Samsung's latest M-series phone is the new Galaxy M40, and with its large screen and a fast chipset, it can be the next smartphone in your pocket.
Let's dig in to explore all the features it offers so that you can decide if this is the phone for you:
We received the midnight blue colour device to review. Despite the plastic build, it has a premium feel that is enhanced by the glossy finish.
The back attracts fingerprints and scratches easily, So, you will probably need a back cover to protect your phone from unwanted marks.
The phone is lightweight and that makes it easy for single-handed use.
Display: We absolutely loved the Infinity O screen, though Samsung has replaced the AMOLED screen found on its predecessor with an LCD screen. The thin bezels give you a good media viewing experience and gaming also becomes better thanks to the larger screen. The viewing angles are good and full HD content can be enjoyed on the device.
Performance: With this phone, we are getting 6 GB RAM, 128 GB storage and a highly-efficient Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 chipset. The phone is quick and multiple apps run smoothly in the background.
The gaming experience is good given the fast chipset and a 6.3" screen. But, it is not the most ideal phone for gaming as the phone starts heating up within the first 15-20 minutes of gaming. But the heat is not unbearable and you can easily get 40 minutes to an hour of smooth gaming on large apps like PUBG Mobile and Asphalt Legends 9.
Audio: Even with Dolby Atmos speaker at the bottom of the phone, the sound quality isn’t as loud as we expected it to be. Earphones are a necessity for media viewing.
Also, a big drawback of this phone is that it does not support the 3.5 mm audio jack. The phone comes with c-type earphones, which are fairly good.
The screen sound technology, which has been introduced for the first time on Samsung Galaxy phones, is magnificent. While taking a call, the whole screen turns into a speaker.
The removal of the earpiece from the top of the phone adds to the larger screen space.
The quality of the call is good but we had a lot of issues with the audio recording mic while on the call or in sending voice notes via WhatsApp.
Security: Both face unlock and the fingerprint scanner can be used for unlocking the phone. The sensors are effective but a tad slow.
Battery: With a 3500 mAh battery, it doesn't go on and on like the M30, which boxed the 5000 mAh battery. But for regular usage, the battery is adequate and can last a day. It comes with a 15 W fast charger that takes a little more than an hour to go from zero to full charge.
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Camera: We have a triple rear camera set up and a 16-megapixel hole-punch front camera. The cameras lack Optical Image Stabilization.
Primary camera: It has a 32-megapixel lens with an f/1.7 aperture that takes decent images in well-lit places but in low-light, the images aren't sharp and come out a bit hazy.
Wide-Angle lens: It has an 8-megapixel lens with an f/2.2 aperture to take wide-angle photos. It gives a different perspective to the images but there is no auto-focus for this lens.
The third lens is a 5-megapixel depth sensor. The live focus in the portrait mode works well and yields magnificent photos.
Video: The phone can shoot videos in 4K at 30 fps and it also has Slow-mo, Super Slow-mo and Hyperlapse mode to give you creative options.
Front Camera: It is a 16-megapixel hole-punch type camera, which was earlier found on the S10 series alone. But the photos aren't sharp and the beauty mode is on by default. This doesn't give the images a realistic feel.
The camera is decent but it's not the best in the sub-Rs 20000 category.
Pros:
-Large bright screen
-Fast chipset
-Latest Software
-Excellent performance
-Good battery Life
Cons:
-No AMOLED display
-Mediocre speaker
-No 3.5mm slot
-Hybrid Sim Tray
Samsung Galaxy M40 specifications
-Snapdragon 675 Octa-Core Processor
-6.3" Full HD Infinity-O Display
-6GB RAM/ 128 GB Internal Memory
-Dual Nano Sim (Hybrid Micro SDCard Slot)
-Rear Triple Camera: Primary- 32 MP (f1.7)+ 5MP (depth camera)+ 8MP (Wide-Angle lens)
-Hole Punch Front Camera: 16 MP(f2.0)
-3500 mAh Battery (15W Fast Charging)
-Android Pie/ One UI
-Hybrid sim slot
-Fingerprint Scanner/Face Unlock
Verdict:
For an asking price of Rs 19990, this isn't the best phone out there. There are plenty of other phones from other brands that offer the same and much more for the same price. But if you are a Samsung enthusiast, then you can go for the all-new M40 as it comes with a lot of new and cool features.