Review of the smartphone Samsung Galaxy M01: Korea vs China

Until now, the Samsung Galaxy line is associated by many with high quality, value and advanced technologies. Of course, the brand has not stopped producing smartphones that will give odds to any Chinese novelty, but since the beginning of 2020, manufacturers have been seriously bogged down in nostalgia and these changes will have to be approached.

From this article you will learn:

• Can Samsung and cheap technology exist in the same universe?
• Which is better to choose: Xiaomi or Samsung?
• Why is the M01 version better than the A01 brother?
• Who is this smartphone suitable for 100%?

Appearance and ergonomics

Externally, the Samsung Galaxy M01 is identical to the January release - Galaxy A01. According to a preliminary statement, the dimensions of the smartphone were 146.2 x 70.9 x 8.3 mm. Compared to other gadgets, it is in no way inferior either in terms of aesthetics or convenience.There are no folds in length or width; from a distance the phone looks quite large.

Marvelous! Even a thin black "bezel" on the screen, smoothly flowing into a heavy "chin", does not spoil the first impression of the device.

For this smartphone, manufacturers have selected a number of the most budget materials. So, for example, the body and side faces are made of ordinary plastic (thankfully, the texture is matte and there should be no problems with excessive soiling). The battery in the Galaxy M01 is non-removable, so there are no cheap squeaks and backlashes. The fingerprint sensor remained in the same place - the left side face, next to the unlock button and the volume rocker.

The main camera unit is represented by two lenses and a flash, designed in a neat oval cutout. The speaker is located in the lower part of the case, as in the devices of 2015-2017.

The front part is glazed, however, due to the fact that the screen protrudes a few millimeters forward, a protective glass is required. The front camera was designed in the form of a drop. In general, the details are combined harmoniously. There is no excess in design, and from afar, the Galaxy M01 smartphone can easily be confused with a gadget from the middle price category.

Lack of imagination and coloring of the new model

During the development of phones of this line, Samsung decided to completely turn off fantasy. The box contains only the essentials:

• Warranty card, certificates;
• Clip for sim card slot;
• USB cable (2.0);
• Adapter for charging.

The developers once again left loyal fans without a generous action of Chinese brands - to put a transparent case in the kit. The story is a little better with a variation of colors. The palette was made up of basic: black, blue and red colors.One can only hope that the Korean brand is seriously interested in minimalism, and has not created a smartphone "from what it was."

Characteristics

Screen and authoring

The review smoothly moves us to a detailed inspection of all characteristics. Needless to say, despite some screen improvements in the Samsung Galaxy M01 version, the overall impression does not become rosier because of this?

The screen diagonal was 5.3 inches (even less than in A01). The screen occupied only 66% of the total area. For comparison, most displays in 2019-2020 models take up at least 80%. The screen resolution is 720 x 1520 pixels. At the same time, the screen quality has increased, the pixel ratio has increased from 301ppi to 320ppi. Now you can watch video in Full HD quality (1080p at 30fps).

In budget gadgets, even such changes have a huge weight!

As a basis, the brand chose the PLS matrix (own development). It is an alternative version of the more well-known IPS, while it is almost in no way inferior to it, and even surpasses it. For example, the pixel density is increased, which, in fact, equals a more saturated and high-quality image.

Besides:

• The developers minimized the PWM effect (screen flicker) as much as possible, which provokes the “dry eye” syndrome.
• Improved screen responsiveness. Within the walls of the Samsung laboratory, the screen response time was 4 milliseconds!
• Really bright screen (compared to IPS, PLS screens are 100 nits brighter).

A large number of advantages, of course, does not beg for weak screen protection. After the purchase, you should purchase a case and a protective glass so that the phone lasts a long time.

Operating system

Immediately after the announcement of the alleged characteristics of the Samsung Galaxy M01, Internet users immediately noticed that the smartphone turned out to be almost a twin brother of the Xiaomi Redmi 7A model, released a year ago.

However, the M01 received an update to the Android 10 operating system. This is a huge advantage for such a budget phone. Applications are quickly optimized, there are almost no crashes and task manager overload. From the innovations: the function of gestures, improved customization (dark theme, new widgets), prediction system based on neural networks.

The One UI 2.0 shell has become a great addition. She contributed to the improvement of the camera, the addition of new modes (including professional ones). Also the screen recording on the M01 is played in 1080p quality.

The most anticipated update for gamers! Now, if someone calls you during the game, the smartphone does not go into call mode. Buttons to "accept" or "reject" the call appear in the notification shade, allowing you to speak and play at the same time.

Performance, memory, what does Xiaomi have to do with it?

Like Xiaomi Redmi7A, the Galaxy M01 model received a 4th generation Qualcomm chipset as an engine. The release of the Snapdragon 439 took place in 2019, which means that it copes well with everyday tasks and heavy programs. Of course, it cannot be compared with the 7th generation, and even more so the 8th, but the 12-nanometer process technology says otherwise.

At the disposal of users will be 8 productive cores, with a clock frequency of up to 2 GHz. They are evenly divided into two clusters. The first with a frequency of 1.95 GHz copes with 3D games and powerful applications (eliminates overheating), and the second (with a frequency of 1.45 GHz) quickly optimizes the system as a whole.

Experts rated this chip "neutral", as they were unable to classify it as either a failure or a successful development.Snapdragon 439 froze in the golden mean, satisfying the needs of both unpretentious gamers and social networking enthusiasts.

Testing

During the comparison of the two smartphones, it became clear that the new Samsung has advantages over the Chinese smartphone in appearance. For example, M01 is much thinner, the image is clearer and the resolution is higher (Full HD). Most importantly, the camera is several times better!

As for performance and tests, here the Xiaomi 7A smartphone showed excellent results: fast charging is available, additional options (gyroscope, compass), screen size is larger (5.7 vs 5.3 inches).

This confrontation is too reminiscent of the struggle between Apple and Samsung, where many choose based only on their own preferences, and not the quality of smartphones.

The RAM in the smartphone was only 3 GB, with an external memory of 32 GB (twice as much as in the A01 and Redmi 7A).

Battery autonomy

The battery capacity has increased by 1000 mAh and amounted to 4000 mAh. Having reached the world standard, the new Samsung will last 24 hours without charging, and up to 72 hours in standby mode. Unfortunately, there is no Quick Charge option and the phone will charge up to 100% in about 2-2.5 hours.

Camera

The front and main cameras of the Samsung Galaxy M01 are far from the ultimate dream. The first 13 megapixel sensor takes pictures in, to put it mildly, mediocre quality, and the f / 2.2 aperture only contributes to this. The phone is not suitable for night photography. Pixels are visible in the photo with the naked eye, and the saturated gamma also fades if the day is sunny.

The second 2 MP lens is added rather for quick setting of modes. However, the question remains, why do we need a square, bokeh, landscape and a self-adjustment mode if the quality of the camera does not allow you to create a truly good shot?

The selfie camera received only 5 MP. The image comes out fuzzy and faded. Also, when using the camera on Instagram, TikTok or other applications with masks, you need to be prepared for constant freezes and jerky video shooting.

This should be considered in the first place if a powerful camera is an important option for you!

Advantages and disadvantages

• Beautiful appearance;
• Not easily soiled materials;
• Bright and high-quality screen;
• Latest version of Android (10);
• Increased battery capacity;
• Good processor performance;
• Video playback in FullHD;
• Extremely low price.

• No additional protection;
• Weak camera;
• Uninteresting design;
• No Quick Charge option;
• Not suitable for heavy games (WoT or Pubg9).

Outcome

It can be assumed that by releasing the second smartphone with such unusual for the king of Samsung (!) characteristics, the brand is trying to suspend its Chinese counterparts, as if saying that it can easily descend to the level of Xiaomi, Oppo, Huawei and even in such conditions sell much more goods.

Where will this confrontation lead? Only time will tell, suddenly Samsung is tired of confronting Apple and switched to younger companies ... This new product, however, is 100% suitable for older people. They are unpretentious when choosing applications, 13 MP is definitely enough for them (especially since the older generation is more committed to cameras) and they will discharge 4000 mAh longer than usual. Is it suitable for active youth? It is unlikely, because you will have to carry a power-bank everywhere, especially the appearance of a smartphone is very important for the new generation, and sometimes you have to overpay for this.

The price of Samsung Galaxy M01 is rumored to be $100-110 or 8,000 rubles.