Samsung Galaxy A31 review

One UI 2.1 on top of Android 10

The Galaxy A31 ships with Samsung's current and up-to-date software combo, consisting of Android 10 with OneUI 2.1 on top. The Korean giant has managed to maintain a surprisingly consistent look for its custom skin for quite some time now. Most recent refinements are subtle and mostly aim to polish the experience further. Things like sizing-up important interactable components and optimizing element placement for easier reachability. All the while, existing Samsung users on older devices should feel right at home with the general layout.

OneUI 2.1 has reached a level of maturity where simplicity, order, and good organization are a given. The Galaxy A31 greets you with straight-forward lockscreen and home screens, complete with a full set of customization features as well as various widgets for the Always-On display.

Lockscreen • Homescreen • Folder view • App drawer • Notification shade • Task switcher

If you are into customization, OneUI is surprisingly malleable. The built-in themes capabilities are extensive and include a rich online repository of both free and paid options. You can mix and match individual aspects of the design, like icons. YOu can also have the lockscreen background change automatically.

Samsung Themes

The Always On display feature can also be heavily customized. Beyond a built-in selection of watch faces, you also get interactive controls, Samsung calls FaceWidgets. Also, there is a whole section in the Samsung Theme store dedicated to AOD animations.

OAD features and customization

Samsung also gets top marks for trickling-down what were originally flagship-grade software features to the rest of its lineup. Edge screen is a notable example. Edge panels is a well-known, long-standing feature that gives you quick access to apps, actions, tools, etc. with a single swipe from the side. You can choose which side the handle is located on, as well as adjust its position along the edge of the phone.

There is also Edge lighting - it's a feature that can light up different types of peripheral glow for notifications, and as you've probably guessed, there are tons of options and styles to choose from.

Edge screen, edge panels and edge lighting

Samsung is all-inclusive when it comes to navigation options. Out-of-the-box the Galaxy A31 is set up with the old-school, familiar nav-bar. Gesture navigation is also available, and you get to pick between the One UI 2 set of actions or go back to the One UI 1 way of doing things. The former is similar to the current native Android 10 approach with a swipe-in from the sides for 'Back' and swipe-up from the bottom for Home or task switcher. The old way is by swiping up from three separate areas on the bottom that do what the on-screen buttons before them used to do. This works well alongside the default Samsung Pay swipe-up interface, if that is your cup of tea.

Navigation options

Dark mode is a relatively new feature, at least in its current, dynamic and customizable state. It skins UI elements in black and shades of dark gray and also invokes the dark modes of supported apps, which include the in-house ones as well as most of the Google suite. Oh, and the GSMArena app, since its last update. You can also make use of an automatic scheduling system that toggles Dark mode at sunrise and sunset, respectively or set your own time-based schedule.

Dark mode

Biometrics on the Galaxy A31 include an optical fingerprint reader and basic camera-only face detection. We have little issue with the fingerprint training process, other than the fact that it is a bit slow. That's easy to forgive, though, since you only have to do it once.

After that, the Galaxy A31 managed a high level of consistency when it comes to fingerprint recognition, which is a potential benefit of going with a traditional optical reader, instead of the company's more complicated and often inconsistent ultrasonic units.

Speed is still an issue in daily use, though. It's not the fastest of sensors and feels sluggish like the ultrasonic units used in Samsung's flagships as opposed to a good, nearly-instant optical one used by Chinese brands. The laggy unlock animation doesn't help with perceived speed. Our point is that this fingerprint reader is mostly usable and doesn't get in the way very much but we've seen much faster ones.

Biometric security options

On a more positive note, we appreciate the inclusion of separate menus and update fetching for fingerprint and face recognition biometric security patches. Also worth noting is the ability to speed-up facial recognition at the expense of some security. The phone even allows you to override the requirement for open eyes for the unlock to work.

As a result of some of its extensive partnerships with third parties, like Microsoft, Samsung also throws in a few MS pre-loaded apps out of the box, to accompany its already above-average collection of in-house offerings. This might be considered bloat by Android purists, but if you don't want to use them, Microsoft apps are not too much in your face.

Additional baked-in features and apps

There are also features like seamless connectivity with Windows 10, Samsung's excellent Health suite, and SmartThings home and IoT automation hub, the Game Launcher and Game Booster, AR zone, with doodling and AR Emoji support and they are all seamlessly integrated into OneUI 2.1.

Game Launcher, Game Booster and Game Plugins

Synthetic benchmarks

Armed with a MediaTek MT6768 Helio P65 chipset, the Galaxy A31 is hardly a powerhouse. Two Cortex-A75 cores, with a maximum frequency of 2.0 GHz and six Cortex-A55 ones, working with a 1.7 GHz cap does not scream performance, even on paper. Even so, this is the first time that a Helio P65 has made it to the office for proper testing. That alone merits some extra attention. Doubly so, since we really wanted to see how it measures-up to Samsung's own in-house Exynos 9611 - a popular alternative in this price segment, notably powering devices like the Galaxy M21, M31, M30s and A51.

The Exynos 9611 uses a slightly more-efficient 10nm process, compared to the 12nm node of the Helio P65. It's DSP is also capable of capturing 4K video, which the MediaTek and consequently the Galaxy A31 are sorely lacking. Perhaps, the Helio P65 can make up the difference in raw power then, through the use of its newer cores? Well, starting with GeekBench and some pure-CPU loads, we find a very small difference between the two and not always in MediaTek's favor.

GeekBench 5.1 (single-core)

Higher is better

• Huawei P40 Lite
  591
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 9S
  570
• Realme 6
  548
• Xiaomi Redmi K30
  548
• Redmi Note 8 Pro
  493
• Realme 6i
  388
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 9
  361
• Samsung Galaxy A31
  352
• Samsung Galaxy M30s
  349
• Samsung Galaxy M31
  349
• Samsung Galaxy A51
  347
• Samsung Galaxy M21
  346
• Nokia 7.2
  332
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 8
  315

The Helio P65 manages to outpace the Exynos 9611 in single-core loads, even if barely, but then falls short under a multi-core load. The CPU performance difference is hardly big enough between the two to be noticeable in real-world use. Still, with better features on its side, the Exynos 9611 seems to be stealing the spotlight away from the P65, putting it and the Galaxy A31 in a hard spot.

GeekBench 5.1 (multi-core)

Higher is better

• Huawei P40 Lite
  1862
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 9S
  1785
• Realme 6
  1726
• Xiaomi Redmi K30
  1692
• Redmi Note 8 Pro
  1622
• Nokia 7.2
  1398
• Realme 6i
  1349
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 8
  1339
• Samsung Galaxy M21
  1319
• Samsung Galaxy M31
  1315
• Samsung Galaxy A51
  1294
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 9
  1292
• Samsung Galaxy M30s
  1288
• Samsung Galaxy A31
  1216

Beyond this one on one battle, we can clearly see that MediaTek's G80 and G90 family of chips, as well as Snapdragon's 700 line and Huawei's mid-range Kirin 810 are all a noticeable step above in performance. All the while, they can be found in handset within the same rough price bracket as the Galaxy A31.

Moving on the more compound performance numbers and AnTuTu 8, we unfortunately find the Galaxy A31 at the bottom of the pack. This can be attributed, at least in part, to the fact that our review unit is the base-configuration one, with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. AnTuTu does take memory and especially its speed into account. Perhaps the bigger, optional 6GB RAM chips on the A31 would have scored better. The same is true for 128GB storage chips, since solid state drives typically have better performance as their capacity increases. Even so, it is worth noting that the Galaxy A31 uses eMMC 5.1 for its storage, as opposed to UFS 2.0, as found in something like the Galaxy A51. The latter standard is generally faster.

AnTuTu 8

Higher is better

• Huawei P40 Lite
  325777
• Realme 6
  288931
• Redmi Note 8 Pro
  279355
• Xiaomi Redmi K30
  272229
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 9S
  254000
• Realme 6i
  202275
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 9
  200414
• Samsung Galaxy M31
  195284
• Samsung Galaxy M21
  180711
• Samsung Galaxy M30s
  180321
• Samsung Galaxy A51
  175363
• Nokia 7.2
  164484
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 8
  161572
• Samsung Galaxy A31
  151815

Unfortunately, the bad news continues for the Galaxy A31 in graphics tests, as well. Starting with the lowest intensity test we still run, using OpenGL ES 3.0, we see the Mali-G52 MC2 struggling to even break the 30fps mark both on and off-screen.

GFX 3.0 Manhattan (1080p offscreen)

Higher is better

• Huawei P40 Lite
  53
• Realme 6
  50
• Redmi Note 8 Pro
  48
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 9S
  42
• Xiaomi Redmi K30
  41
• Samsung Galaxy M30s
  26
• Samsung Galaxy M31
  26
• Samsung Galaxy M21
  26
• Realme 6i
  24
• Nokia 7.2
  23
• Huawei P30 Lite
  21
• Huawei P30 Lite (perf. mode)
  21
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 8
  19
• Samsung Galaxy A31
  18
• Samsung Galaxy A51
  16

GFX 3.0 Manhattan (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Huawei P40 Lite
  49
• Realme 6
  45
• Realme 6i
  43
• Redmi Note 8 Pro
  40
• Xiaomi Redmi K30
  37
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 9S
  36
• Samsung Galaxy M31
  24
• Samsung Galaxy M21
  24
• Samsung Galaxy M30s
  23
• Nokia 7.2
  20
• Huawei P30 Lite
  19
• Huawei P30 Lite (perf. mode)
  19
• Samsung Galaxy A31
  17
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 8
  16
• Samsung Galaxy A51
  15

Looking at the Galaxy A51 and its Mali-G72 MP3 chipset in the same tests, we do notice a couple of frames less in overall performance. However, in an odd development, the Galaxy M30s, M21 and M31, all rocking the same Exynos 9611 chipset and Mali-G72 MP3 GPU as the Galaxy A51 manage to score significantly higher and easily outpace both the A51 and the A31. We re-ran our tests and also cross-referenced this odd finding with GFX 3.1 runs, just to find the same relative results.

GFX 3.1 Car scene (1080p offscreen)

Higher is better

• Huawei P40 Lite
  21
• Redmi Note 8 Pro
  18
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 9S
  18
• Realme 6
  18
• Xiaomi Redmi K30
  17
• Samsung Galaxy M30s
  10
• Samsung Galaxy M31
  10
• Samsung Galaxy M21
  10
• Realme 6i
  9.4
• Nokia 7.2
  9
• Samsung Galaxy A31
  8
• Huawei P30 Lite
  7.7
• Huawei P30 Lite (perf. mode)
  7.7
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 8
  7
• Samsung Galaxy A51
  6.6

GFX 3.1 Car scene (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Huawei P40 Lite
  18
• Realme 6i
  17
• Realme 6
  16
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 9S
  15
• Xiaomi Redmi K30
  15
• Redmi Note 8 Pro
  14
• Samsung Galaxy M31
  9.2
• Samsung Galaxy M21
  9.2
• Samsung Galaxy M30s
  8.7
• Nokia 7.2
  8.1
• Samsung Galaxy A31
  7
• Huawei P30 Lite
  7
• Huawei P30 Lite (perf. mode)
  6.9
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 8
  5.9
• Samsung Galaxy A51
  5.6

For some bizarre reason, the Exynos 9611 seems to perform significantly worse inside the Galaxy A51 than it does in a trio of Galaxy M-series devices, all with consistent results. And, mind you, we are only comparing off-screen rendering results here, where native display resolution is not a factor.

Things got weirder still in the higher-tier Aztek GFXBench tests. Here the Galaxy A51 managed to close the gap and fell in line with its Galaxy M sibling. All the while, leaving the Galaxy A31 at the bottom of another chart. We re-ran the test multiple times and the numbers always came back consistent. Across Vulkan and OpenGL 3.1, no less.

Aztek Vulkan High (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Realme 6
  10
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 9S
  9.9
• Redmi Note 8 Pro
  9.4
• Realme 6i
  9.3
• Huawei P40 Lite
  8.6
• Samsung Galaxy M31
  5.7
• Samsung Galaxy M21
  5.7
• Samsung Galaxy A51
  5.6
• Nokia 7.2
  4.6
• Huawei P30 Lite
  3.4
• Huawei P30 Lite (perf. mode)
  3.4
• Samsung Galaxy A31
  3

Aztek OpenGL ES 3.1 High (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Huawei P40 Lite
  12
• Realme 6
  11
• Realme 6i
  11
• Redmi Note 8 Pro
  10
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 9S
  10
• Samsung Galaxy M31
  5.7
• Samsung Galaxy M21
  5.7
• Samsung Galaxy A51
  5.6
• Nokia 7.2
  5
• Huawei P30 Lite
  4.2
• Huawei P30 Lite (perf. mode)
  4.2
• Samsung Galaxy A31
  3.2

The only logical explanation we can come up with is some issue with the current state of Helio P65 GPU drivers. Either that, or the Galaxy A31, in particular, is bumping hard against some other hardware bottleneck during all of these GPU test, tanking its scores. We are hesitant to blame the Mali-G52 MC2 GPU directly, since it is also found in the Xiaomi Redmi Note 9 and the Realme 6i and performs notably better as part of their respective Helio G85 and Helio G80 chipsets.

For further proof, here are 3DMark numbers, showcasing the exact same trend.

3DMark SSE OpenGL ES 3.1 1440p

Higher is better

• Huawei P40 Lite
  2818
• Realme 6
  2570
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 9S
  2494
• Xiaomi Redmi K30
  2467
• Redmi Note 8 Pro
  2363
• Samsung Galaxy M21
  1614
• Samsung Galaxy M31
  1599
• Samsung Galaxy A51
  1574
• Samsung Galaxy M30s
  1425
• Realme 6i
  1363
• Nokia 7.2
  1333
• Samsung Galaxy A31
  1150
• Huawei P30 Lite
  969
• Huawei P30 Lite (perf. mode)
  969

3DMark SSE Vulkan 1440p

Higher is better

• Realme 6
  2619
• Huawei P40 Lite
  2603
• Redmi Note 8 Pro
  2447
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 9S
  2357
• Xiaomi Redmi K30
  2244
• Samsung Galaxy M31
  1559
• Samsung Galaxy M21
  1556
• Samsung Galaxy A51
  1554
• Samsung Galaxy M30s
  1502
• Huawei P30 Lite
  1374
• Huawei P30 Lite (perf. mode)
  1374
• Realme 6i
  1347
• Nokia 7.2
  1277
• Samsung Galaxy A31
  894

After analyzing all of the data, we are leaning strongly towards our driver or otherwise software optimization issue theory, hurting synthetic runs on the MediaTek Helio P65 in its current state. However, even if we assume that the Galaxy A31 should be nearly identical in both CPU and GPU performance to its Samsung siblings, running the Exynos 9611, that still leaves it at a noticeable disadvantage. Namely, that Samsung's own chip has the benefit of a more efficient manufacturing node and a more capable camera DSP, pushing 4K video capture.

Beyond that, it is hard to ignore the performance difference between the bunch of Samsung handsets in these graphs and some similarly priced competitors, primarily because of their objectively better chips. If the best performance per dollar is what you are after, then silicon like the Helio G90T or the Snapdragon 730G are clearly better choices.

The Galaxy A31 runs perfectly smooth, with no slow-downs or stutters in day-to-day use. The underperforming GPU, however, makes it hard to recommend for playing graphically-intensive games.