Samsung's affordable A series of smartphones have been a huge hit across the globe: selling at prices well below that of an iPhone SE (2020), they offer premium features like vibrant AMOLED screens and Samsung's features rich interface, but what about their battery life?
Our PhoneArena battery life test is a relentless test consisting of three components to show you just how good battery life really is: first, we test light use with browsing, then slightly more demanding tasks like playing back video, and lastly, we test how long the phones last with 3D gaming.
The Galaxy A51 and the Galaxy A71 differ mostly by physical size, and naturally, the larger A71 has a bigger battery too. Here is the battery capacity on these two phones:
Galaxy A51: 4,000mAh
Galaxy A71: 4,500mAh
So basically, these are the same battery sizes as on the Galaxy S20 and S20 Plus, respectively. Here is how well the budget A series did on our battery life test.
Interestingly, in our web browsing battery test, the Galaxy A51 and the A71 lasted virtually the same time at about 11 hours and a half. That's a great score, but as you can see many affordable phones achieve the same results, and the Moto G8 Power (aka G Power in the USA) beats all records with a score of nearly 16 hours.
Great first showing for the mid-range Galaxy A series, but not quite top of the line.
PhoneArena YouTube Video Playback Battery Test Results
Samsung phones traditionally are among the best phones when it comes to YouTube video streaming battery life. The scores here differ significantly, though, and if you watch a lot of videos, you will definitely appreciate not just the larger screen of the Galaxy A71, but also it's much better battery life on this test. It scored 11 hours and 38 minutes of non-stop video playback, while the Galaxy A51 recorded a total of 8 hours and 35 minutes.
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In fact, the Galaxy A71 is not just excellent, it's among the longest lasting phones we have ever tested for YouTube video streaming. Great job, Samsung!
Finally, we have our 3D Gaming battery test. This is a super tough test and the results are extremely interesting: the A71 with its larger body is better able to dissipate the heat created when gaming and it scores an incredible 12 hours and 46 minutes for non-stop 3D gaming, while the Galaxy A51 can only muster about half as much with a score of 6 hours and 40 mintues. That's a huge difference, and it definitely shows the amazing work the Samsung team has done on the A71. It's a thin and lightweight phone, yet with a really long-lasting battery. Gamers, if you don't absolutely need the very best performance, you should definitely look into the Galaxy A71 if you just want to play for a long time off the charger.
Conclusion
And that wraps up our battery test for the Galaxy A51 and the Galaxy A71. You can check out our in-depth review of the smaller Galaxy A51 here, while the deep dive into the Galaxy A71 is available right here. One popular alternative you might be considering is the iPhone SE (2020). It's much faster than these two phones and has a better camera, but it's battery life is just not good. You can read more about the iPhone SE (2020) here. You can learn more about our battery test and see all the phones that we have tested here.
Victor, a seasoned mobile technology expert, has spent over a decade at PhoneArena, exploring the depths of mobile photography and reviewing hundreds of smartphones across Android and iOS ecosystems. His passion for technology, coupled with his extensive knowledge of smartphone cameras and battery life, has positioned him as a leading voice in the mobile tech industry.
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