Friends+Design
- Gorgeous design, with a polycarbonate back panel that has a stunning prism light effect
- The back is well rounded around the sides to make handling easier, and blends in with the curved glass on the front seamlessly
- Has a good grip
- The handling is also made easy by the excellent weight distribution of the phone which makes it seem a lot lighter than it is
- This is a large phone though (one of the largest mainstream phones currently available), so one-handed use is pretty much out of the question - people with small hands would also want to look at other options
- The glossy plastic back is of course a smudge magnet, and will also pick up scratches easily (the lack of a bundled case makes it worse)
- Very iffy in-display fingerprint sensor - the Galaxy A70 needs you to be very precise about the way you position your finger, how much pressure you apply and how long you press and hold - making it less than a pleasure to use
- Face unlock is on the slow side too, with a second or two between it getting to see a face and unlocking
Display
- Absolutely gorgeous, 6.7-inch Super AMOLED display, with a tiny water drop notch and a near bezel-less design - you get very vibrant colours and perfect inky blacks, as well as good sunlight legibility
- Video viewing and gaming experience on the giant display is an absolute delight - as far as media consumption goes, this is simply one of the best phones out there, period
Software
- Running the Galaxy A70 is Samsung's new OneUI - which, as far as Android UIs go, is one of the most refined, well thought-out experiences
- There are many useful add-ons on board - like gesture navigation, and a great 'dark' mode
- Samsung Pay makes the cut too, making this the cheapest phone to sport the full version of the payments app, which will be especially useful if your usage usually relies largely on card payments
Performance
- Very good performance backed by the powerful Snapdragon 675 SoC, 6 GB of RAM, and super fast UFS storage - everything from daily use to complex games like PUBG is smooth as butter (add that to the ridiculously wide display, and all gamers are in for a treat)
Camera
- Decent triple-camera setup on the back with a primary 32-megapixel f/1.7 sensor, a secondary ultrawide 8-megapixel shooter and a third 5-megapixel depth sensor - images come out nice with true to life colors
- The ultra-wide sensor provides some extra shot framing options
- Decent video recording performance with good detail levels, including some impressive slow-mo video recording
- Very good front camera - the 32-megapixel sensor does a great job at bringing out the detail in facial features and hair
- Low light performance of the rear camera setup is average
- Details and dynamic range on the rear camera setup could also be a bit better
- The lack of a dedicated night mode and stabilisation might also prove to be red flags for photography enthusiasts
- Overall, for the price bracket, the camera package on the Galaxy A70 is decent, but not the best - you will find better camera phones in the competition
Audio
- The bundled in-ear earphones, when paired with Dolby Atmos, makes for a pretty good audio experience
- The loudspeaker is decent (though not exceptional)
Battery
- Very good battery life with a large 4500 mAh battery - it will comfortably last you a day and more, even with that large display
- There is also fast charging on-board, with the included 25W charger getting you up to around 70% in an hour
Verdict
- If you are looking for the best media consumption device for your money, the Galaxy A70 is a pretty good option - the large, beautiful Super AMOLED display + the big battery + Dolby Atmos support - make for an excellent combo
- On the other hand, the competition is pretty tough - the POCO F1 will provide you better performance and cameras at a cheaper price (at the cost of a boring design, and non-AMOLED display), the Nokia 8.1 will give you better cameras + stock Android goodness + faster updates, and the Vivo V15 Pro/Oppo F11 Pro will give you better cameras + 'true full screen' pop-up selfie designs
- Additionally all of these competing phones will also have much more manageable sizes
