Samsung Galaxy A04 (SM-A045F) Price, Review And Specifications.

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Samsung Galaxy A04 (SM-A045F) Quick Specs:

6.5" HD+ (1600×720) PLS-LCD Drop-notched Display.

269ppi, 20:9 Aspect Ratio.

MediaTek Helio P35 Chipset.

Android 12 OS, Samsung One UI Core 4.1.

Dual-lens (50MP+2MP) Back Camera.

Single-lens (5MP) Front Camera.

3GB/4GB of RAM (And up to 4GB Virtual RAM).

32GB/64GB Internal Storage.

Face Recognition.

USB Type-C Port:

4G (LTE) Network.

5000mAh Battery (15W Fast Charging).

Starting Price:

76,500 Naira, GHc 1,315, R 2,099, EGP 4,399, US $135.

Galaxy A04 (SM-A045F) is the standard variant of the recently unveiled Samsung Galaxy A04 series.

There's also Samsung Galaxy A04e (SM-A042F) and Samsung Galaxy A04s (SM-A047F). Galaxy A04e is the cheapest of the three phones and also the stripped version of the standard Galaxy A04. On the other hand, Galaxy A04s is the better equipped version of the A04. As a result, A04s attract a little higher price than the standard model.

Basically, all the three phones look alike, and they have similar form factors. They also feature an identical 6.5-inch Drop-notched (Infinity-V) displays. However, in details, each of them has different dimensions. But, you can't notice the difference (in their dimensions) by merely looking at them, even if you have the privilege of putting them side by side.

Still, you can easily tell Galaxy A04s apart (from its two siblings) by its triple rear camera, while the other two feature dual rear cameras. Under the hood also, Galaxy A04s is the only one that has Samsung's in-house Exynos CPU, while the other two come with the same MediaTek chipset. Galaxy A04s is also the only one among them that has fingerprint reader and support high screen refresh rate.

On the other hand, you can't easily tell the difference (physically) between Galaxy A04e and standard Galaxy A04, except you go to their Phone Settings. Briefly, the main difference between the two phones lies in their main rear sensors. Because while the standard variant features a 50-megapixel main sensor, Galaxy A04e has a lower 13-megapixel main sensor. Except for those ones, there's no much difference between Galaxy A04 and Galaxy A04e.

Meanwhile, Samsung Galaxy A04 comes in the body of its predecessor, i.e, Samsung Galaxy A03 (SM-A035F). In other words, Galaxy A04 looks exactly like the earlier phone, and it also features an identical 6.5-inch drop-notched (Infinity-V) display. The screen also maintain the good picture qualities of the earlier one.

Though Galaxy A04 also retain many components (and features) of its predecessor, still the latest phone comes with few upgrades. For instance, while maintaining the 5-megapixel front-facing camera of the earlier phone, Galaxy A04 is fitted with a 50-megapixel dual rear camera; a slight upgrade from the 48-megapixel dual rear camera of the earlier phone. But, the photos from this phone still look like the ones from the earlier model.

 

However, the major upgrades took place under the hood. Although Galaxy A04 still features 3GB/4GB of RAM like the Galaxy A03, but the latest phone is powered by the MediaTek Helio P35 CPU; which is more better than the Unisoc T606 CPU that's inside the earlier one. Remember it's the same Helio P35 CPU that came with the better equipped variant of the Galaxy A03, i.e., Samsung Galaxy A03s.

Also while the earlier phone was running on the Android 11 Go Edition OS, Galaxy A04 is pre-installed with Android 12 (full version) OS, with the latest version of Samsung's One UI Core on top.

Even, in spite of its better chipset, the performance of the Galaxy A04 can still boosted through RAM Plus. RAM Plus is a recently introduced RAM expansion feature, which enables you to boost the performance of this Samsung phone by converting up to 4GB, out of the phone's inbuilt storage, to Virtual RAM.

Yet, like its predecessor, Galaxy A04 is still has the main RAM of either 3GB or 4GB. And these RAMs are also paired with 32GB and 64GB storage respectively. Though, Galaxy A04 also retain the 5000mAh battery of the Galaxy A03, yet, the microUSB on the earlier phone has been replaced with USB Type-C port.

Also unlike the earlier phone that featured standard 10W charging, Galaxy A04 support 15W fast charging. Even, features like Face recognition, which was missing on the earlier phone, is available on the Galaxy A04. However, the fingerprint reader is still missing on the latest phone. And the rest of its features are also similar to those of the Galaxy A03.

Price And Design Colours:

Samsung Galaxy A04 is available in four colour options of Green, Black, Orange Copper, and Awesome White. The price of the 3GB/32GB variant of the phone is about 76,500 naira. While that of the 4GB/64GB variant is around 81,000 naira.

DESIGN: It Looks Like The Earlier One.

Because both of them look so identical, therefore, the only way to easily tell apart Galaxy A04 from the earlier Galaxy A03 is by its glossy finish, and lack of rear camera bump. In other words, and despite the fact the two phones' rear cameras are arranged in a similar or vertical manner, the square-shape camera bump, that houses the earlier phone's rear sensors, is missing on the Galaxy A04. The latest phone also sports a glossy finish, compared to the matte finish of the earlier one.

Except for those ones, Galaxy A04 maintain every other visible attributes of the Galaxy A03. You still have the volume keys and power button on the right edge of the phone, while its 4G Dual-Nano SIM+microSD Card slot is also located on the left edge. The latest phone's microphone, 3.5mm audio jack, and speaker, are also placed on its bottom edge, alongside the recently introduced USB Type-C port.

Upgraded Rear Camera. But Similar Picture Qualities:

The 50-megapixel dual rear camera of the Samsung Galaxy A04 is made up of a 50-megapixel main sensor and a 2-megapixel Depth sensor (for portrait photos or photos with blur backgrounds or Bokeh effect).

However, in spite of its slightly higher 50-megapixel rear sensor (compared to the 48-megapixel of the Galaxy A03), the shots from latest phone's rear camera still look like the ones from the earlier phone. The photos still appear moderately sharp, clear, and bright.

And because the latest camera also support 10X digital zoom like it predecessor, the clarity or level of details is almost the same. Colours also look good and true.

The only thing i noticed about the shorts from this phone, when you compared them to those of the earlier model, is that they are slightly on the warm side.

Another thing is, sometimes, the camera is not able to take consistent shots, especially when it comes to brightness. Because, in some shots, photos appear bright, in others, they appear less bright. So you need a good lighting conditions to get optimum result from this phone rear camera. But that doesn't erase the fact that an average photo from this phone's camera is bright, clear and has good colours. Night shots from this camera are also clear and look good, for a phone at this price point .

On the other hand, and as expected of a 5-megapixel selfie sensor, the selfies from the front-facing camera of the Galaxy A04e are moderately clear, but, they're not detail. Colours also appear slightly pale too, though the selfies still manage to look okay. In short, the selfies from this phone look like the ones from the earlier model. But again, the ones from the latest phone seem to have a slight warm tone (like the rear camera). But generally, for a 5-megapixel selfie lens, the selfies are okay. 

By the way, both the front and rear cameras of the Samsung Galaxy A04 are capable of shooting of 1080p videos at 30fps (frame per seconds).

 

DISPLAY: Same Screen Size And Same Picture Quality As The Earlier One:

Samsung Galaxy A04 retain the screen size and other display properties of the earlier one. In other words, the 6.5-inch screen of the Galaxy A04 also features a PLS-LCD panel, and packed the same 720p or HD+ pixels of 1600-by-720 (269ppi).

By the way, the PLS-LCD panel is often found on Samsung's low-budget and entry-level Android phones. And compared to an average IPS-LCD panel, especially those ones that accompany low-budget Android phones, the PLS-LCD screen has a better picture qualities and better colour reproduction than most of them.

So, like that of its predecessor, the display of the Galaxy A04 also looks good. Pictures appear bright and have good colours. Because the screen also maintain the good brightness and contrast level of the earlier one, this screen is also bright and clear under direct sunlight.

Better CPU, Recent OS, Virtual RAM, But Main RAM And Storage Configurations Remain The Same:

Though, the Helio P35 MediaTek CPU; that powered the latest phone is a couple of years older than the Unisoc T606 that was inside Galaxy A03, yet, the MediaTek CPU is the better one.

 

Despite the fact that both of them are low-end 12nm octa-core processors, Helio P35 offers a faster maximum clock speed of 2.3Ghz, compared to the 1.6Ghz of the Unisoc T606. The MediaTek processor is also more power efficient than the Unisoc processor. Therefore, and despite having the same memory (RAM) configuration as the Galaxy A03, Galaxy A04 performed better both in AnTuTu and real life tests.

Also unlike the Galaxy A03 that's pre-loaded with Android 11 Go Edition, Galaxy A04 comes with a more recent and full version Android 12 OS. The phone is also running the Android OS alongside the latest version of Samsung's One UI Core, i.e., One UI Core 4.1.

Fortunately, for Galaxy 03 users, the earlier phone's Android version can also be upgraded to Android 12 too. In a similar way, Galaxy A04 can also be upgraded to Android 13 OS.

As i mentioned before, and in spite of its better chipset, the performance of the Galaxy A04 can still be boosted through RAM Plus.

Similar to Infinix and Tecno Mobiles' MemFusion, or Redmi's RAM Extension, Samsung's RAM Plus enables you to convert up to 4GB of free space (out of the phone's inbuilt storage) to RAM. Thereby allowing you to increase the 3GB of RAM of the phone up to 7GB.

Same Battery Capacity, But USB Type-C port and 15W Fast Charging:

Samsung Galaxy A04 also has the same 5000mAh battery as the Galaxy A03, but the microUSB port on the earlier phone has been replaced with USB Type-C port. Also compared to the earlier phone's standard 10W charging, Galaxy A04 support a faster 15W charging.

As a result, and with the phone's 15W (out-of-the-box) charger, it took Galaxy A04 about two hours thirty minutes to fully charge its battery from zero per-cent, while it took the earlier phone a little over three hours to do so. 

Full Specifications Of Samsung Galaxy A04 (SM-A045F):

GENERAL

Maker: Samsung Mobile.

Name: Galaxy A04 (SM-A045F).

Year Announced: November, 2022.

Dimensions: 164.4x76.3x9.1mm

Weight: 192g.   

Colour: Black, Green, Orange Copper & Awesome White.

DISPLAY
Screen Type: PLS-LCD capacitive Touchscreen.

Size and Resolution: 6.5-inch, HD+, 1600-by-720 pixels, 60Hz (standard) Refresh Rate.

Aspect ratio & Pixel Densities: 20:9, 269PPI.

Protection N/a.

PORTS:

3.5mm Audio Jack: Yes.

USB Type-C Port: Yes.

MicroUSB port: No.

Lightning Connector: No.

Google Assistant Button: No.

PERFORMANCE

Chipset: MediaTek Helio P35 Octa-core Processor, 2.3GHz.

GPU: PowerVR-GE8320.

RAM: 3GB/4GB (up to 4GB Extra through RAM Plus).

Operating System: Android 12, One UI Core 4.1.

STORAGE

Internal Storage: 32GB/64GB.

Micro-SD card slot: Yes, up to 1TB (Terabyte).

SIM AND NETWORK

SIM: Nano, Dual SIM slots.

Network:  GSM, WCDMA, HSPA+, LTE.

CAMERA

Rear camera: Dual-lens; (50MP f/1.8+2MP f/2.4) With LED-Flash.

Front camera: Single-lens, 5MP (f/2.2) Single Front Flash.

VIDEO RECORDING:

Rear Cameras: 720p, 1080p @ 30 fps.

Front Camera: 720p, 1080p, @ 30 fps.

CONNECTIVITY:

Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2, HotSpots, NFC, USB-OTG.

BIOMETRIC, SENSORS & LOCATION: 

Security: Face recognition, Screen pattern, & PIN.

Sensors: Ambient light sensor, Proximity sensor, G-sensor, Accelerometer And

Barometer sensor.

Others: GPS, Location (Geo, Glonass), Radio.

BATTERY

Battery Capacity: 5000mAh.

Qi Wireless-Charging: N/a.

Fast Charging: Yes (15W).

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