After several rumors and leaks, Samsung officially presented at the end of February one more member of its Galaxy M family, specifically, the successor to the Galaxy M30 and Galaxy M30s. This new model, called Galaxy M31, landed on the market just two months later, in early May, with a price that placed it directly in the manufacturer’s mid-range.
In addition to betting on a huge 6,000 mAh battery as its predecessor, the new Samsung device comes with a focus on photography and, therefore, it has raised both the number of sensors and the maximum resolution of its rear camera. At Xataka Móvil, we have already had the opportunity to test it thoroughly and below we will tell you how the Galaxy M31 behaves in each section.
Datasheet of the Samsung Galaxy M31
SAMSUNG GALAXY M31 | |
---|---|
SCREEN | Super AMOLED 6.4 inches FullHD Resolution + Gorilla Glass 3 |
PROCESSOR | Exynos 9611 |
RAM | 6 GB |
STORAGE | 64GB + MicroSD up to 512GB |
FRONTAL CAMERA | 32 MP f / 2.0 |
REAR CAMERA | 64 MP f / 1.8 8 MP wide-angle f / 2.2 5 MP depth f / 2.2 5 MP macro f / 2.4 |
DRUMS | 6,000 mAh Quick Charge 15W |
OPERATING SYSTEM | Android 10 + One UI 2.0 |
CONNECTIVITY | 4G, Dual SIM, Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 5, NFC, USB-C, 3.5mm jack |
OTHERS | Rear fingerprint reader |
DIMENSIONS AND WEIGHT | 159.2 x 75.1 x 8.9 mm 191 g |
PRICE | 279 euros |
A display that shines in a sober design
The first thing that jumps out at the sight of the Galaxy M31 is a continuist design, which again opts for the plastic for the rear and that does not present major differences from the previous model. Although it is also available in black or red, the unit that has passed through our hands is that of bright blue, a uniform dark blue (without gradient) that you will rarely be able to see clean because the presence of traces and dirt is inevitable.
That back has slightly curved sides, which, added to its rounded corners, makes it comfortable and pleasant in the hand. It is true that its thickness of 8.9 mm and its weight of 191 g prevent us from talking about light and thin terminal, but they are not figures at all exaggerated considering the enormous battery that it carries on board. Both the camera module and the fingerprint reader protrude very little from the body, so it hardly limps when we place it face up on a smooth surface.
On the front, we have a 6.4-inch Super AMOLED panel with FullHD + resolution and a discreet drop-shaped notch where the front camera is housed. Although the lower edge is somewhat thick, the use of the front is quite good for a model of this category. That screen has pleasantly surprised us as far as the viewing experience is concerned, with correct colors, optimal viewing angles and maximum brightness that has allowed us to use the terminal perfectly even in direct sunlight.
The tactile response and automatic brightness have also given us good results. And the oleophobic treatment here is indeed efficient. In addition, we cannot ignore the customization options that One UI offers us, among which we find, for example, the possibility of increasing the tactile sensitivity to use it with a screen protector and the manual adjustment of white balance in case of that we prefer it colder or warmer.
At the bottom of the Galaxy M31, we have a single speaker next to the USB-C port and the headphone jack. That speaker offers fairly fair sound, with upgradeable power and quality, especially when turning up the volume. We have not been able to verify the behavior of the headphones because they are not included as standard; negative points for Samsung in this regard.
The great asset is autonomy
Under the chassis of the Galaxy M31, we find the Exynos 9611, a brand-name octa-core processor that we already saw in its predecessor, the Galaxy M30s. Where there is a step forward is in the RAM, which is now 6 GB. The set of all this provides a good experience of use even in multitasking, with good transitions and no delay when moving from one app to another.
Performance for everyday tasks is, therefore, more than enough, but what happens when we put it to the test with demanding games? There you experience some difficulties, which are not exaggerated but could have been avoided by opting for a more powerful processor. In addition, we have noticed that the phone gets a little warm when we demand too much, although we cannot say that this temperature rise is excessive. Next, we leave you the results of the most common benchmarks:
SAMSUNG GALAXY M31 | SAMSUNG GALAXY M30S | SAMSUNG GALAXY A51 | HUAWEI P40 LITE | XIAOMI REDMI NOTE 9S | |
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PROCESSOR | Exynos 9611 | Exynos 9611 | Exynos 9611 | Kirin 810 | Snapdragon 720G |
RAM | 6 GB | 4GB | 4GB | 6 GB | 4GB |
ANTUTU | 179,004 | 153,232 | 158,467 | 303,806 | 241,054 |
GEEKBENCH 5 | 347 / 1,280 | – | 347 / 1,338 | – | 546 / 1,607 |
PC MARK WORK | 5,535 | 5,600 | 5,399 | 7,808 | 8,702 |
The Galaxy M31 has two biometric authentication systems: the rear fingerprint sensor and facial recognition. The latter is a little slow, but very effective and identifies our face even in the dark. In addition, it invites us to register our face with and without glasses to recognize it when we wear them. The fingerprint sensor also works well, as long as we can put our finger on it, something that is a bit difficult due to its size and because it protrudes so little that it is difficult to locate it by touch.
The fingerprint sensor works well as long as we can put our finger on it, which is a bit difficult
In the software section, we have the latest from Google (Android 10) with the latest from Samsung (One UI 2.0). It is a polished and colorful layer that offers us intuitive navigation, numerous customization options and various tools that can be useful to us. Although the amount of bloatware has been reduced in recent years, Samsung continues to introduce several proprietary apps – some duplicates – and third-party ones, which in this case are Netflix, Spotify, Facebook and the Microsoft package.
Initially, about 48 GB of the 64 GB of capacity come free; The good thing is that some of these apps can be uninstalled without problems and that we can always use a microSD card of up to 512 GB to increase storage, without giving up its Dual-SIM function, since it has a triple card tray.
Let’s go now with the highlight of this Samsung: its autonomy. As we said at the beginning, the great asset of this model is that it has a 6,000 mAh battery that lasts two days with average use. Even if we demand a lot from him, he will reach the end of the day with the autonomy to spare. In our tests, it has given us around 10 hours of screen, depending on whether we were abusing the camera and the games.
Its 15 W fast-charging system, however, is not as fast as we would like -validity redundancy-: plugged into the power with the charger that comes standard, it took about 3 hours to get a full charge, And in 30 minutes, you have barely achieved 22-25% energy. Although of course, a 25% charge on this phone goes a long way.
The photographic equipment, another pleasant surprise
Our next stop is the photographic equipment, which in the Galaxy M31 comes materialized in a 32-megapixel front camera with f / 2.0 aperture and a rear camera with four sensors: the main 64-megapixel f / 1.8, an 8-megapixel wide-angle with a viewing angle of 123 ° and two other sensors of 5 megapixels each for depth readings and macro photography respectively. And something to be thankful for: 4K video recording at 30 fps.
The camera application is the usual one that Samsung is used to, intuitive, simple and with direct access to the main functions and shooting modes. Initially, we have three: Dynamic Focus (they could have called it Portrait, the truth), Photo (automatic) and Video, but in the More tab, in addition to Bixby Vision and AR Emoji, we find more shooting modes that we can add to the lower carousel ( Macro, Night, Pro, Panoramic, Food, Fast Motion, Slow Motion and Super Slow Motion).
We do miss a shortcut to turn HDR on and off, which is hidden in Settings, and another to apply its many beauty effects, which appear next to the filters when you click on the magic wand. Reaching them is so little intuitive, that we end up not using them and always keeping HDR activated.
Now let’s talk about the quality that this rear camera offers us. Photo or Auto mode uses Pixel Binning technology to group 4 pixels into 1 and make 16 MP photos brighter. Daytime results are very satisfactory, with a good dynamic range and a high level of detail, even in scenes with light contrasts. Scene recognition is very accurate and AF behaves quickly and effectively.
When using the wide-angle (which also has a shortcut), some detail is lost and the edges of the image are deformed, but the color treatment is still good. Two modes that we especially liked are the Macro mode (which allows shooting at short distances with a background blur that highlights the foreground ) and the Dynamic Focus mode (which gives us the possibility to adjust the bokeh effect to our liking).
By maximizing blurring of the background in that Dynamic Focus mode for portraits, cropping can end up being somewhat artificial, but if we adjust it at the midpoints, the result is very positive.
In our tests, we have seen that Night mode, far from contributing anything, reduces the angle of view and slows down image processing
At night, the image quality is reduced and noise appears, as expected, but the Galaxy M31 manages to save the scenes with dignity. It is true that it blurs far points of light, but the AF is still fast and the level of detail is higher than in other models in its category. Curiously, in our tests, we have appreciated that the Night mode does not contribute much on this phone. What’s more, it reduces the viewing angle and slows down image processing.
We now turn to the front camera of the Samsung Galaxy M31. During the day, Photo mode achieves very good results in terms of detail, color and sharpness, although there is a lot of noise in the background. Dynamic Focus mode here uses software to achieve adjustable background blur at different levels; to the maximum, it generates an artificial cut and shows difficulties in identifying the limits of hair or sunglasses.
And at night? As usually happens in models in this category, the quality of the photos decreases considerably, with an obvious presence of noise and loss of sharpness; In addition, the white balance usually “yellows” the faces, unless we use the on-screen flash (not recommended), in which case our faces will appear whitish.
Even so, the nightly selfies that the Galaxy M31 offers us are much more acceptable than those that other terminals in its price range offer us. Night mode, by the way, is also available on the front camera, but it has not convinced us: it takes so long to capture the photo, that any movement causes our faces and the background to be out of focus.
Samsung Galaxy M31 opinion
After several days of use, the Samsung Galaxy M31 has left a good taste in our mouths: it is a mid-range terminal that could well be included in the Galaxy A line of the South Korean manufacturer, in theory, somewhat above the M. If we look One by one each section, the Galaxy M31 stands out especially for its screen (typical of the upper-middle-range) and its autonomy (which allows us to forget about the charger for almost two days).
It is true that the performance is somewhat fair, that the sound is not its strong and that the loading speed is slower than we would like, but in return, this model offers us cameras that will satisfy us in most of the occasions. As for the design, without being a display of elegance and with the fingerprints “tattooed” on the back, it must be recognized that Samsung has achieved a good finish.
In short, whenever you like Samsung’s One UI layer, we are dealing with a recommended model, whose only problem is the price -279 euros-, especially, considering that it comes without headphones, without a case and without a screen protector. And judging by the scratches that the terminal shows, these last two accessories are essential. It is true that soon it will drop in price and it will be possible to buy much cheaper, but right now, for 279 euros, there are competing models one step ahead in terms of performance.