Samsung Galaxy A11 Review: Tough Enough For Kids
September 12, 2020It’s one of the most basic phones that Samsung makes, but is it worthy of being your daily driver?
Performance: Snapdragon 450, 2GB RAM
Display: 6.4-inch (720p x1560)
Storage: 32GB
Battery: 4,000mAh
Features: 1080 video recording
Rear Camera: 13MP Wide,5MP ultra-wide, 2MP Depth
Front Camera: 8MP
Rating: 7/10
Price: RM569.00
The world of technology isn’t kind to consumers who are on an extremely tight budget. It favors people with deep pockets, lavishing them with some of the best hardware on the market. In fact, they are so spoilt for choice that manufacturers throw in excessive amounts of RAM just to stand out from the competition.
Now, the budget side of the market on the other hand, is filled with sub-standard hardware that can barely cope with simple tasks. App crashes and screen freezing, are all to common an occurrence on ultra-budget devices. That said, it’s a gross misrepresentation of the entire range of phones that include Samsung’s A11. It’s a surprisingly capable phone, an overlooked device that shows good promise.
What Is it Like?
Its plastic rear panel resembles that of older mid-range devices like the Galaxy A50, which isn’t a bad thing. And as such, it sports a minimalist panel, devoid of fancy shimmering textures or glossy rainbow effects. From the get-go, this is a phone clear on what it is; a ‘no nonsense’, barebones device meant for those who are on an ultra-tight budget.
Despite this, Samsung has managed to shoehorn a near-bezeless 6.4-inch display into it. Mind, there’s no notch or teardrop shaped outline for the selfie camera, instead there’s a single hole punch to the extreme left of the phone’s display. It’s similar to what you would get with the A51 and A71. this adds to its ‘premium’ appeal.
However, unlike its more expensive siblings, the A11 has to make do with a TFT, HD+ screen, which produces a toned down color gamut. Though images look fairly sharp when the brightness is turned all the way up, they aren’t as vibrant as that seen on AMOLED phones. And this is the telltale sign of it being a budget phone. Had there been a setting to adjust the color saturation, it would have made a world of difference.
M31 (Blue) vs A11 (Grey)
See Also:
Samsung Galaxy A71 Review
Samsung Galaxy A51 Review
Samsung Galaxy A21s Review
But on the surface, it has a slender silhouette, which makes the A11 easy to hold. It’s relatively light too, which allows you to carry it in just about any pocket. This is the type of phone that you can be rough with, and not have to worry about damaging. This is something I can attest to, after witnessing the A11 violently drop onto a concrete floor.
For reasons beyond comprehension, I somehow lost my footing as I tried to avoid some overhanging tree branches. This caused me to flail my arms around, as I struggled to regain my balance. As my battle with gravity raged on, The A11 managed to slip out of its carrying case, and plummet to the cold and hard concrete floor below.
I could only watch in horror as it hit the ground with a forceful ‘thud’, then ricocheted off of the ground before coming to rest a few centimetres a way. It was the kind of impact that would have shattered a phone with a rear glass panel or decimated one with a little more heft. But because the A11 is made with basic plastics and weighs as much as a bar of chocolate, it only sustained some minor bruising, but was otherwise, relatively undamaged.
The are only a few minor scraps to evidence the horrific fall, on that fateful day. And it was this experience that made me realize how durable budget phones have become. They are built like tanks, yet seem elegant enough to look expensive. And in all honesty, a phone can only be truly enjoyed when damaging it doesn’t cause you much grief.
This is the case with the A11. It can take quite a beating without splitting in half or cracking its display. It’s best suited to the accident prone, butter-fingered users such as myself who lack the grace to hold their phones properly. And because its priced this cheaply, should you manage to drop one, the experience shouldn’t cause much heartbreak.
Internally, its hardware isn’t much to write home about. There’s a mediocre Snapdragon 450 chipset and 2GB of RAM to work with. The performance doesn’t seem too promising at first. Its software seems to lack the immediacy seen on the A21s or A51. There’s a slight hesitation when it’s tasked with opening an app or launching the web browser.
It isn’t much, just a few milliseconds here or there, but enough to notice. Admittedly, this only happens when the A11 is tasked with something new to do. Once it gets to work, the performance improves quite a bit. The lag is only apparent if you’re used to having more powerful phones. Otherwise, it won’t be that noticeable to you.
The A11 is perfectly capable of running multiple messaging apps, streaming YouTube videos and playing less demanding gaming titles. Despite having only 2GB RAM, the performance deficit is only noticed at the initial stage, but once the CPU gets up to speed, everything starts to feel a lot snappier. It’s a testament to how efficient Samsung’s One UI can be, on mediocre hardware.
Unlike the dreaded Touch Wiz, which I had the unfortunate experience of using with my Galaxy S3, One UI is a breath of fresh air. It’s better organised, isn’t resource heavy and ages well with each new update. The A11 is a clear indication of this fact. It is able to run Android 10 fairly well despite having underwhelming hardware.
In addition to this, the 4000mAh battery ensures that you get at least a full day’s worth of battery life. Regardless of what you use the phone for, it should keep chugging along throughout the entire day without asking to be topped up. However,if you’ve cranked the brightness all the way up, the phone might not make it till the end of the day.
The Camera
Camera quality isn’t bad for a budget device. The A11 may only have a 13MP main shooter, but the images that it captures, offer decent contrast and color depth. Granted, they aren’t breathtaking, but are good enough for Instagram or Facebook. The results are quite decent, and no one will be the wiser about them being shot on a 13MP budget phone.
The phone is also privileged enough to inherit several camera features from the higher end Samsung phones, which include the pro features. The autofocus does a decent job of keeping your subject in focus. It is also does a stand up job at distinguishing the background from the area of interest, and provides you with a balanced amount of detail and depth.
The lack of proper image stabilization can ruin your shots at times, but if you’re able to shoot with a steady hand, you should be able to compensate for this. The same is true of video footage, which is a little shaky and less vibrant. Though some extra work is needed in ‘post’ to make them ‘pop’.
Sadly, these results can’t be replicated at night. The A11 simply isn’t meant for night time photography. the cameras aren’t able to compensate for the lack of light very well. And as such, pictures appear a little noisy and out of focus. But this is forgivable considering what its able to pull off during the day.
Should I Buy One?
If you’re in between phones or looking to gift one to your elderly parents or young children, then, yes. This is a sturdy device that can take quite a beating without showing signs of wear. It’s perfect for people who tend to be rough with their devices. However, it would be best to opt for the 3GB variant instead of this 2GB one.
The A11 isn’t meant for people who value instantaneous response times or lightning quick engagements. Such people wouldn’t be looking for a phone at this end of the smartphone spectrum. So, if you’re able to accept its limitations, then its a pretty decent phone for the money. But learn to temper your expectations, though the A11 isn’t perfect at everything, it is more than competent at most things.
