Galaxy M51 versus Galaxy A71: The M series undercuts the A lineup again

The Galaxy M51 was released in Russia earlier this week and it will soon hit the shelves in other markets including Europe and India. It's an exciting mid-range phone on account of its monstrous 7,000mAh battery but it has other good things going for it. In fact, the Galaxy M51 appears to make the Galaxy A71 rather obsolete in markets where both phones are available, especially since the former model is available for a lower price.

Looking at how the Galaxy M51 and Galaxy A71 compare, it seems like history repeats itself in the same way that the Galaxy M31s undercut the Galaxy A51. The Galaxy M51 seems to be the superior model despite the lower price, but the Galaxy A71 has a couple of advantages. Let's take a closer look.

Galaxy M51 versus Galaxy A71

The two mid-range phones share many characteristics including the 6.7-inch Super AMOLED Infinity-O display with a pixel count of 2400 by 1080. They also have nearly-identical dimensions but the Galaxy M51 is a bit thicker and heavier.

Both smartphones look very similar except for their color schemes and patterns. However, the Galaxy A71 has an in-display fingerprint sensor whereas the Galaxy M51 has a side-mounted sensor. The Galaxy A71 has a more modern approach in this regard but side-mounted fingerprint sensors are usually faster and more accurate.

The camera setup is also very similar across both phones and includes a 64MP wide-angle shooter, a 12MP ultra-wide, a 5MP depth sensor, and a 5MP macro camera. Both models have a 32MP selfie sensor with an f/2.2 aperture.

The Galaxy A71 has the advantage of running Android 10 and One UI 2.1 out of the box while the Galaxy M51 runs One UI 2.1 Core, however, the scales are tipping in the Galaxy M51's favor once you dig deeper under the hood.

Although both phones feature 6GB/8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage expandable via microSD by up to 512GB, the Galaxy M51 has the better chipset. It's equipped with a Snapdragon 730G SoC whereas the Galaxy A71 has the Snapdragon 730 solution in most markets. The two chipsets are very similar except for the Snapdragon 730G having more graphical processing power, meaning it's better suited for mobile games.

If this wasn't enough to highlight the fact that the Galaxy M51 has better internal hardware than the Galaxy A71, take a look at their batteries. The Galaxy M51 is equipped with a huge 7,000mAh battery while the Galaxy A71 relies on a 4,500mAh unit. Despite all this, the Galaxy M51 costs around 360 euro whereas the Galaxy A71 was released for 469 euro.

In conclusion, if you have the option of buying either one of these two phones and you can live with One UI 2.1 Core instead of One UI 2.1 and a side-mounted fingerprint scanner as opposed to an under-display solution, there aren't many reasons to buy the Galaxy A71 over the Galaxy M51. If you want to take a closer look at how these two smartphones differ from one another you can refer to our online comparison tool.

Samsung
Galaxy M51

Select model SM-M515F Buy Full specs

Samsung
Galaxy A71

Select model SM-A715F SM-A715FN SM-A715GM SM-A715MN SM-A7150 SM-A715W Buy Full specs

SamsungGalaxy M51

OverviewHands-OnReviewSpecificationsFirmwareBuyScreen ProtectorsCasesWired ChargersWireless EarbudsBattery Packs

SamsungGalaxy A71

OverviewReviewSpecificationsFirmwareBuy