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Introduction
Samsung’s new Galaxy A series includes everything from budget devices to premium midrangers. The Galaxy A70 is an example of the latter with its ~$400 price tag and a couple of flagship features. It is one of the better devices Samsung launched in 2019, thanks to the company’s focus on getting the basics right instead of splurging on gimmicks.
Six months later, the Korean tech giant has refreshed the Galaxy A70 by launching the A70s. Supposed to be a slightly-upgraded version rather than a successor, the A70s doesn’t differ much from the original model. In fact, on paper, the changes seem too minor to question Samsung’s rationale behind launching the A70s.
Design
The back of the Galaxy A70s sports geometric patterns and a holographic effect that we have seen on other ‘s’ variants launched during the same period. Other than that, the design of the Galaxy A70s is identical to the original model, including the glossy-plastic build with a glass-like finish.
The front of the device is occupied by a large edge-to-edge Infinity display with an in-display fingerprint reader and a small waterdrop notch. The volume rocker and power button are on the right, SIM slot on the left, secondary microphone at the top, and a headphone jack, USB Type-C port, primary mic, and a speaker grille are on the bottom side.
On the back, the A70s has a vertically arranged triple-camera system and LED flash at the top-left corner and Samsung branding in the middle. The device measures 164.3 x 76.7 x 7.9 mm and weighs 187 grams.
Specifications
The Galaxy A70s comes with a 6.7-inch FHD+ Super AMOLED display, Snapdragon 675 SoC, 6GB/8GB RAM, 128 GB internal storage, microSD slot, triple cameras on the back, single front camera, in-display fingerprint reader, USB Type-C port, 4,500mAh battery with 25W fast charging, and more. It also supports MST-based Samsung Pay, making it one of the few non-flagship Galaxy smartphones to offer this feature.
On the software front, it runs Android Pie with Samsung’s One UI 1.1 on top, which is odd given that a couple of Galaxy budget devices launched before the A70s come with One UI 1.5.
The spec sheet of the Galaxy A70s is indistinguishable from that of the A70. The only difference between the two models is that the former comes with a 64-megapixel primary camera, while the latter packs a 32-megapixel sensor.
You can go to our Galaxy A70s specifications page for the complete list of internals.
Display
Display was one of the biggest attractions of the Galaxy A70, and that continues to be the case with the A70s as well since Samsung has not made any changes whatsoever in the display department.
It’s a 6.7-inch Super AMOLED Infinity U display with a 20:9 aspect ratio and 1080×2400 resolution, resulting in a pixel density of ~393 PPI. It packs an optical in-display fingerprint scanner for authentication and is protected by an unspecified version of Corning Gorilla Glass.
Camera
Primary camera is the only area where the hardware of the Galaxy A70s differs from the A70. Samsung has bumped the resolution of the primary sensor from 32 MP to 64 MP, making it the first Galaxy smartphone with a 64-megapixel camera.
What all of this means is that the Galaxy A70s retains the same 3+1 camera setup i.e. triple cameras on the back and a single selfie camera. The rear-camera setup consists of a 64 MP f/1.8 with PDAF (Phase Detection Auto Focus), 8 MP f/2.2 ultrawide lens with 123° FOV, and a 5 MP f/2.2 depth sensor. There is also an LED flash to assist in low-light conditions. For selfies, there is a single 32-megapixel f/2.0 sensor on the front. The A70s can record 4K videos and supports features such as Night Mode, Scene Optimizer, Super Steady, Best Shot suggestion, etc.
Software
How little effort Samsung has put into developing the Galaxy A70s is best exemplified by the software onboard. The A70 came with Android Pie and Samsung’s One UI 1.1 out of the box in April 2019. Since then, the company has launched a few Galaxy devices with One UI 1.5, but the A70s is not one of them as it still runs the same One UI 1.1.
The only software change here appears to be the inclusion of the Game Booster feature to improve the gaming experience on the device. Like the original model, the A70s supports Dolby Atmos and MST-based Samsung Pay.
Samsung hasn’t made any official announcement about the rollout of the Android 10 update yet, but it is safe to assume that the Galaxy A70s will receive it in the coming months.
Availability
Samsung announced the Galaxy A70s in India on September 27, 2019 and the device went on sale the very next day. It comes in three colors: Prism Crush Red, Prism Crush White, and Prism Crush Black. Like everything else about the device, the pricing is also similar to the A70. It is priced at Rs. 28,999 (~$420) for the 6GB/128GB variant and Rs. 30,999 for the 8GB/128GB variant.
