Samsung Galaxy A03s review

Alternative offers

The Samsung Galaxy A03s retails at about €160 for its 3GB RAM + 32GB storage model. It's a reasonable price, a great one if you are on a budget. Samsung is not the only maker to compete in this price bracket, so let's see what you can get in the range of 150-200€.

The Realme 8i costs as much as the A03s, but it's a much better smartphone. The phone offers a 1080p screen with a 120Hz refresh rate, its most basic variant has 4GB RAM + 64GB storage, there is a 50MP primary camera, and the phone ships with a much faster 18W charger. Finally, but probably most importantly, the 8i is much faster thanks to the Helio G96 chipset. The Realme 8i is a no brainer if everything boils down between the A03s and the 8i.

If you are ready to spend about €30 on top of the Galaxy A03s and the Realme 8i, you can buy the Realme 8. It has a 1080p Super AMOLED screen, a much more powerful Helio G95 chipset that's plenty good for gaming, and there is a four-camera setup with a 64MP primary and an 8MP ultrawide shooters. The Realme 8 comes with a 30W charger in the box, in case you needed even more convincing.

The 4GB/64GB Motorola Moto G30 costs as much as the Galaxy A03s, too. It trumps the Galaxy with a 90Hz display, more memory, a more capable camera setup with an additional ultrawide shooter, and much faster charging. The Moto G30 is more powerful, too, and it's also splash-resistant. Another no-brainer here.

If you fancy a Xiaomi, the Redmi Note 8 2021 is priced about €20 over the Galaxy A03s, but it offers a higher-res display, more powerful hardware, 64GB storage, a fourth 8MP ultrawide camera on the back, and an 18W fast charger in the box.

Realme 8i • Realme 8 • Motorola Moto G30 • Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 2021

If you are a fan of Samsung, then we'd recommend paying about €50 or so on top of the Galaxy A03s and getting at least the Galaxy A22. It has a 90Hz 720p Super AMOLED screen, a more powerful Helio G80 chipset, more storage and RAM, and faster 15W charging. The camera department is much better with a 48MP primary with OIS and an 8MP ultrawide camera. We'd definitely pay the extra, even if it's not negligible.

Samsung Galaxy A22

Our verdict

The Galaxy A03s is a good entry-level smartphone - that's undeniable. It has a good screen, a reliable battery, a recent Android OS with OneUI interface, and a non-nonsense primary camera.

Unfortunately, the A03s feels overpriced for what it offers - there are much better phones on the same shelf. If it were priced around €100-€110, it would have been a great competitive offer, a worthy budget phone.

So, if you can get the Galaxy A03s with a price cut that makes sense - we'd recommend it for its skills. But for now - we'd suggest looking elsewhere.

Pros

• Solid build, good grip.
• Large screen with excellent contrast.
• Outstanding battery life.
• The daylight camera quality is good.
• Relatively recent Android and solid OneUI Core.
• 3.5mm jack, microSD, NFC.

Cons

• More powerful phones at that price.
• Dull screen colors.
• Sluggish charger, no fast charging support.
• Poor sounding speaker (even if loud).
• Subpar performance, lag is occasional.
• Poor selfies, videos.