Samsung Galaxy A01 Core Review: Budget Smartphone

The Samsung Galaxy A01 Core is an ultra-affordable Android smartphone that delivers essential features with a compact design, making it a solid entry-level option for first-time users or as a reliable backup phone.

Design & Display

The Galaxy A01 Core features a compact and lightweight design, weighing just 150g with a plastic build that comes in Black, Blue, and Red color options. Its 5.3-inch PLS LCD display offers an HD+ resolution of 720 x 1480 pixels with an 18.5:9 aspect ratio, resulting in a screen-to-body ratio of approximately 74.5%. The bezel-less design and capacitive touchscreen provide a modern look and feel for a device in this price range.

Performance & Hardware

Under the hood, the Galaxy A01 Core is powered by a MediaTek MT6739 chipset built on a 28nm process. This quad-core processor features four Cortex-A53 cores clocked at 1.5 GHz, paired with either 1GB or 2GB of LPDDR3 RAM. Graphics are handled by the PowerVR GE8100 GPU. Storage options include 16GB or 32GB of eMMC 5.1 storage, expandable via microSDXC card for additional space.

Camera

The device features a single 8MP rear camera with an f/2.2 aperture that can record video at 1080p@30fps. Camera features include auto flash, continuous shooting, digital zoom, exposure compensation, face detection, and HDR. For selfies and video calls, there's a 5MP front-facing camera with an f/2.4 aperture.

Battery & Charging

The Galaxy A01 Core is equipped with a 3000mAh Li-Ion battery, which provides adequate battery life for basic daily usage. Charging is handled through a Micro-USB 2.0 port, which was standard for budget devices at the time of its release.

Software & Features

The phone launched with Android 10 (Go edition), which is optimized for devices with lower specifications. This ensures smoother performance and efficient memory management. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi 4 (802.11 b/g/n), Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, and FM radio. It retains the increasingly rare 3.5mm headphone jack and supports 4G LTE networks (though not 5G).

Pros & Cons

• Pros: Extremely affordable price point, compact and lightweight design, clean Android Go experience, expandable storage, includes headphone jack
• Cons: Limited RAM (especially 1GB variant), basic camera performance, Micro-USB instead of USB-C, no NFC support, modest performance for multitasking

Tags: Samsung, budget smartphone, Android Go, entry-level phone, smartphone review

An in-depth review of the Samsung Galaxy A01 Core, covering its specs, camera, performance, and battery life for budget-conscious users.