Far from the ultra high-end mobiles that are the Galaxy S or Galaxy Note, the Galaxy A family seeks to offer a maximum of "made in Samsung" innovations for a minimum price.
Presentation
A member of the very large Galaxy A family, the A40 comes to occupy a segment gradually neglected by other manufacturers, mobiles under 300 €. Supposed to embody the balance between entry-level mobiles and the debauchery of means of high-end models, this Galaxy A wants to convince users who are looking to equip themselves without breaking the bank.
The front of the Galaxy A40.
Opposite this Galaxy A40 sold for €269, we find the unbeatable Redmi Note 7 or the Honor 20 Lite. Does Samsung manage to compete? That's what we're going to see.
Ergonomics and design
In the current jungle of very large smartphones, Samsung takes the opposite view with this Galaxy A40. The screen is certainly 6 inches, but the optimization of the front panel allows the mobile to remain compact and mainly usable with one hand. All allergic to phablets will appreciate.
A plastic back with colored reflections.
The plastic back of the phone picks up fingerprints extremely easily, but it has a pretty sleek edge thanks to a nice set of color gradients. Slightly curved edges help grip. In addition, the fingerprint sensor is well placed and works without a hitch. In short, Samsung has produced a beautiful compact smartphone. It's rare enough to be stressed.
A very pleasant 6 inch format.
Technical question, the mobile is doing quite well, with two SIM slots, a microSD slot and a successful screen / size ratio (85,5% of the front). Only the lack of waterproof certification makes it lose its fifth star.
Screen
Those who follow the market will not be surprised to learn that the Galaxy A40 has an excellent screen. Samsung has integrated a Super Amoled screen on its mid-range, and as usual the quality is there.
The colorimetry is at the top with a delta E measured at 1,3 and a color temperature at 6 K. No way, unless you have a bionic eye, to see a colorimetric drift. Note that these excellent results are obtained with the "basic" display mode. Fans of brighter colors can of course use the other profiles offered.
In terms of readability, it's also very good with "infinite" contrast (thanks to the Oled) and a maximum brightness of 487 cd:m². No problem then, you can take your phone out in the sun without struggling to see the screen. The same goes for the minimum brightness which drops to 1,7 cd:m²; you won't pierce your pupils if you grab your phone in the middle of the night. To top it off, the reflectance is rather contained (45%).
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A notch in the format of a very discreet "water drop".
Nothing to declare either in use, the resolution of 437 dpi makes navigation very pleasant and the tactile delay is sufficiently contained (79 ms) not to be visible. All in all, the Galaxy A40 has a flawless display that will do justice to your photos and videos.
performances
We find in the Galaxy A40 the same mobile chip as that of the Galaxy A8 released in 2018. A component not necessarily optimal, but which provides quite acceptable performance, especially accompanied by the 4 GB of RAM of the phone. No slowdown was felt during our use.
The Galaxy A40 heats up after 10 minutes of taking photos and videos.
The heating also remains quite reasonable with never more than 35°C on the surface. A perfectly acceptable temperature that will not fry your fingers.
Regarding the video game, the phone will easily manage to run all 3D games from the Play Store. The level of graphics is not necessarily at the top of the top, but it remains very correct and the fluidity is always impeccable.
Audio
The headphone output of the Galaxy A40 has the merit of delivering a powerful and rather clean signal, but unfortunately the channel separation is a bit messy. The dynamic range (difference between the weakest and loudest sounds) is on the other hand well marked.
As for the single loudspeaker present on the lower edge of the mobile, it restores an extremely tight signal and exclusively concentrated on the high-mids. Enough to watch YouTube videos and make wireless calls, but little more.
Photo
Like many phones on the market today, the A40 offers more than one camera module. The "standard" 16 Mpx sensor is actually accompanied by an ultra wide-angle of 5 Mpx, which offers a little versatility in the photographic exercise.
Module principal : 16 Mpx, f/1.7, 26 mm
When the light is sufficient, the Galaxy A40 is able to produce rather successful shots. The level of detail is good (with 16 Mpx, it is better), the contrast too, and the colors are rather faithful to reality. Only small problems, the mobile sometimes has a heavy hand on smoothing and the densest areas lose detail. Nothing terrible, but the competition (the Honor Play not to name it) does better.
At night, on the other hand, it is much less glorious. Smoothing is even more present without succeeding in getting rid of the grain which damages the quality of the image. The poorly controlled white balance gives a yellowish tone to the whole shot and crushes certain colors. The main lines of the image are properly rendered, but it will not be necessary to look for too many details. But, anyway, the competition is not doing much better.
Very wide-angle module
Having an ultra wide-angle photo module on a smartphone is always nice since it allows you to broaden the usual horizon of your shots a little. But unfortunately, on mid-range smartphones, the quality is rarely there, including on this A40.
As can be seen above, the photos from this module lack sharpness, detail, color and contrast. In short, the photo does not have much going for it. Even the grain settles comfortably. In absolute terms, the photo is not unusable, but it will be necessary to avoid looking at it too closely.
On the other hand, at night, the ultra wide-angle is really not efficient. Object shapes are preserved, but that's about it. All the details are drowned in a mix of blur, grain and chromatic aberrations, and the white balance is completely in the cabbage. We would much rather take a few steps back and use the main sensor.
Portrait mode, front sensor and video.
The front camera meanwhile is quite good in broad daylight and elegantly highlights the subject thanks to a nice mastery of contrast and a good level of detail. However, at night, the presence of grain is not negligible.
Portrait mode falls into a common trap, that of creating a bokeh (background blur) that is much too dense and homogeneous. Even if the clipping is rather well done, the person in the photo seems to be stuck in a hurry on a blur created via Photoshop. Not terrible either. Finally, in video, no problem to declare. The phone films in Full HD without difficulty, and manages autofocus and light variations well.
Autonomy
With its 3 mAh battery, the A100 manages to provide decent battery life, but slightly below what the competition offers. On our home battery test, which combines standby, web surfing, streaming, etc., the phone lasted just under 40 hours. In practice, the A15 will easily provide a day and a half of autonomy if you do not force too much. It's honorable, but the competition has made greater efforts on this side in recent months.
Good news, the charger supplied with the phone will take the device's battery from 0 to 100% in about 1 hour 30 minutes. A great feat for a phone of this range.
Sustainability
Our sustainability score helps determine the sustainable aspect of the smartphone for both the consumer and the environment. It is based on the repairability index, durability criteria (protection index, standard connectors, warranty period and updates, etc.) and an assessment of CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) policies. . You will find all the details of the analysis in our article presenting the sustainability score.
Highlights
Well calibrated screen.
Quality construction.
Quite respectable level of performance.
Quality headphone output.
Quick charge.
Updated version of Android.
Weak points
Conclusion
Note globaleThe Galaxy A40 is undeniably a good Samsung phone. The construction is of good quality and the screen too. But unfortunately, this is not enough to assert itself in the face of fiercer competition than ever. Especially when the photo quality is not there.
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