Samsung Galaxy A04s Review: Good Camera Poor Performance

Samsung recently launched a budget phone, Samsung Galaxy A04s in Nepal. It is the successor of the Samsung A03s.

Samsung A04s price in Nepal is Rs. 19,999 (4/64GB) and Rs. 21,999 (4/128GB). It is available for purchase via Samsung-authorized stores across Nepal.

The A04s bring some upgrades and changes compared to the A03s. It now has an Exynos chipset, a 90Hz display, and a 50MP main sensor. But, is it worth the price? Let’s find out!

Samsung Galaxy A04s Review

Design

• 164.7 x 76.7 x 9.1 mm
• 195 g
• Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by)

The A04s has a better design than the A03s, it looks more premium as it shares the design language of the more expensive A-series phone.

The triple camera setup on the rear is reminiscent of the Samsung A32. It has a unibody design as the polycarbonate back panel curves into the frame.

The back panel has a textured finish which makes it less prone to smudges.

The fingerprint sensor is embedded in the power button and it works well but it is not fast enough. Likewise, there’s a triple slot that can accommodate two sim cards and a microSD at the same time. On the bottom, it has a 3.5mm headphone jack, a USB Type-C port, and a speaker.

The phone provides a good grip but its size doesn’t offer easy one-hand use. Similarly, it doesn’t feel heavy even though it weighs around 195 g.

ALSO READ: Realme C31 Review: A Typical Budget Phone!

Display

• 6.5 inches PLS LCD
• 720 x 1600
• 90Hz

The display on the A04s stays at 720p but it gets a 90Hz panel compared to the 60Hz panel of the A03s.

The 6.5-inch PLS LCD panel of the A04s offers good brightness. Samsung mentions that it has a peak brightness of 400 nits and I did not have any problems using it under hard lighting.

The display panel has good viewing angles but the color reproduction is average at best. It doesn’t offer the vibrant colors that we have come to expect from Samsung phones.

Even though it is a 720p panel, the sharpness feels okay but Samsung really should have provided a 1080p panel at this price tag.

The 90Hz refresh rate provides smooth scrolling and it is well-optimized. The panel drops to 60Hz while playing videos and when the screen is idle. Otherwise, it stays at 90Hz.

Performance

• Exynos 850
• 4GB RAM, 64/128GB Storage

Samsung has switched from MediaTek to its own chipset on the A04s. The A03s featured the MediaTek Helio P35 chipset whereas the A04s uses the Exynos 850 chipset.

It comes in two variants: 4/64GB and 4/128GB with eMMC 5.1 storage and LPDDR4X RAM. We ran benchmarks to see Exynos 850’s performance and to be fair it is very bad.

In GeekBench the Exynos 850 managed to score only 154 in Single-Core and 582 in Multi-Core. In contrast, the Helio G80 in Samsung F22 which has a similar price tag scores 350 and 1317 respectively. Likewise, it scores 512 in the 3D Mark WildLife test which is a GPU-bound benchmark.

The phone feels sluggish and laggy in normal daily usage.

The phone lags even when navigating and opening apps. It gets worse if you try switching apps and playing games. For gaming, I tested Free Fire Max at Max graphics. I was getting average fps of 38 but there were plenty of frame drops.

So, Samsung A04s has very poor performance considering its price tag.

ALSO READ: Xiaomi 12 Lite Review: A Good Upper Mid-Range Phone!

Camera

• 50 MP, f/1.8, (wide), PDAF
• 2MP, f/2.4, (depth)
• 2MP, f/2.4, (macro)

Samsung A04s gets a triple camera setup with a 50MP main sensor, a 2MP depth sensor, and a 2MP macro sensor. On the front, it has a 5MP selfie camera.

MAIN CAMERA

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The photos from the main camera have dull colors and the darker areas are not exposed properly. Likewise, the dynamic range is pretty average and it fails to adjust the focus sometimes.

MACRO CAMERA

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The 2MP macro camera takes low-resolution photos with washed-out colors and low contrast. It is also quite hard to nail the right focusing distance.

PORTRAITS

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The portraits are above average with good sharpness and fine details. The colors look boosted and the dynamic range is decent. The blur effect is convincing enough but it does struggle with complex areas like hair.

SELFIES

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The selfies captured in good lighting conditions turn out pretty good. They have good detail and look sharp. The face tone looks natural and the skin tone is also nice.

VIDEOS

Samsung A04s can capture videos up to 1080p 30fps. The dynamic range is above average and the color is neutral. The exposure shift was noticeable which makes the footage unappealing. Likewise, the videos lack proper stabilization.

Considering the fact that it is a budget phone, the video quality is decent.

Battery & Charging

• 5000mAh
• 10W Charging

Samsung A04s’s 5000mAh battery can provide very good battery life. With moderate usage, it can provide up to7-8 hours of screen time. I was easily able to use the phone for more than a day.

In terms of charging, it takes more than 3 and a half hours to charge the battery from 0 to 100% with the 15W charger.

Software

The A04s runs on One UI 4.1 Core version of Android 12 out-of-the-box.

The software experience is very similar to that of Android 11. There are no major face lifts or changes in the Android 12 version of One UI.

But the software experience is hampered by its performance. Every animation feels slow and sluggish. It does come with a few pre-installed apps from Samsung and Microsoft.

Should You Buy Samsung Galaxy A04s?

For the price, Samsung A04s feels underwhelming. It lacks performance and its display is only average. The main camera is good and battery life is above average.

The low-power Exynos 850 really kills the Samsung A04s. This phone will test your patience every time you open an app or try to do something. It’s best to completely avoid this phone just because of its sluggish performance.

ALSO READ: Samsung Mobiles Price in Nepal: Features and Specs

So this is my Samsung A04s review. What do you think of the Samsung A04s? Let us know in the comments!

Also, watch our review video of the Xiaomi 12 Lite in Nepali.