Samsung completes its Galaxy range with the A15 5G. Its particularity is to be very affordable, since it is sold around 200 euros. For this price, does the Korean brand offer something interesting?
Samsung’s Galaxy A lineup seeks to deliver the Galaxy experience at a discounted price. Today’s phone, namely the Galaxy A15 5G, relies on its extremely affordable price to seduce. It is sold for around 200 euros.
At this price, you should obviously not expect a thunderbolt of war, but does it offer an appreciable experience? It has assets to convince, like a Super AMOLED screena design close to that of the Galaxy S24 or even a photo module composed of three sensors. Is that enough? Is the Galaxy A15 the best 200 euro phone on the market? We’ll see right away.
Price and availability
The Galaxy A15 5G is a phone that focuses primarily on its low price. It is already on sale on the Samsung website and at partner resellers at a price of 199 euros. Only one version is available in France, the one with 4 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage.
| Samsung Galaxy A15 5G | |
|---|---|
| Screen | 6.5 inch Super AMOLED 2340 x 1080 pixels 90 Hz |
| Chipset | Mediatek Dimensity 6100+ |
| BONE | Android 14 + One UI |
| RAM | 4GB |
| Storage | 128GB |
| Main sensor | * 50 MP wide angle f/1.8 * 5 MP ultra wide angle f/2.2 * 2 MP macro f/2.4 |
| Selfie sensor | * 13 MP ultra wide angle f/2.0 |
| Battery | 5000 mAh, 25 Watts charge |
| 5G | Yes |
| Biometrics | Fingerprint scanner on the edge |
| Water resistance | No |
| Dimensions | 160 x 76.8 x 8.4 mm |
| Weight | 200 grams |
| Price | 199 euros |
A design that aims to imitate that of the Galaxy S24, but with big concessions
For its Galaxy A, Samsung is taking up the design of the S range in order to create visual consistency. The A15 therefore has a false air of the S24 ; we find the rounded shapes of the high-end, its flat edges, but especially the three photo sensors aligned vertically. Looking at it quickly, we could almost confuse it with its model, but many elements remind us that we have here an entry-level phone.
Samsung actually delivers a chassis made entirely of plastic. The material gives a “cheap” look to the product, reinforced by edge buttons that are not very pleasant under the fingers. Note that unlike higher-end models like the Galaxy A55, the A15 is not water-resistant, so some vigilance is required.
Other elements that indicate a phone that focuses on the budget aspect: the presence of a 3.5mm jack port, Now absent from more expensive products, the fingerprint sensor on the power button (and not under the screen) as well as the notch for the front camera.
Regarding the screen, This one displays wide, unsightly edges. We deplore a very thick lower edge which, once again, shows the entry-level status of the phone. Is this a bad thing? Not really, it is even something that we accept on a product at this price. However, it would have been easy for Samsung to adjust this aspect.
Even though plastic is not the most pleasant material under the fingers, we can only admit that the A15 is far from being a torture to use. Samsung knows how to do it in terms of design, even with heavy constraints. We have an appreciable product, with a well-balanced weight of 200 grams and with a very coherent visual. In summary: the Galaxy A15 fulfills its mission. Now it remains to be seen what it is like at the technical level.
A well-calibrated AMOLED screen
The main advantage of the Galaxy A15 is the presence of a Super AMOLED screen. At this price, it’s a real strong point! The smartphone has a 6.5-inch panel with a definition of 2340 x 1080 pixels with an (absolute) refresh rate of 90 Hz. Everything you need, where you need it.
We have obviously analyzed this slab with our probe and the results obtained are good, as usual with Samsung. AMOLED requires, we have infinite contrast, so deep blacks and bright whites. It’s ideal for watching series or movies.
The color temperature is, for its part, set at 6500K, which is exactly the video standard. The display does not pull towards red or blue. Samsung offers two modes in the settings: vivid and natural colors. The first intentionally exaggerates the primary colors with an average Delta E of 4.6 (below 3 is good). The natural mode, on the other hand, is just perfect with an average Delta E of 1.2. This is the one you should choose to have a faithful image, which is useful for admiring your photos, for example. However, We deplore a lack of brightness of the panel, with a peak at 400 cd/m² measured by us. In concrete terms, the A15 is difficult to use outside on a sunny day. The kind of phone that will require you to shade the screen with your hand to see anything. Too bad, because the rest is impeccable.
When it comes to audio, the picture is less brilliant. Much less brilliant. The A15 only has one speaker on the bottom edge and it appears to be of very poor quality. It delivers a totally unbalanced sound that seriously lacks mids and low mids. In concrete terms, we have the impression of having an old radio and even listening to a podcast becomes painful. In short, it’s a failure.
Also read – Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra test: the attack of titanium
Sluggish performance that handicaps the user
The Galaxy A15 5G is equipped of a Mediatek Dimensity 6100+ processor, a very modest SoC that has the advantage of being inexpensive. It is supported by 4 GB of RAM. On the software side, we can obviously count on Android 14 with the home-made One UI 6.1 overlay. On paper, we have something that is not very powerful, but at this price we can accept it.
This lack of power is confirmed in our benchmarks. The Galaxy A15 is one of the weakest smartphones we’ve had to test this year, even placing itself behind the Realme C67 and its poor Snapdragon 685. In itself, this is an expected score, but it has real consequences on use: the A15 is slow. Slow to open apps, slow to multitask, and even slow to browse. For example, each unlock is accompanied by small jerks. Even for a 200 euro phone, this is hard to accept as daily use is painful.
Our reference video game, Genshin Impact, barely reaches 30 frames per second with the graphics set to minimum. Other less demanding titles, such as Warcraft Rumble, can be enjoyed by making concessions as well. The good news is that the SoC does not heat up when put to the test. Logical, but appreciable all the same.
A correct autonomy
The Galaxy A15 5G is equipped with a 5000 mAh battery, is a very encouraging capacity considering the product specs. In our tests, the phone proved its worth. At the end of a typical day (a bit of gaming, photo, Internet browsing and GPS), the A15 displays on average between 35 and 45% battery at bedtime. That’s good! In fact, if you’re careful, it’s quite possible to go two days without going near an outlet.
Samsung did not equip its baby with fast chargingyou will therefore have to make do with 25 Watts. To recharge your A15 from 1 to 100%, it takes a little over two hours. That’s a long time! Note that as usual with the manufacturer, there is no charger included in the box.
A mediocre photo part
The Galaxy A15 5G features of a photo module composed of three sensors : a 50-megapixel main camera (f/1.8), a 5-megapixel ultra-wide angle camera (f/2.2) and a 2-megapixel macro camera (f/2.4). Let’s see what it looks like.
The 50-megapixel wide-angle camera delivers readable shots, but these very quickly betray its weaknesses, particularly in the catastrophic rendering of light. As you can see in the photos of the church, the contrast management is great. We still like a responsive sensor that allows you to take pictures of constantly moving subjects like animals or children.
Otherwise, the A15 is not really celebrating. We can mention its unconvincing ultra-wide angle, This tends to strongly distort straight lines in addition to offering a major imbalance in terms of colors. The X2 digital zoom can still offer a good image, but as soon as we increase it, we obtain unusable results.
Night mode, for its part, gives a readable image, but extremely untrue to reality. On our usual template, it almost looks like daylight! It’s not great.
Finally, let’s talk about macro mode. We feel like This third 2 megapixel sensor was placed here just to have three alignedand therefore imitate the design of the Galaxy S24. A feeling that is confirmed in use, as the results obtained are mediocre. It feels like a photo taken with a smartphone from 2012! You are looking for a phone to take small objects, forget this one.
In short, the photo part is not really the strong point of the A15. We could accept it given the price of the product, but it is impossible not to compare it to the competition which does much better with the same tools, the Moto G34 in the lead.
So we buy?
Let’s ask ourselves the killer question: do we buy? The Galaxy A15 delivers an expected experience for its price. We like its successful design despite a slightly cheap side, its good battery life and its beautiful screen.
However, it suffers from some serious weaknesses that are attributable to its segment: very limited power and a mediocre camera. While this is understandable for the photo part, we would have liked that Samsung makes a little effort on the processor as the use is sometimes painful.
In short, a calibrated phone, almost lazy, but which offers an experience that matches its price. Choosing the A15 means choosing balance without madness.
SAMSUNG Galaxy A15 5G Smartphone 128GB Midnight Blue
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