheapest phone in its series line can do just that. I had the opportunity to spend time with the Galaxy A01, a no-frills handset that gets the job done without costing too much.

The Galaxy A01 has a 5.7-inch display with a 720p resolution, which may not be as sharp as some other phones on the market, but it's still sufficient for viewing YouTube videos in standard definition. The LCD screen isn't as vibrant and rich as Samsung's OLED displays, such as the Galaxy A51s. However, overall, videos look fine, even if they're not exactly stunning.

One of the phone's most notable features is its design. It's thin and small enough to navigate comfortably with one hand, making it easy to use on the go. The bottom bezel is a bit thick, but that's a minor complaint. The teardrop notch at the top keeps the phone looking modern, and it also features a headphone jack, which is great for users who still prefer wired headphones.

The Galaxy A01 has a 13-megapixel standard lens and a 2-megapixel depth sensing camera. In ample lighting conditions, the phone captures clear, colorful photos with good detail. Red and green hues are particularly noticeable in these images. However, there were some instances where the sky was overexposed, but later on in the evening, I was able to take a better shot of the blue sky with a foreground and subject matter evenly exposed.

The camera also has an 8x digital zoom, which is decent for getting more details from faraway objects. However, image quality starts to degrade when you zoom in too much, and live focus for portrait photos can be inconsistent, with some pictures turning out okay but others having the foreground or main object blurred out instead of the background.

When it comes to recording video, the Galaxy A01 can do 1080p video, but it doesn't have optical image stabilization. This means that footage may not be as smooth when you're moving around. Speaking of storage, the phone only has 16 gigs of internal storage and 2 gigs of RAM, with nearly half of that taken up by the operating system and apps.

It's worth noting that my review unit came from Verizon and had a lot of preloaded apps, which left it with only about 5 gigs of available storage. However, the phone does have expandable memory up to 512 gigs via a microSD card, so users can store more photos and videos if needed.

In terms of performance, the Galaxy A01 is equipped with a Snapdragon 439 processor, which operates quickly enough for most tasks. Launching apps and taking pictures with the camera felt timely, but there were instances where it took a beat or two to open certain apps or respond to some commands.

Finally, the phone's battery life was decent, lasting around 11 hours and 47 minutes during our test for continuous video playback on airplane mode. While this may not be as long-lasting as some other phones on the market, which have lasted over 13 hours in similar tests, it's still a good enough time to get through the day.

Overall, the Galaxy A01 has basic features that make it a satisfactory device for its low price. It can take decent photos, record video, and perform tasks without too much hassle. However, if you're looking for something with more advanced features or better performance, you may need to spend a bit more money. In particular, if you want a phone with a triple rear camera setup and a sharper display, consider the Moto G Power instead. It lasted over 24 hours in our same battery test and offers many of the features that make this phone worth considering.

If you're still interested in the Galaxy A01 despite its limitations, it's worth noting that it's available for a relatively low price compared to other Samsung phones. Additionally, it has an updated operating system, which may appeal to users who value security and stability. Ultimately, whether or not the Galaxy A01 is right for you depends on your specific needs and priorities. If you're looking for a budget-friendly option with basic features, this phone may be worth considering.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enif you only have a hundred to a hundred and fifty dollars to spend on a phone you need something that covers all its paces fortunately Samsung's cheapest number of it's a series line of phones can do just that I got to spend time with the Galaxy ao1 and it's a no muss no fuss handset that covers all its basics without costing too much so let's dive in the Galaxy ao1 has a 5.7 inch display with a 720p resolution that's not so bad but keep in mind many youtube videos can be viewed in a sharper 1080p resolution overall videos look fine but the LCD screen isn't as vibrant and rich as say the Galaxy a 51 s OLED display the phone is thin and small enough to navigate comfortably with one hand while its bottom bezel is a bit thick the teardrop notch up top keeps the phone looking modern there's also a headphone jack which is great for Wired headphone users the Galaxy ao1 has a 13 megapixel standard lens and a 2 megapixel depth sensing camera in ample lighting the phone captures clear colorful photos and red and green hues especially pop in some pictures there are a few images I took where the sky was overexposed but later on in the evening I was able to take a good shot of the blue sky with a foreground and subject matter evenly exposed as well the camera has an 8 X digital zoom that's decent at getting more details from faraway objects but image quality does get muddier and washed out the closer you zoom live focus for portrait photos was also really inconsistent though some pictures turn out ok several others had the foreground or main object blurred out instead of the background as for video the camera can record 1080p video but doesn't have optical image stabilization so footage won't be super smooth if you're moving around speaking of pictures you'll likely need Google photos cloud service to store your photos and videos or invest in a micro SD card the phone only has 16 gigs of internal storage and 2 gigs of RAM and nearly half of that is taken up by the OS and apps my review unit came from Verizon and it had so many preloaded apps that when I just turned it on it only had about 5 gigs available I had to delete a bunch to get more storage the phone does have expandable memory up to 512 gigs so I recommend that route for onboard storage equipped with a Snapdragon 439 processor the ao1 operates quickly enough for the most part and putting apps and launching the camera felt timely but every so often I noticed that the a1 took a beat or two for some other things like opening Geekbench for it isn't slow enough for me to pull my hair out but if you want a lightning speed user experience this phone isn't for you powered by a three ampere hour battery the phone can last a workday with mild usage during our test for continuous video playback on airplane mode the phone lasted 11 hours and 47 minutes that's a good enough time but most phones that we've tested in the last couple of years lasted longer starting about 13 hours and higher keep in mind we're also conducting streaming video tests and I'll update the written review when I get those numbers all in all the galaxy a one's bare-bones hardware and features like its plain design and low resolution display aren't much to get excited about but the handset covers the basics well enough that for its low price it's a satisfactory device to snap photos check email watch videos and of course make calls because of its better camera setup and updated OS I preferred over 2019 s motorola moto e 6 and 2018 moto g6 which also cost 100 to 150 dollars but the a1 does have a relatively unimpressive battery life if you want something with more juice and you could spend $100 more consider the Moto G power instead in addition to a triple rear camera setup and a sharper display the Moto G power lasted more than 24 hours during our same battery test if you want more tech news check out the rest of Cena's Channel that's all from me stay safe and I'll see you next timeif you only have a hundred to a hundred and fifty dollars to spend on a phone you need something that covers all its paces fortunately Samsung's cheapest number of it's a series line of phones can do just that I got to spend time with the Galaxy ao1 and it's a no muss no fuss handset that covers all its basics without costing too much so let's dive in the Galaxy ao1 has a 5.7 inch display with a 720p resolution that's not so bad but keep in mind many youtube videos can be viewed in a sharper 1080p resolution overall videos look fine but the LCD screen isn't as vibrant and rich as say the Galaxy a 51 s OLED display the phone is thin and small enough to navigate comfortably with one hand while its bottom bezel is a bit thick the teardrop notch up top keeps the phone looking modern there's also a headphone jack which is great for Wired headphone users the Galaxy ao1 has a 13 megapixel standard lens and a 2 megapixel depth sensing camera in ample lighting the phone captures clear colorful photos and red and green hues especially pop in some pictures there are a few images I took where the sky was overexposed but later on in the evening I was able to take a good shot of the blue sky with a foreground and subject matter evenly exposed as well the camera has an 8 X digital zoom that's decent at getting more details from faraway objects but image quality does get muddier and washed out the closer you zoom live focus for portrait photos was also really inconsistent though some pictures turn out ok several others had the foreground or main object blurred out instead of the background as for video the camera can record 1080p video but doesn't have optical image stabilization so footage won't be super smooth if you're moving around speaking of pictures you'll likely need Google photos cloud service to store your photos and videos or invest in a micro SD card the phone only has 16 gigs of internal storage and 2 gigs of RAM and nearly half of that is taken up by the OS and apps my review unit came from Verizon and it had so many preloaded apps that when I just turned it on it only had about 5 gigs available I had to delete a bunch to get more storage the phone does have expandable memory up to 512 gigs so I recommend that route for onboard storage equipped with a Snapdragon 439 processor the ao1 operates quickly enough for the most part and putting apps and launching the camera felt timely but every so often I noticed that the a1 took a beat or two for some other things like opening Geekbench for it isn't slow enough for me to pull my hair out but if you want a lightning speed user experience this phone isn't for you powered by a three ampere hour battery the phone can last a workday with mild usage during our test for continuous video playback on airplane mode the phone lasted 11 hours and 47 minutes that's a good enough time but most phones that we've tested in the last couple of years lasted longer starting about 13 hours and higher keep in mind we're also conducting streaming video tests and I'll update the written review when I get those numbers all in all the galaxy a one's bare-bones hardware and features like its plain design and low resolution display aren't much to get excited about but the handset covers the basics well enough that for its low price it's a satisfactory device to snap photos check email watch videos and of course make calls because of its better camera setup and updated OS I preferred over 2019 s motorola moto e 6 and 2018 moto g6 which also cost 100 to 150 dollars but the a1 does have a relatively unimpressive battery life if you want something with more juice and you could spend $100 more consider the Moto G power instead in addition to a triple rear camera setup and a sharper display the Moto G power lasted more than 24 hours during our same battery test if you want more tech news check out the rest of Cena's Channel that's all from me stay safe and I'll see you next time\n"