phones
Ting tested: Samsung Galaxy A03s
mhobson • March 31, 2022
You can’t really argue with $159 $139 ($20 off in the Ting Shop) for a shiny new Samsung phone, can you? The Samsung Galaxy A03s is one of the brand’s most affordable phones but how well does it perform? I’ve taken it for a week-long test to find out.
Battery
With a big 5,000 mAh of power, battery life on the A03s certainly lived up to my expectations. I think battery life at this price range is super important, as functionality over form is key.
The A03s lasted all day before I needed to plug in and recharge. That’s important as there’s no fast charging capability unfortunately. That’ll be annoying for some folks I’m sure but if you usually juice up in the evening or overnight you’ll definitely get by.
Display
The Samsung Galaxy A03s comes with a 6.5″ HD+ LCD display that has 720 x 1600 resolution. At this price range (and please forgive me as I’ll probably say that phrase a lot), that really is a big, high definition display.
The screen is great for watching videos on YouTube with a clear picture and crisp colors. I didn’t get a chance to test out video calls but I’m sure that the edge-to-edge display will come in handy there too.
Camera
Even on this great value $159 ($20 off if you buy from Ting) device, Samsung has managed to squeeze in more than one lens, three on the rear and one on the front in fact. That’s the smartphone camera trend right now, I guess.
The 13 MP main shooter will keep casual photographers more than happy – great for all your general point and shoot needs. You’ll need to make sure that you have some good lighting conditions though, your pics will start to get a little grainy in low light. The A03s also includes a 2 MP Depth lens and a 2 MP Macro lens. These are ‘nice to haves’ but in this price range it’s a surprise that Samsung has decided to squeeze them in at all. At $159 ($139 in the Ting Shop right now) the main rear lens and the 5 MP selfie lens offer more than I’d expect, and the others are just a bonus.
Performance
With just 3 GB of RAM, the performance of the A03s won’t blow you away. It’s certainly enough to get by and it keeps up better than the 2 GB of RAM on the Samsung Galaxy A02s, making the extra $20 for this A03s a worthwhile investment in my eyes. I did feel some lag when flicking between different apps but I’m probably comparing it to higher end phones too closely here.
The phone also ships with one of the latest versions of the Android operating system: Android 11.
Build
I wasn’t surprised to discover a plastic body when unboxing the A03s. It doesn’t feel too luxurious but it gets the job done. Plus, with the 6.5” edge-to-edge display mentioned earlier, you might still be able to trick your friends into thinking this is a more premium phone than the price tag suggests.
The A03s also comes with a fingerprint sensor hidden under the display and face recognition via the selfie camera, making it a breeze to unlock the phone in a flash.
Final thoughts
The Samsung Galaxy A03s packs in some awesome essential features and is one of Samsung’s most affordables phones.
If you’re looking for a great value phone that will keep charge, take some decent photos and allow you to watch your favorite shows in high definition, this is the phone for you.
Anything else you’d like to know about the A03s, just drop us a line in the comments below.