Samsung Galaxy A60/M40 review

Competition

To be honest, the Galaxy A60 is not as competitive as it needs to become a market hit. Especially in markets like India where it's sold under the Galaxy M40 model name.

Unfortunately, the mid-range market is incredibly competitive in India these days and that market is incredibly price-conscious. Even in China and Europe where the Galaxy A60 is currently available, the smartphone from the Chinese competitors have a lot to offer for less or at least in the same ballpark of pricing while the Galaxy A60 comes with too many tradeoffs to deserve our full-on recommendation.

A higher number in a smartphone lineup usually denotes superior specs and price but this is not the case with the Galaxy A60 and A50. In Europe, for example, the A50 is pricier than the A60 and for a good reason. For around €40 more, the Galaxy A50 offers a Super AMOLED screen, an under-display fingerprint and roughly the same camera performance with the same lens configuration, too. The considerably better battery life is another advantage worth considering. All of this makes the Galaxy A50 the noticeably better Samsung phone to get.

Samsung Galaxy A50 • Motorola Moto G7 Plus • Xiaomi Redmi K20

And one more, a less popular option with pure Android caught our attention and that's the Moto G7 Plus. At launch, the device wasn't even in this category but as time passed, it now costs even less than the Galaxy A60.

The key selling point of the G7 Plus over the A60 is the headphone jack, the better camera, the stereo loudspeakers, the exceptionally fast charging and the arguably better display. However, the Galaxy A60 fires back with considerably longer battery life and a more powerful and up-to-date SoC.

Realme X • Xiaomi Mi A3

The Xiaomi Mi A3 is another viable option from the Chinese camp for way less money yet it uses an OLED screen. Pure Android fans will also be drawn to this offering from Xiaomi. The more dependable camera setup is one of the main advantages of the Mi A3 over the Galaxy A60/M40 as well as the longer battery life. In short, the Mi A3 beats the Galaxy A60 in almost every aspect while going for the same price.

On the Indian market, however, the Galaxy M40 isn't priced as competitively as its A60 twin. This puts the M40 dangerously close to the likes of the Redmi K20 and the Realme X. And the Realme 5 Pro is even cheaper. All three phones are miles better - hardware and feature-wise - compared to the A60. We just can't recommend the Galaxy M40 unless its price is revised down the road.

Verdict

As you've probably gathered by now, we find it hard to recommend the Galaxy A60 in the presence of phones such as the Realme X, the Mi A3, and the Redmi K20/Mi 9T in the same price range. Unfortunately, the Galaxy A60 has almost nothing going for it except for its rather decent battery life endurance and good computational performance.

Otherwise, we were left with more to be desired from the camera and the display. The absence of the 3.5mm audio jack is another pitfall that makes the case for Samsung's phone even harder.

To be frank, the Galaxy A60 feels like a filler episode in the middle of the season of your favorite TV show. Its contribution to the whole season (lineup) is negligible and it's there to just fill the quota. Maybe the price will eventually drop enough in the future making it a viable option but we wouldn't count on it.

Pros

• The display can get really bright in Max Auto
• Battery life is dependable
• The punch-hole is rather small and unobtrusive

Cons

• No 3.5mm audio jack
• Underwhelming camera experience
• LCD panel with light bleed here and there
• The fingerprint scanner and face unlock are somewhat slow

Special thanks to GearBest for providing the review unit.