Samsung A70 6.7" 4500 no curved screen ~£400
- Thread starter edscdk
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Soldato
I dont use the rear FPR on my S8. It's rubbish; Too small for my fingers and on the back (and in an awkward position as well) so it's bloody useless when its in the car mount. If the A70's FPR is an improvement on that, and being on the front alone surely is, then that's absolutely fine by me 
Soldato
No LED. EdgeLighting+ (A pluging for Samsung GoodLock) will put a notification ring around the camera cutout on the s10/s10+, so they might update the app to include the A50/A70. There's also an app called "LED Me Know" which has partial support for The A50 so i guess might also work on the A70? I'll try it later.
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Caporegime
It doesn't but does have an always on screen option which works fine for me.
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 ...
Soldato
Settings >> lock screen >> always on display
LED Me Know works great on the A70 by the way
I have my A70 set up and ive not really messed around too much but the screen is HUGE and it's brilliant. The drop in resolution from the s8 is barely noticable even though its considersbly larger and it seems just as bright if not brighter and colours look spot on. Performance on first glance is on point and from the benchmarks broadly similar to the s8 though i would expect it to handle multi tasking better with more ram. Basically if its slower, i cant tell. No notification led but as i mentioned LED me know sorts that, if you want one that is. Im impressed it has two sim slots AND an sdcard slot. Normally the second sim slot is shared with the SD so thats nice. Speakers are clearer and louder than the s8, headphone output is on pair so more than acceptable IMO. Havent tried the camera so dont know about that yet. Oh, and no bixby button lol
Some things are a little odd, all software so far. The relatively low resolution and large display means some things are displayed rather too large. Ive set the system font to the smallest, shrunk the keyboard a lot but that doesnt change everything like the lock screen for example. I havent had time to look in to it though. Also, volume rocker is a bit too high up imo but nothing major.
Overall, very impressed. Does need a case though, the plastic back wont hold out to much abuse. Needs a screen protector too.
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I'm massively impressed so far. Yes things are large, all the icons in particular. I'd like those to be a bit smaller but I don't know if that is possible.
Yes two SIM slots and an SD card slot is impressive. (Like my old Lumia 640XL...)
It could do with a case, yes. Any phone is vulnerable without one. My Honor 9 Lite came with a basic one which does the job fine. I thought I read that the A70 had one supplied too, but obviously not. If anyone buys a good one please let us know !
I have always done without a screen protector but will think about it. At a net £209 after trade-in and cash-back, this is the most expensive phone I've ever bought !
Yes two SIM slots and an SD card slot is impressive. (Like my old Lumia 640XL...)
It could do with a case, yes. Any phone is vulnerable without one. My Honor 9 Lite came with a basic one which does the job fine. I thought I read that the A70 had one supplied too, but obviously not. If anyone buys a good one please let us know !
I have always done without a screen protector but will think about it. At a net £209 after trade-in and cash-back, this is the most expensive phone I've ever bought !
Soldato
Any replacement launcher would solve the icon problem. Nova launcher with 8x5 grid and 120% icons seems about right
Any replacement launcher would solve the icon problem. Nova launcher with 8x5 grid and 120% icons seems about right
I was wondering about that. I used The Microsoft launcher on the Honor for a while. That may or may not solve the icon "problem" though, I don't know. Maybe I'll try Nova.
LED Me Know doesn't seem to do anything at all, there is probably a step I've missed.
Soldato
I seem to have a brightness bug with mine, sometimes the screen is at full brightness after unlocking. Anybody else having that problem?
I had an odd thing today - the phone was plugged in charging, and an alarm went off as it should. But the "Dismiss" button did not work, all I could do was snooze it. After 2 or 3 times I went into the alarm itself and turned off the snooze slider. I didn't have this issue for my wake-up alarm earlier in the day, so it could be a bug when it is plugged in.
The phone seemed huge when I got it, but now it is totally normal and my old phone seems small.
I've just had the battery last two days (or 36 hours to be more precise, one night and two days). My old Honor 9 Lite would almost do that as well, but with a smaller, less bright screen.
It charged back up to 100% in about an hour and a half which was mightily impressive.
I am missing the LED notification light.
Fingerprint scanner is OK. You have to get used to how long you need to have your finger pressed on it, and also I think the angle matters - whether your thumb is vertical or at an angle, and if that coincides with how you registered it. No complaints.
Overall I'm very happy and especially for the bargain price £209 it is just incredible (£369 less £100 trade-in of a worthless 4+ year old 1st Gen Moto-G, and less £60 cashback). I can see me keeping this for 3 years.
The phone seemed huge when I got it, but now it is totally normal and my old phone seems small.
I've just had the battery last two days (or 36 hours to be more precise, one night and two days). My old Honor 9 Lite would almost do that as well, but with a smaller, less bright screen.
It charged back up to 100% in about an hour and a half which was mightily impressive.
I am missing the LED notification light.
Fingerprint scanner is OK. You have to get used to how long you need to have your finger pressed on it, and also I think the angle matters - whether your thumb is vertical or at an angle, and if that coincides with how you registered it. No complaints.
Overall I'm very happy and especially for the bargain price £209 it is just incredible (£369 less £100 trade-in of a worthless 4+ year old 1st Gen Moto-G, and less £60 cashback). I can see me keeping this for 3 years.
Soldato
I've had that alarm bug on my S8 before. Only once that I recall though. Also, the alarms always needed turning off and back on after a software update otherwise they wouldnt go off, that persisted from at least as far back as the oreo beta, possibly before.
Anyway, I put a tempered glass screen protector on my A70 and stuck it in a case today. Not taking any chances
Anyway, I put a tempered glass screen protector on my A70 and stuck it in a case today. Not taking any chances
Soldato
My A70 arrived today and all seems well. Apart from the sensitivity of the fingerprint reader. It was fine(ish) until the glass screen went on and now it is a little hit and miss. Annoying really as my bank app, and others, use it.
I had no problems with the scanner on the LG G6, being on the rear.
The same sensitivity issues seem the same on my daughters A50.
A pity that they did not use a dedicated rear scanner.
I had no problems with the scanner on the LG G6, being on the rear.
The same sensitivity issues seem the same on my daughters A50.
A pity that they did not use a dedicated rear scanner.
Soldato
Reference the fingerprint sensor, I think it's subjective. Some prefer it on the glass and others on the rear. Also depends on which finger you use. I hold the phone with my right hand and dial / tap on it using my left. So my right fingers are on the rear side and my left fingers use the glass. Therefore a bit like using a calculator. So on the S8+, I used my right index finger on the rear, and on the A70, I use my left index finger on the glass to unlock both handsets.
The S8+ for me was more responsive where the A70 will occasionally display a message telling me to press on the glass for longer, but overall, I prefer the glass-side placement.
On a separate issue, my A70 sometimes unlocks itself in my shirt pocket. I made sure that on-the-body unlock isn't enabled but it still does it sometimes. Today for example, it unlocked itself and activated the torch via the pull-down notification settings all by itself. I only noticed it when I got on the bus. People must had been thinking that I was filming them! Need to find a way to stop this.
The S8+ for me was more responsive where the A70 will occasionally display a message telling me to press on the glass for longer, but overall, I prefer the glass-side placement.
On a separate issue, my A70 sometimes unlocks itself in my shirt pocket. I made sure that on-the-body unlock isn't enabled but it still does it sometimes. Today for example, it unlocked itself and activated the torch via the pull-down notification settings all by itself. I only noticed it when I got on the bus. People must had been thinking that I was filming them! Need to find a way to stop this.
So much I don't know about this phone... I've not seen that. Either because this is my first Samsung, of first Pie phone.
Re the fingerprint scanner, I think you just adapt either way. Occasionally I get a "no match" message, more with one thumb than the other, but then again sometimes on the Honor I had to try twice as well with the rear scanner.
Soldato
I have played around a little more with the scanner and changed from my index finger to my thumb. For some reason, scanning three entries of the thumb, it seems more accurate.
I have also installed Open Camera, seems quite feature rich and includes RAW file saving options etc.
I have also installed Open Camera, seems quite feature rich and includes RAW file saving options etc.