Which Samsung smartphone to choose. A, M, S, Note and Fold phone series
Important info about series and labeling
The first important innovation: the reduction in the number of rulers. So the unpretentious tubes of the Galaxy J series and metal Galaxy C went to the dustbin of history, and the Galaxy A line was waiting for an extremely successful reboot. The second important innovation: the boundaries between the flagship lines and state employees have blurred. Now it would be wiser to pay attention not to the letter “S” or “A” in the name itself, but to the serial number that comes after it. The higher it is, the steeper the model. Take for example the updated Galaxy A, where the youngest Samsung Galaxy A10 32GB 32 GB / 2 GB costs just over $100 and is the simplest low-cost smartphone, while the older Samsung Galaxy A80 128 GB / 6 GB is practically a top-of-the-line device with powerful hardware, an unusual PTZ camera and a price tag almost on par with the Galaxy S.
What do the s, e, Lite and Plus markings mean?
One more thing, as Samsung's competitors like to say. If you look through the Samsung catalog, you will often stumble upon modifications of popular models with additional prefixes, for example Samsung Galaxy S10e 128 GB / 6 GB Price from 7 676 up to 22 684 ₴ or Samsung Galaxy M30s 64 GB / 4 GB . Let's make a reservation right away that there is no clear logic behind these letters, Samsung is now actively experimenting with inexpensive “tubes”, so you shouldn’t bother too much. If you go up a level, then there you will often find Pro and Lite consoles. They already make much more sense: Lite means a simplified version of the flagship, Pro — on the contrary, improved, with more powerful hardware and a larger screen. Now that you know all this, we can move on to reviews of current Samsung lines.
Samsung Galaxy A: a line of people's smartphones
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Samsung used to be like this: here you have beautiful and inexpensive smartphones, if you want something more attractive and functional (for example, a banal NFC chip), if you please, pay well. But under the onslaught of Chinese smartphone makers, the “a little bit of everything” strategy had to be thrown into the dustbin of history. Instead, the Koreans decided to radically remake the A series, making it closer to the people. Judging by the fact that these models now hang in the top sales of any online store, the people reciprocated.
The success formula turned out in the spirit of Rorschach from Watchmen — no compromises even in the face of the apocalypse. Simply put, every smartphone in the Galaxy A line offers the most value for money: a modern eye-pleasing design, powerful hardware, up-to-date communication modules, NFC, a high-quality camera, etc. Given the affordable prices, this list in itself is a good reason to buy. Samsung stopped being greedy and began selling low-cost phones with Super AMOLED displays. Usually, such screens used to be found mainly in flagship handsets and occasionally slipped in the low-cost segment ( Meizu was especially successful in this, and even now they are not so common in the sub-$200 segment. Naturally, this significantly played into the hands of the success of the line.
What's in 2020?
At the beginning of 2020, the Galaxy A line includes 16 different models: from the younger A10 to the older A80, plus several modifications of especially successful handsets like the Samsung Galaxy A51 and Samsung Galaxy A20s. Prices start at $120 and go up to $550. At the moment, the most interesting options in our opinion are the Samsung Galaxy A30, Samsung Galaxy A50 and Samsung Galaxy A70. They are very similar to each other in terms of characteristics and functions, but differ primarily in hardware and screen sizes. Therefore, when choosing, we advise you to build on the existing low-cost and dimensions.
Samsung Galaxy M: long-lived smartphones with a powerful battery
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At the moment, this line has the most blurry positioning. Initially, Galaxy M smartphones focused on the Indian market and differed little from Galaxy A, but a little later the boundaries became clearer. So, this is still the same series of "people's smartphones", which has good performance and modern design at very affordable prices. But if in Galaxy A smarts the emphasis was on Super AMOLED screens, then in the new series the emphasis is on battery capacity.
If we take out the incomprehensible Galaxy M10, then in the younger Galaxy M20 we will see a 5000 mAh battery, while the new Galaxy M30s even boasts a 6000 mAh battery. Add here an economical Super AMOLED screen and get a record battery life. Even with very active use (brightness to the maximum, constant conversations, watching videos in high resolution, etc.), it will be difficult to drive this strong man to 0 in a day. If we talk about more realistic use cases, then it is quite possible to count on 3 or even 4 days without recharging. For people who are used to hanging around at the outlet and not leaving the house without a power bank, this is a serious bid for victory.
What's in 2020?
At the moment, 4 smartphones have been released in the series. As already mentioned, the first two models were more like a test of the pen and did not gain much popularity. But the Galaxy M30 and, especially, its fellow M30s is another matter. Here you have a battery, and a performant filling, and a triple camera, and NFC, a cool screen and much more. And this at a price of $220. If a couple of years ago someone would have said that Koreans would rivet such excellent smarts, we would have laughed with the entire editorial staff.
Samsung Galaxy S: uncompromising flagship and direct competitor to iPhone
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If above we talked about bread and butter, now we will talk about sandwiches with black caviar. Galaxy S was supposed to be the answer to expensive and fancy iPhones, but over time it has grown into something more. If 5-6 years ago Koreans were constantly trying to bite Apple and get some audience attention, now, on the contrary, Apple is more likely to be in the position of catching up, regularly borrowing some ideas from Samsung.
It was the Koreans who came up with the idea of making the side edges of the screen separate controls (not very successful), they were among the first to experiment with wireless chargers and cameras consisting of several different modules. In general, the new Galaxy S is not just a great smartphone, but a full exhibition of all the technological advances over the past year. And they always have excellent cameras, which immediately set records in the DxOMark camera phone rating. It is not surprising that even in the US, with their immense love for Apple, many buyers have gradually switched to Galaxy S handsets and do not intend to return back.
What's in 2020?
Galaxy S smartphones are released 2 times a year: in the spring, the usual version with a price tag of $1000 arrives on the shelves, and a little more expensive, improved Plus version comes out a little later. In 2019, they celebrated their 10th anniversary, and this year we are waiting for the new Galaxy S11. If you think from the position of the buyer, the answer to the question "what to take" is never obvious. For example, Samsung Galaxy S9 64 GB / 4 GB turned out to be an intermediate smartphone without raisins. And it is in many ways inferior to the latest S10, but its prices are much lower. Or take an old Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus 64 GB / 4 GB / 1 SIM which is still a great smart phone with no weak points. Yes, it does not have such a cool display as Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus 128 GB / 8 GB Price from 12 358 up to 30 912 ₴, no wireless charging and no triple camera, but a lower price tag. For example, a refurbished smartphone with a 12-month warranty can be found on the market for a rather modest $400.
Samsung Galaxy Note: flagships with a huge screen
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Galaxy S is not the only flagship in the range of the Korean giant. There are also Galaxy Note smartphones. Why do they need two lines at once? It's simple: the first is designed for the general public and, as mentioned above, aims to compete with the iPhone. The Note series, in turn, is focused more on business people who use their smartphone not only for leisure and communication, but also for business and work.
A distinctive feature of the Galaxy Note 10 is the enlarged screen and the signature S Pen stylus. Otherwise, the models are quite similar in terms of features and design. It's just that in addition to the Note, interesting buns periodically arrive, designed for use with a large screen. For example, not so long ago, Samsung experimented with dock bars that allow you to quickly connect your smartphone to a TV using the first as a computer and the second as a monitor. Therefore, in order not to get confused, we offer this formula: new Galaxy S + large screen + stylus = Galaxy Note.
What's in 2020?
The Note line in 2019 also turned 10 years old and the market situation is approximately the same as with the Galaxy S. That is, new smartphones can boast of all modern high-tech chips, laptop hardware, but they are also quite expensive. At the same time, models of previous generations are not far behind, but are sold at much more attractive prices. Therefore, we, alas, will not give unambiguous recommendations.
Samsung Xcover: armor over chain mail
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In a bag with Samsung goods, you can find not only everyday smartphones, but also highly specialized exotics, designed for a small category of buyers. Firstly, we are talking about a line of protected "tubes" Xcover. These armored smartphones are designed for use in harsh field conditions. For example, the new Galaxy Xcover FieldPro is MIL-STD-810G1 and IP682 certified, which means it can withstand shocks, drops, extreme temperatures, exposure to rain, and even up to 30 minutes underwater at a depth of 1.5 metres. There are separate push-to-talk and emergency request buttons on the case to help send location data or an alert. There is also support for a 14th band for special communications in case of emergency. And he also has quite modern iron, which will not provoke a gnashing of teeth from constant suspensions and brakes.
What's in 2020?
The range of protected models from Samsung is frankly small. In 2017, Samsung Galaxy Xcover 4 16 GB / 2 GB , which is now almost impossible to find in stores. At the end of 2019, the above-mentioned Samsung Galaxy Xcover FieldPro 32 GB / 3 GB , but it won't be available until February in a limited number of countries.
Samsung Galaxy Fold: an outlandish flagship with a folding screen
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A couple of years ago, the minds of engineers were captured by the idea of making a smartphone with a large and flexible screen that would finally break the wall between smartphones and tablets. On paper, it seemed easier than in real life, so it's too early to talk about mass models of folding smartphones. For some, the screens simply broke, for some, after a few twists, the colours faded, etc. Unlike the concepts of other manufacturers, Samsung did not open up and immediately launched the “first mass folding smartphone” Galaxy Fold on the market.
However, the future turned out to be not for everyone: the price of the novelty turned out to be twice as expensive as the Samsung flagship, and although most reviewers praised the device, they called it not so much a “folding smartphone” as a “folding tablet”. Therefore, we would seriously consider buying a Galaxy Fold only if we have extra money and really want to touch the screen of the future ourselves. In the role of an everyday smartphone, it will not work very well. At least for now. We hope that in the future the technology of folding screens will be brought to mind, and the developers will come up with a more interesting application for them than just unfolding and watching a movie on a big screen.
Summing up
Now let's quickly summarize. If you're looking for a good everyday smartphone with no frills, then be sure to check out the Galaxy A line. The Galaxy M series offers roughly the same thing, but with a bigger battery. If you can’t imagine life without new technologies and a smartphone replaces both a phone, cameras, and a game console, then you will like one of the beauties of the Galaxy S line. But for entrepreneurs and startups, Galaxy Note is best suited with a stylus, enhanced protection and other focused for business features. As for the Fold and Xcover lines, these are rather highly specialized pieces that are difficult to recommend to anyone in particular. If you really need a smartphone that bends and is not afraid of water, then most likely you already have it.
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