Samsung Galaxy M31 review: A complete package in the budget segment

Samsung Galaxy M31 price in Bangladesh BDT. ৳23,999 (6/64GB) and ৳27,999(8/128GB). Samsung Galaxy M31 features 6.4inch Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 64MP camera and 6000mAh battery.

 

■Samsung Galaxy M31 Display and Design

Samsung Galaxy M31 features 6.4inch Super AMOLED display which is bright. So I do not have any issues with it, outdoors it's sharp and the colors look nice. So watching shows and movies on this display was a good experience.

The design of Samsung Galaxy M31 isn't exactly the most eye-catching stunning looking phone but I'd say it looks decent especially black variant that I've been using. Glass or metal would have made the phone more appealing but the plastic design means this can take a hit now. One thing I really like about this design is the form factor now we all know that it's a 6000 mAh battery in there and considering that this is a fairly lightweight compact and failing comfortable phone to use. The phone has a physical fingerprint scanner which is kind of getting rare now, but since it's a physical fingerprint scanner it is fast and accurate.

■Samsung Galaxy M31 Camera

Galaxy M31 comes with a quad camera setup. Primary camera gets a 64 megapixel sensor with F/1.8 aperture and 26mm lens. Then there is a 8 megapixel sensor with F/2.2 aperture and a 12 mm ultra wide lens. Next up there is a 5 Megapixel sensor with F/2.4 aperture and a macro lens. And finally you get another 5 megapixel sensor with F/2.2 aperture, and this one is used for sensing depth information for portrait shots.

At the front, there is a 32 megapixel selfie camera with F/2.0 aperture and 26mm wide lens. Camera interface is pretty bare bones. You can swipe to the left or right to switch between modes. You can switch between normal and wide lens by tapping on these buttons. I think the Galaxy M31 is a bit slower while switching between these lenses. 

Image colours are a bit over saturated, like we have come to expect from Samsung smartphones. But I think they look good enough. And if you like to upload these image to your social media accounts, colours are bound to catch anyone’s attention, so I think these saturated colours, serve their purpose. I found the HDR mode on this M31 to be very impressive.You can switch to the 64 megapixel mode, to capture higher resolution images. 64 megapixel images are much sharper, and so lot more details, then the 8 megapixel ones. So if you are trying to capture landscapes or architecture, you should switch to the 64 megapixel mode, to capture more details. The biggest downside of shooting in this mode is, the dynamic range, contrast and colours are not that great.

There is a massive 32 megapixel selfie camera on this phone. Selfies look good, and there are enough details in them. Skin tones are preserved, but the detailed are a bit softer, even when the beauty mode is turned off. We kind of expect some level of skin smoothening from Samsung by now, and I am sure most people getting this phone won’t mind it. For the portrait shots, edge detection is not as good as it is from the rear camera, but the these shots look good nevertheless. And even if you have multiple faces in the shot, it does well to keep both of them in focus. 4K 30fps videos don’t get any kind of stabilisation. But the good thing is, it is not overly saturated like the 4K 30fps videos from some of the other budget smartphones. 1080p 30fps videos are electronically stabilised. While these videos are not as detailed as the 4K ones, electronic stabilisation make them look better and gives them an upper edge. It can shoot hi frame rate videos in 720p resolution. There is also an option to shoot super slow motion videos, and depending on what you are shooting, it can look really good.

I think Samsung Galaxy M31 cameras has got real potential. Its Daylight images are crisp and sharp, and I think it shows the best dynamic range amongst all the budget smartphones. Wide camera is really well tuned to capture the same white balance and colour temperature as the primary camera. The macro camera could use some help while focusing, so I would say that is not one of the best features of this phone. But then it comes back with the amazing Portrait shots. Low light photos should be limited to indoor and artificial lighting conditions, and the video performance is pretty much at par, with any other smartphone in this price range.

■Samsung Galaxy M31 OS and Hardware

Samsung Galaxy M31 coming with the new UI that is known as the Samsung One UI version 2 which is based on Android 10. So again that's a good thing that we are getting on this one.

I noticed on this smartphone is that compared to earlier our Samsung M series and their mid-range phones if you notice the fingerprint scanner there's a physical one here. But it is a very fast one that they have put on this one so again that's actually a nice thing but one thing to notice that if your fingers are moist like many are fingerprint scanners this will also not work. So again make sure your fingerprint is not moist.

■Samsung Galaxy M31 Battery

As I've told you earlier you can do some gaming with this one but I would not suggest a smartphone for heavy gamers. I would say the biggest strength of  Samsung Galaxy M31 smartphone is that six thousand milliamp hour (6000mAh) battery.

If you're always worried about that battery life you are sort of a heavy user who finishes battery life and you just can't get that full one working day go with this test will easily last you for a day or even one and a half days even if you are a sort of heavy user.

■Samsung Galaxy M31 Gaming Performance

I'll be honest with you the Samsung Galaxy M31 isn't exactly the best phone for gaming but yeah you can play game on this phone. The phone handles high graphics games like PUBG, Call of Duty Mobile with lag problems. I've played a lot of pubg mobile on the phone and the graphics can go as high as HDR with frame rates at Ultra or graphics set to smooth and frame rate set to extreme.

Now in these settings the gameplay is a little choppy although it is playable however it said - HD and high the performance is much better. So I will recommend the setting. I mean I had a game bench test at this setting and I got consistent frame rates. If you are wondering about any heating issues on the Samsung Galaxy M31 well the phone does get a little warm when you are playing games for hours and hours but I wouldn't call it overheating. So it's not a problem anyway.

■Our Verdict

I've seen from a mid-range smartphone from Samsung the camera is awesome. If I am being honest, I take over 80% of my shots in portrait mode, so the portrait mode performance is one of the most important factor for me while choosing a smartphone. I think this Samsung Galaxy M31 is proving to be one of the best in this area.

Lastly I know many people prefer an AMOLED screen so yes it does have a decent AMOLED screen. So guys if you're looking for a Samsung what is a mid-range smartphone I can certainly say Samsung Galaxy M31 is actually one of the best material smartphone that Samsung has released for the price segment.

Samsung Galaxy M31 Full Specifications 

● Network
2G bands	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 - SIM 1 & SIM 2
3G bands	HSDPA 850 / 900 / 1700 / 1900 / 2100
4G bands	LTE band 1(2100), 2, 3(1800), 4 , 7(2600), 8 , 12 , 13 , 17 , 20 , 26 , 28 ,38(2600), 39(1900), 40(2300), 41(2500)
Speed	HSPA 42.2/5.76 Mbps, LTE-A
GPRS	Yes
EDGE	Yes
● OS & Hardware
OS	Android 10, Samsung One UI 2.0
Processor	Exynos 9611 (10nm chipset)
Chipset	Octa-core (4x2.3 GHz Cortex-A73 & 4x1.7 GHz Cortex-A53)
GPU	Mali-G72 MP3
● Design
Dimensions	159.2×75.1×8.9 mm (6.27×2.96×0.35 in)
Weight	191 g (6.74 oz)
Build	Glass front (Gorilla Glass 3),Plastic back,Plastic frame
Colors	Oceans Blue, Space Black
● Display
Type	Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
Screen Size	6.4"(16.21cm) FHD+ sAMOLED Infinity-U Display
Resolution	1080 x 2340 pixels (~403 ppi pixel density)
Multitouch	Yes
Protection	Corning Gorilla Glass 3
Sensors	Fingerprint (rear mounted) ,Accelerometer, Proximity, Compass
● Memory
Card slot	microSD (dedicated slot), up to 512 GB
Internal	128 GB / 64
RAM	8GB / 6GB
● Camera
Rear	64MP(F/1.2)26mm(Wide)/ 8MP(F/2.2)12mm(ultrawide)/ 5MP(F/2.4)(macro) 5MP(F/2.2)(depth)
Front	32MP (F2.0) 26mm(wide)
Features	HDR , Face detection,4k video  recording on Front & Rear camera, Super slow-mo, Slow-mo, Hyperlapse.
Video	4k@30fps , 1080p@30fps
● Multimedia
Music play	Yes
Radio	FM Radio
Games	Yes
Alert types	Vibration; MP3, WAV ringtones
Loudspeaker	Yes
3.5mm jack	Yes
● Battery & Power
Type	Non-removable Li-Ion 6000 mAh battery
Charging	15W Fast charging USB Type C
Fast Charge	Yes
● Expected Price
US Dollor	$289
Bangladeshi Taka	BDT 23,999 (For 6/64 GB varient), BDT 27,999 (For 8/128 GB varient)
Indian Rs.	Rs. 16,499 (For 6/64 GB varient), Rs. 17,499 (For 6/128 GB varient)