Samsung Galaxy A16 5G.
Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit
Samsung's 2023-series Galaxy A15 was a good mid-range phone. It featured a nice display, reliable chipset and a decent camera. Now, the company has released its successor Galaxy A16 5G with good upgrades in terms of a bigger display, longer Android OS software support, and faster and more efficient MediaTek Dimensity 6300+ octa-core chipset.
It is available in two configurations -- 8GB RAM + 128GB storage and 8GB RAM + 256GB storage-- with prices starting Rs 18,999.
I used the Galaxy A16 5G for a little over a week and here are my thoughts on Samsung's latest phone.
Design, build quality and display
Samsung's new Galaxy A16 retains most of the design elements of the predecessor but comes with a bigger display. It features smooth flat rails around the edges with curved corners. It offers a good grip for the fingers to hold onto the device firmly.
On the back, the rear-side panel is made of sturdy polycarbonate material. It has a glossy finish and thanks to the light colour scheme, it does a fine job hiding the sweating fingerprint smudges. Only when looking from a certain angle closely, one notices dust on the panel.
Samsung Galaxy A16 5G.
Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit
It also features vertically aligned three-camera islands with LED flash at the top. At the base, you find the Samsung brand engraving.
Our review unit is a light green colour variant. The company also offers the device two other options-- blue black (dual-tone) and gold.
On the right side, there are volume rockers and a power button, which also houses a fingerprint sensor to unlock the phone. At the left side, there is a hybrid SIM tray. It first slot can accommodate one nano SIM and in the second slot, the user has to decide on whether to use it for a second SIM or microSD for additional storage.
At the top, there is one microphone and at the bottom, you will find a single-grille speaker, a type-c port and a microphone.
Samsung Galaxy A16 5G.
Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit
The device also features an IP55 dust-and-water rating, meaning the device can survive accidental water splashes and even moderate rains for a few minutes.
The device sports a 6.78-inch full HD+ (1080×2340p) super AMOLED display. It supports a 90Hz refresh rate, which makes scrolling on the screen smoother not just while playing games but also while browsing the web.
The display with brightness put to the max is great for watching movies and TV series outdoors.
Samsung Galaxy A16 5G.
Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit
Inside, you can turn on auto brightness to consume multimedia content or read news on the web or e-book for long hours without any issue of strain to the eyes.
The side-mounted fingerprint sensor works smoothly with less false rejection rate. This is much better than those in-display sensors available on other phones in the market.
Performance
Inside, Galaxy A16 houses a 6nm class MediaTek Dimensity 6300 octa-core processor with Arm Mali-G57 MC2 GPU, 8GB RAM and 128GB / 256GB storage (expandable).
The device works smoothly without any pressing issues to complain about. It can also handle popular battle royale games, racing titles and more.
The device runs Android 14-based OneUI 6.0 OS. The UI is simple and easy to get the hang of it in a day or two, but comes with a lot of pre-loaded third-party apps.
Samsung Galaxy A16 5G.
Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit
Thankfully, the base model comes with 128GB storage and there is an option to increase up to 1.5TB extra via microSD card.
As far as battery life is concerned, it can easily last a whole day under normal usage. Even if you are fully dependent on the cellular network, it can deliver a full day.
But, if you are streaming multimedia content on OTT and watching too many reels/shorts on Instagram/YouTube for several hours via cellular data, the device can last till evening.
With a 25W charger, it can charge from zero to 100 per cent in less than two hours.
Samsung Galaxy A16's camera sample.
Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit
Photography
It also houses a triple-camera module -- main 50MP( with f/1.8 aperture, autofocus) with 5MP ( f/2.2) ultra-wide sensor and 2MP (f/2.2) macro camera with LED flash on the back.
Samsung Galaxy A16's camera sample.
Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit
For its price range, the Galaxy A16 5G takes really good photos in the sunlight. Like all the Galaxy A series phones, the native camera app makes the subject more vibrant, particularly the colourful flowers. They look way better than they look in our eyes.
Samsung Galaxy A16's camera sample.
Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit
The device also supports ultra-wide angle. As you can see in the sample shot, the phone managed to cover the entire mega structure of Yashobhoomi Convention Centre within the frame.
Samsung Galaxy A16's camera sample with ultra-wide angle mode on.
Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit
Samsung Galaxy A16's camera sample with normal 1X mode.
Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit
It also supports 2X optical zoom with loss-less quality photos. It can digitally zoom up to 10X.
Samsung Galaxy A16's camera sample with 2X zoom.
Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit
With portrait mode, the Galaxy A16 takes decent photos with a sharp focus on the face and ensure the background is blurred to deliver a bokeh effect.
Samsung Galaxy A16's camera sample with portrait mode on.
Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit
However, at night, the phone's camera loses speed in terms of autofocus. One should have a steady hand and some patience to get a decent photo.
Samsung Galaxy A16's camera sample captured at night.
Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit
Samsung Galaxy A16's camera sample with night mode on.
Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit
On the front, it features a 13MP (f/2.0). The devices in three colours-- blue black, gold and light green.
Samsung Galaxy A16's camera sample.
Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit
It takes decent selfies in the sunlight. And, the app also offers a number of tools and superficial filters such as skin smoothening, adjusting skin colour tone, jawline and even eye size to make the face photogenic, which can be used for DP on social media platforms.
Samsung Galaxy A16's camera sample.
Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit
As far as video recording is concerned, the quality is good and stable, on par with any phone under Rs 20,000 segment.
Samsung Galaxy A16's camera sample.
Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit
Final thoughts
Though it costs less than Rs 20,000, Samsung has not made any compromise in terms of the build quality of the Galaxy A16.
The big display is impressive, and tailor-made for multimedia consumption. Even the camera is decent; takes good pictures in almost all light conditions.
Samsung Galaxy A16 5G.
Credit: DH Photo/KVN Rohit
And, with six Android OS update guarantee, the device can serve the customer with new features every year for up to 2029.
It will be available in two configurations -- 8GB RAM + 128GB storage and 8GB RAM + 256GB storage-- for Rs 18,999 and Rs 21,999, respectively.
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