It's almost the middle of Q2. And that has historically been the prime slot for budget and mid-range device releases every year. Brands like Infinix and Xiaomi have already launched their budget options. On the other hand, Samsung is slated to release their budget offering from the A-series, the A04s some time this month. Samsung Galaxy A04s is tipped to be released on 26th June 2022 in India. With the impressive design, build quality, and Samsung reliability, will this be the new budget king of 2022? Let's look at the specs to find out.
Key Specifications of Samsung Galaxy A04s
Design and Build Quality
The A series from Samsung has historically been mid-range to upper mid-range devices. Samsung opted for the s variant of the A series to fill the void of entry-level devices. As a result, the A04s is expected to resemble the A04 which is slated for a Q3 release.
Starting with the design, Samsung has been bringing uniformity across the huge range of devices they put out each year. While this might seem like a lack of innovation, the trickle-down of the design from the flagships brings similar aesthetics at a fraction of the price.
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The A04s look much like the recently released S 22 Ultra. The same boxy design is present here with side-mounted buttons and ports.
The main drawback with a budget device is its build quality. While Samsung’s build quality is impeccable, the polycarbonate back and the plastic frame don’t help much. But given the price, the choice is understandable. Unlike the A04, the A04s will not have an under-display fingerprint scanner. Instead, the sensor will be mounted on the power button. Everything else is as usual with the Type-C port, dual sim slot, and micro SDXC support.
To round things up, the design of the A04s is a direct inspiration from the Samsung flagships. And even if the device doesn’t perform to that standard, it will bring an overall satisfactory outlook and aesthetics.
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Display
The display of the Samsung A04s is expected to be around 6.5-inches. The 6.5-inch panel only magnifies the overall footprint of the device as it still has some chunky bezels compared to 2022 standards. As a result, the A04s are expected to be slightly larger in dimension compared to the A03s.
The display itself is an HD+ PLS TFT panel. TFT panels are becoming increasingly obsolete even by budget standards. The panel is seen on ultra-budget devices nowadays as most budget devices come with at least a 720P LCD panel.
The main issue with TFT panels is the viewing angles. A slight curve from the straight view shows a shifting color with the extreme angles rendering the display to be completely dark. Beyond that, the colors appear to be washed out and the blacks look deep gray at best. Even at a budget price point, the display has to be one of the underwhelming aspects of the A04s.
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Camera
The Samsung A04s will be sporting a triple camera setup. Rather than creating a base for the camera module, Samsung has fitted each of the three lenses individually onto the polycarbonate back.
The main sensor is expected to be a 13 MP wide-angle shooter. The complementing lenses are two 2 MP macro and depth sensors. There aren’t any hands-on samples of the camera module yet as the release of the device is still two weeks off. But Samsung has not made any changes to the camera module from the previous iterations. It's still the same configuration found on the A03s.
Going by that, the A04s should also perform similarly. The A03s performed well under well-lit environments like most other budget 13 MP cameras. The problem starts when the lights become low. Even with Samsung’s post-processing, there are noticeable grains in the images. Now that the A04s have zero change from the A03s, it is at least expected that Samsung would try to mitigate the shortage with better post-processing.
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Processor and Performance
The processor of the Samsung A04s is expected to be an octa-core one. Octa-core has become a norm for the budget to flagships alike and the choice was expected given the brand’s depth with their own as well as Snapdragon’s processor.
It's expected that the A04s will come with two different processors for the global and the European market. The European market will probably see the Exynos 850 processor whereas the global market will see the Snapdragon 480 processor. The choice of dual-processor is nothing new for Samsung as almost all their lineups come in both Snapdragon and Exynos options.
The processors themselves are built on the 8 Nm architecture with Adreno 506 rendering the GPU support. The performance should be around and on par with most budget devices. There isn't any hands-on user experience data available yet. But given the entire package, it will be more of a casual usage device rather than being a heavy usage one.
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Battery and Charge Time
The Samsung A04s will ship with a 4000 mAh battery. The battery might seem a bit small since almost all the budget devices in this price point come with at least 5000 mAh capacity. The low res screen helps to make the device last up to 7 hours in continuous usage. There is an 18W fast charger included as well.
Price of Samsung Galaxy A04s
The expected price of the Samsung Galaxy A04s is 11,999 Rs which roughly amounts to 14,300 BDT (1 INR = 1.20 BDT). However, the price may vary once it becomes officially available in Bangladesh.
Verdict
The Samsung Galaxy A04s doesn’t really bring anything new to the table. It’s the same old formula packed in a more streamlined design. while the build and the design are something to get excited about, the display is a letdown. And so is the camera as it’s a simple carry-over from the previous generation. Overall, the A04s has the reliability of Samsung as its greatest sales point.