phones
Samsung Galaxy A51 vs Galaxy S10: which is right for you?
Richard Howard • July 9, 2020
This summer, Ting Mobile is offering up a group of superhero phones called The Affordables—phones with flagship-like features that are a heck of a lot easier on the wallet than their more expensive counterparts. One of these phones that’s impressed the heck out of us is the Samsung Galaxy A51. With a huge HD screen and four-lens rear camera setup, its $399 sticker price is a pleasant surprise. But how does it stack up against its highly-touted (and almost twice as expensive) sibling the Galaxy S10? Let’s find out! Here we go: Samsung Galaxy A51 vs Samsung Galaxy S10.
The Comparison
It goes without saying that the A51 and the S10 are in different classes. However, one could argue that the gap between them in features and performance is less than the gap in price. Our own Ting staff member, no stranger to higher-end phones, took the A51 for a week-long test run and loved every minute. But here are the cold, hard facts. You can decide for yourself!
Camera
Until the S20 came along, the S10’s camera set was considered one of the best available on an Android phone. It sports a 12MP (megapixels: a million pixels) wide-angle camera, 16MP ultra-wide and a 12MP telephoto lens as well as a 10MP selfie camera. The A51, meanwhile, boasts a 48MP main camera, 12MP ultra-wide camera, 5MP macro camera and an additional 5MP lens that acts as a depth sensor.
As anyone familiar with digital cameras knows, megapixel counts aren’t everything. Without question, the S10 takes superior pictures regardless of the quoted MP counts on the A51. That being said, the A51 takes great snaps that will exceed what most average users upgrading from an older phone are used to. Thanks to the depth sensor lens, portrait mode photos are very good, and the macro camera is one of the better ones available. New updates coming to the phone are helping the A51 camera keep up with the S10 in terms of functionality, like the super-cool Single Take feature.
Check out the Galaxy A51 in the Ting Shop
Display
The super-high resolution 6.1” Quad HD+ Dynamic AMOLED display on the Galaxy S10 is nothing short of stunning, as you’d expect from a near-$800 phone. But without a doubt, the marginally larger 6.5” Full HD+ Super AMOLED on the A51 offers up excellent images far superior to most phones at its price point.
Performance
On this front, the gap between the two is far larger. User and industry reviews have found the A51’s performance to be, in a word, adequate. It’ll run the packaged Android 10 OS and its onboard apps just fine. However, if you’re a heavy multi-tasker or heavy gamer, you’re likely to see the phone become somewhat sluggish. The S10, meanwhile, is a beast. With twice the RAM and a far superior chipset, it’ll handle anything you throw at it. When it comes to Galaxy A51 vs Galaxy S10, this one’s pretty cut and dry. If you’re an advanced power user, the S10 is an excellent choice while the A51 simply isn’t for you.
Battery life
With normal usage, both phones will easily last you through the day. In automated tests by GSM Arena (Galaxy A51 | Galaxy S10), they had very similar talk time results (21+ hours), while the less power-intensive A51 lasted a couple of hours longer when it came to web browsing and video playback. They both offer decent fast-charging times, with the S10 topping up half an hour faster than the A51’s two hours and 15 minutes.
Protection Rating
Work on a construction site or live in the Vegas desert? Big fan of watersports and plan on using your camera to film your sick Sea-Doo tricks? You’re going to want to pick the S10 over the A51 thanks to the former’s IP68 dust and water protection rating.
Conclusion
So what’s the main takeaway from a Samsung Galaxy S10 vs Samsung Galaxy A51 comparison. Well, there’s the “duh” comment that the S10 is a better phone than the A51. Far more interesting, and to us, the true takeaway is that the A51 isn’t obliterated by a phone that’s twice as expensive. If you’re an average user that wants the ability to take pretty darn good pictures and videos of important moments while being able to browse comfortably and stream HD video at will, the Galaxy A51 is an excellent choice. For that user, we just don’t think the extra hundreds of dollars for an S10 is necessary. There are certainly those who will need the S10’s brawn. This includes those who need ultra-high quality photos or great night photography and/or a handset with tons of power to multitask and run power-hungry apps and games. Those users will find their new best friend in a phone like the Galaxy S10.
Get started on Ting with the Samsung Galaxy A51
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