Samsung Galaxy A6 (2018) review

A finite number of pixels on this 'Infinity display'

The Galaxy A6 (2018) is equipped with a 5.6-inch Super AMOLED display (is Samsung still fitting LCDs on anything?). The resolution is 720x1480px in a Samsung-typical 18.5:9 aspect, because 18:9 is too mainstream.

The pixel density works out to 294ppi, which should be fine, but with the diamond pixel arrangement, we swear we can see the fine weave of subpixels. We'd generally dismiss it with something like 'it's no big deal in this price range', only the A6 isn't all that affordable.

Anyways, in our brightness testing, the A6 posted 336nits of maximum brightness with the auto toggle disengaged, and a healthier 482nits when in auto mode and when the ambient light is bright enough. Both numbers are virtually identical to the ones we got from the J5 (2017), but short of what true A-series members like the A8 (2018) and the A7 (2017) are capable of. The Huawei P20 Lite with its LCD is equally bright as the A6 (2018) in auto mode while this year's Nokia 6 is a few nits short.

The A6 (2018)'s minimum brightness of 4.7nits is great for nighttime viewing without added strain on your eyes.

Sunlight legibility in our test proved okay, but the score is far from the best AMOLEDs. In fact, there are some good LCDs that have posted better contrast ratios in our bright light test. It's not bad, it's just not up to the standard we're used to.

Sunlight contrast ratio

Adaptive display is the default color mode on the Galaxy A6 (2018) as it's been on Samsungs for as long as we can remember. Tested against an sRGB target, it produces an average DeltaE of 5.6 with the usual over the top colors and bluish whites. The AMOLED Cinema and AMOLED Photo modes are much more accurate and get the whites down to about 2-3 units of deviation and are overall accurate to their respective target color spaces - average DeltaE of 2.3 and 2.1 when compared against DCI-P3 and AdobeRGB. Basic mode, which should reproduce the sRGB color space, does so with an average DeltaE of 3.0.

Audio quality

The Samsung Galaxy A6 (2018) delivered the excellent output we've come to expect from smartphones these days when hooked to an active external amplifier. Its loudness was above average too, rounding up a solid showing by the mid-ranger.

When we plugged in our headphones the stereo quality was only average and a tiny amount of intermodulation distortion crept in, but the overall accuracy of the output was still very good. Loudness was only average for the case, but, all in all, the phone has what it takes to please all but the most demanding audiophiles.

Samsung Galaxy A6 (2018) frequency response

You can learn more about the tested parameters and the whole testing process here.

Loudspeaker

The Galaxy A6 (2018) is a member of that weird bunch of Samsungs that have their loudspeakers on the side - the right one, above the power button. Unorthodox position aside, the speaker is plenty loud - enough to get our highest 'Excellent' mark. That puts it a notch above both the A8 (2018) and the J5 (2017) in terms of decibels.

Samsung Galaxy A6 (2018) battery life

The Galaxy A6 (2018) has a 3,000mAh battery inside, the same capacity as the A8 (2018) and the J5 (2017). In our testing, however, the A6 couldn't quite match those in battery life, though it's not half bad taken in isolation.

Thirteen and a half hours of looping videos is a downright excellent result, and the twenty-plus hours of voice calls are plenty. The web browsing longevity is the least spectacular, but nine and a half hours - we can live with. Standby performance turned out pretty great too and in the end, the Galaxy A6 (2018) scored an 83h endurance rating.

Our endurance rating denotes how long a single battery charge will last you if you use the Samsung Galaxy A6 (2018) for an hour each of telephony, web browsing, and video playback daily. We've established this usage pattern so our battery results are comparable across devices in the most common day-to-day tasks. The battery testing procedure is described in detail in case you're interested in the nitty-gritties. You can also check out our complete battery test table, where you can see how all of the smartphones we've tested will compare under your own typical use.