Samsung A70 6.7" 4500 no curved screen ~£400

edscdk · 30 Apr 2019 at 10:20

If like me you hate curved screens, think a big battery is good and want a large phone this might be for you...

https://www.samsung.com/uk/smartphones/galaxy-a70/SM-A705FZKUBTU/

not really seeing any down sides to this one (I hope no one spots anything I have missed)

Was about to buy a honor note 10 until I spotted the lack of some band required by o2... then decided on a Mate 20 x but was put off a bit by the price and thought maybe it was just a little too big... Was about to pull the trigger on the Mate 20 x then spotted this new release..

edscdk · 5 May 2019 at 17:58

ok i have one! not set it up yet but it feels so much nicer than my old s8 plus in my hand! size wise.. it seems no bigger than a s8+.. wondering now if i might upgrade to a huawei max 20 x... will update when i have had a change to use it

edscdk · 7 May 2019 at 20:05

After a days usage, not a very exact review but comming from a s8plus my main concerns were it might be too big, screen might be worse or lower res.. phone might be slower ..

It's not too big it feels the same size in my hands
Screen looks the same
If its slower I don't notice, not that I push it hard but a bit of pokemon and angry birds a few pictures and normal apps feel the same speed

Phone is nicer to hold than the s8..

On screen finger print reader is reviewed as slower I think but it seems the same to me.

I eatrn enough that I could drop a 1000 on a phone but no way I could justify a s10 plus over this ...

Might pass this to the wife in 6 to 12 months for the larger mate 20 x whenthey are under 400 (only because its larger and I know 6.7 is not too big)

edscdk · 23 May 2019 at 08:25

more of an update... CPU performance it feels no different to the S8 Plus I threw away.. if anything the phone seems faster ** however im not using it for games ** (well just pokemon some puzzle games, angry birds ..)

Battery on S8 plus was almost always dead by 7pm if I did not charge, A70 I can skip charging all day if I want...

It charges (or seems to) faster... If I forgot to charge the S8 Plus overnight id struggle to keep it topped up during the day... if the A70 is at 40% in the evening I might not bother charging as I know it will charge at my desk to 100% sooo fast (ok no real science there but doing the same with the s8 plus and it have to remember to keep it on charge most of the day to get it to 100%)

unless I try and unlock with the FP reader like a spastic it seems fast enough to me (I consider 1 second a log time).. face unlock is super fast some times I have to check its actually locked as it unlocks so fast...

edscdk · 25 May 2019 at 21:07

AiiR said:
Funnily enough I'm looking at the exact same switch. My S8+ is struggling with battery and theres a crack in the screen. Did you find the swap worthwhile?

Fp reader is worse In my mind due to position...

If I wanted an s10 plus I could buy one... I have a iPhone XS but am selling

A70 is perfect if you gave me a s10 p I'd just sell it...

It took me hours of research to decide.. If you have questions pm me...

edscdk · 25 May 2019 at 21:24

joffy said:
I'm looking for a new phone and would consider this if it wasn't so damn huge!

Have you held one? My wife's s8p in a case is no bigger then by a70 in a case

edscdk · 11 Jun 2019 at 10:35

Tuvoc said:
Can you tell me where that is please ? The Samsung UI on Pie is somewhat different from EMUI 8 on the Honor.

What is the effect on battery life of that ?

another vote for led does not matter... i had to check to see if it did and ive had the phone for over a month (so obviously not a big issue)

Battery life is exceptional, I'm a heavy user... Note 4 i was getting 3/4 of a day (a few years ago now so probably not such heavy usage), S8+ i was getting probably 3/4 of a day until i got the A70... now i get over a day ...

edscdk · 17 Aug 2019 at 09:57

Tuvoc said:
I'm not sure whether to fit a screen protector or not. A colleague said to me that the screen protector really only protects against scratches, and that if you dropped the phone the screen would still shatter underneath the protector - is that right ? I do have this case on it currently

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/For-Sams...e-Thin-Hybrid-Armour-Back-Cover/254256505705?

which provides some protection maybe not enough, I am going to try a different one.

Id say that's crap (with no scientific evidence) anything between the screen and ground that will absorb impacts will help prevent damage (assuming its in the form of a screen protector not stone)

edscdk · 21 Aug 2019 at 15:11

bridder said:
ShiWarrior is right Tuvoc, you have the setting "Stay on Lock screen" enabled in Settings > Biometrics and security > Face recognition

Turn that off and it'll just go straight past the lock screen, I use it all the time as the FPR on my A50 is either too slow or just plain unreliable...

ta I need that.... it seems obvious to me the people who write the software never used it... why would I ever want to unlock my phone but stay on the lock screen!

edscdk · 21 Aug 2019 at 15:14

Dyson said:
Terrible compared to what though?

I find it great for my needs, nice clear pictures and video. Only thing I've found is the shutter can be a little slow correspond at times

I had an s8 plus im not camera expert but I always felt the pictures were not as good... probably just crappy software... mast update did say camera improvements so hopefully it will get better