Samsung Galaxy A15 LTE review

  Samsung Galaxy A15 LTE Intro Another day, another review of the Galaxy, yet it's still not the anticipated S24 Ultra model. While we e...

 

Samsung Galaxy A15 LTE Intro

Another day, another review of the Galaxy, yet it's still not the anticipated S24 Ultra model. While we eagerly await the arrival of the S24 Series, unfortunately, Samsung couldn't expedite the units to reach our office in time. Consequently, the Galaxy A25 and Galaxy A15 take the spotlight as the initial new Galaxy devices we have the pleasure of experiencing in 2024.

Today, we're examining the 4G variant of the Galaxy A15, marking the first entry-level Samsung phone to feature a Super AMOLED screen, complete with a high refresh rate!

Undoubtedly, the Galaxy A15 embodies the typical image of an affordable smartphone with fundamental specifications, making it suitable for company use or as an introductory device for smartphone novices. And now, it has become even more impressive!

The Galaxy A15 now boasts a 6.5-inch Super AMOLED display with Full HD resolution and a refresh rate of 90Hz. It runs on the Helio G99 chipset, and its base model offers 128GB of storage.

What's more, this Galaxy model showcases a triple-camera setup on the rear, comprising a 50MP primary camera, a 5MP ultrawide lens, and a 2MP macro lens. Additionally, it features a 13MP selfie camera housed within the U-shaped display notch.

The device is equipped with a sizable 5,000mAh battery and now supports 25W fast charging. Interestingly, even the A05 phones now incorporate 25W charging, marking the retirement of the 15W Samsung chargers.

Furthermore, the phone operates on Android 14 with One UI 6. Although it lacks DeX support or Always-On Display, it's worth noting that this isn't a One UI Core version.

Samsung Galaxy A15 specs at a glance:

• Body: 160.1x76.8x8.4mm, 200g; Glass front, plastic back, plastic frame.
• Display: 6.50" Super AMOLED, 90Hz, 800 nits (HBM), 1080x2340px resolution, 19.5:9 aspect ratio, 396ppi.
• Chipset: Mediatek Helio G99 (6nm): Octa-core (2x2.2 GHz Cortex-A76 & 6x2.0 GHz Cortex-A55); Mali-G57 MC2.
• Memory: 128GB 4GB RAM, 128GB 6GB RAM, 128GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 8GB RAM; microSDXC (uses shared SIM slot).
• OS/Software: Android 14, One UI 6.
• Rear camera: Wide (main): 50 MP, f/1.8, AF; Ultra wide angle: 5 MP, f/2.2; Macro: 2 MP, f/2.4.
• Front camera: 13 MP, f/2.0, (wide).
• Video capture: Rear camera: 1080p@30fps; Front camera: 1080p@30fps.
• Battery: 5000mAh; 25W wired.
• Connectivity: LTE; Hybrid Dual SIM; Wi-Fi 5; BT 5.3; NFC; 3.5mm jack, FM radio.
• Misc: Fingerprint reader (side-mounted); Virtual proximity sensing.

Design, build quality and handling

The Galaxy A15 adheres closely to the traditional Samsung design ethos: flat panels, a flat frame, and a modest camera housing. Its budget nature is evident in its thickness, weight, and particularly in its screen bezels and the presence of an old-school notch.

The phone features tempered glass to safeguard the screen, while its back panel is constructed from plastic. In our possession is the Blue Black model, accurately reflecting its description with a dark blue, nearly black tone for both the glass and frame. Additionally, yellow and blue versions are available across the EU market.

The frame has a matte finish and provides some grip when handling the phone. It has this atypical jut on the right, which accommodates the volume and power/lock key. We are not sure if this was made to spice up the design, or it has a practical explanation as well.

Display

The new 6.5-inch Super AMOLED screen is the most notable upgrade for the entire Galaxy A1x series in a while. The new panel has 2,340 x 1,080 pixels or 396ppi and supports up to 90Hz refresh rate.

We do appreciate the new AMOLED screen, and it does feel like a proper upgrade over the LCD panels from before. It has a small droplet-shaped notch for the selfie camera, thick bezels and one even thicker bottom bar. There is no information on the make of the protective glass.

We have completed our display test, and the measurements are all right. The new OLED panel offers 372 nits of maximum brightness at the far right of the brightness scrubber - not exactly super bright, but not too low either. The boost from the Auto brightness is significant - up to 808 nits!

The minimum brightness at point white was 1.8nit.

Battery life

The Galaxy A15 has a large battery with 5,000mAh capacity and one energy-efficient chipset. So, we are hoping for some notably good battery life here.

And it did! The Galaxy A15 scored an excellent active user score of 15 hours and 28 minutes. It aced all of our tests and shines when it comes to web browsing and gaming times.

Charging speed

The Samsung Galaxy A15 supports up to 25W fast wired charging, which is a nice update for the entry-level series. It ships without a charger, as usual. You can use any 25W PD+PPS charger, as it will reach the max charging power supported by the phone.

We carried out our charging test with Samsung's own 25W PD/PPS charger.

It recharged 25% of the Galaxy A15 battery in 15 minutes, while another 15 minutes will get you to 47%. A full charge requires 81 minutes. Those numbers are in line with Galaxy A25's.

Three cameras on the back, one at the front

The Samsung Galaxy A15 camera is similar to most of Samsung's camera kits on its other affordable phones. It is a triple camera with a 50MP primary, a 5MP ultrawide cam, and a 2MP macro shooter. The selfie cam is 13MP.

Samsung Galaxy A15 camera specs

• Wide (main): 50 MP Hynix Hi5022Q f/1.8, 26mm, 1/2.8", 0.64µm, PDAF; 1080p@30fps
• Ultra wide angle: 5 MP SmartSense SC501CS, f/2.2, 17mm, 1/5", 1.12µm, fixed focus; 1080p@30fps
• Macro: 2 MP GalaxyCore GC02M1, f/2.4, fixed focus.
• Front camera: 13 MP GalaxyCore GC013A, f/2.0, 26mm, 1/3.06", 1.12µm, fixed focus; 1080p@30fps

Overall, you can tell that Samsung hasn't changed the camera much. One new addition to the mix is gyro-EIS - a nice little bonus to have and previously unavailable in the Galaxy A24.

The camera app is the same as you'd find on every Samsung phone these days. You only get Pro mode and Night Mode on the main camera.

Photo quality

The main camera saves good 12.5MP photos. They offer lively color rendition, wide dynamic range, excellent noise reduction, and an overall pleasant look. They are average in detail and a bit over-sharpened, though.

Video quality

The Galaxy A15 4G captures 1080p@30fps videos with its primary, ultrawide, and selfie cameras. There is no support for electronic stabilization.

The video bitrate is generous at 17Mbps in 1080p resolution. Audio is captured stereo with a 256Kbps bitrate, and the sound is good across all videos.

The videos from the main camera, both at 1x and 2x levels, are great. They have plenty of detail, good colors, wide dynamic range and an overall likable rendition.

It is hardly the best phone, that is for sure. There is no ingress protection, the speaker is so-so, the GPU performance is mediocre, and the cameras are no good at night. But even as is - the Galaxy A15 just make sense.

We had it rather easy with the Galaxy A15 - it is a good phone for the price, and we do recommend it if it fits your budget. We do suggest exploring its 5G version first, though.