Friends+Design
- The M40 is the first mid-range phone from Samsung with an Infinity O display (till now it was only available with the Galaxy S10 series) - the front camera is under the display in the hole punch on the top left of the screen which helps achieve a near bezel-less display - the phone is definitely a head-turner
- The body is polycarbonate (though it feels glass-like) has a very premium look and a slight gradient effect
- Polycarbonate body also means that the phone is pretty light-weight
- The middle camera sensor at the back has a silver ring around it, which stands out very subtly
- Both fingerprint unlock (the fingerprint sensor is on the back), and the face unlock, while decent, aren't the fastest
Display
- Large, bright display - you get good viewing angles and sharpness
- It's not AMOLED though, so purely quality wise, the display is not quite as vibrant and punchy as the Galaxy M30
Software
- Samsung's new One UI is one of the most clean, and refined implementations of Android at present, and is quite smooth in day-to-day use - so on the software front, Samsung scores a big point
Performance
- Solid performance with the powerful Snapdragon 675 processor (same as Xiaomi Redmi Note 7 Pro) - everything from day-to-day performance, to games, is smooth
- Tends to warm up a little bit, during heavy gaming
Camera
- Decent set of triple rear cameras (standard + ultra-wide + depth)
- Image quality is reasonably good in well-lit environments
- Portrait shots came out really well with the subject well defined and the background blurred
- The 16MP front camera also does a decent job of taking pictures in daylight - the photos look sharp with enough details and colours are close to natural
- Overall, the camera performance isn’t the strongest in its price range, but fairly good overall
- Low light performance from both the rear and front cameras is pretty average though
Audio
- A stand out feature is the On Screen sound technology where the display doubles up as a speaker (it works well)
- There is no 3.5-mm headset jack, which could be an issue for some users (USB-C headphones are bundled though)
Battery
- Good battery life with a 3500mAh battery - you can expect it to comfortably last the day - though of course it's not quite as brilliant as the 5000mAH batteries on the Galaxy M30 and M20
Verdict
- Samsung continues it's smart comeback into the mid-range with another good addition to the M-series - the M40 is a good alternative to consider in this price bracket, for people who want to prioritise a stylish cutting-edge design, and a 'notch-less' screen
- There is some pretty good competition though, make no mistake - there is Samsung's own Galaxy M30 (cheaper, better display, better battery, headphone jack, although it has a slightly inferior processor, and not the cutting edge 'punch-hole' design), the Poco F1 (flagship Snapdragon 845, headphone jack, though it doesn't have a very modern design), and the Redmi Note 7 Pro (cheaper, better battery, headphone jack, though MIUI is not as simple/refined as the One UI) - all of which are excellent value themselves, so what you chose will depend on what you value
