Samsung announces mid-range Galaxy A51 and A71 handsets

CES 2020 is almost here, and Samsung is clearly sick of waiting. The South Korean firm has just announced two new Galaxy smartphones, the Samsung Galaxy A51 and Samsung Galaxy A71; both smartphones are members of the affordable Galaxy A series of handsets, and both will almost certainly be making an appearance in Las Vegas next week. 

In terms of dazzling new features, the Galaxy A51 and A71 have a couple. Both handsets have an unusual rectangular rear camera array that houses four sensors and a flash. This layout is unprecedented in that it includes a new Macro lens for super close-range shots, alongside the normal arrangement of standard, ultra-wide and depth lenses. 

In fact, it really is all about that rear camera. The Galaxy A71 has a 64-megapixel primary snapper, and the A51, a 48-megapixel one. That’s roughly twice the megapixel count in both cases of the Galaxy A50 and Galaxy A70 – the phones that these new handsets are replacing.

The Galaxy A71 is the larger of the two, with a 6.7in Full HD+ (1,080 x 2,400) Super AMOLED Plus display. The Galaxy A51 measures 6.5in, and has the same resolution and display type. Both handsets use Samsung’s Infinity-O display, which means they both have a small hole-punch that houses the selfie camera. That selfie camera is a very impressive 32-megapixel snapper, by the way.

Inside, you’ll find an unnamed octa-core processor (either Exynos or Snapdragon, presumably) alongside a maximum 128GB of storage and 8GB of RAM. Just like the flagship Galaxy S10/Note 10 handsets, the A51 and A71 both have in-display fingerprint sensors, but this isn’t overly exciting – their predecessors did too.

Keeping the lights on is a 4,500mAh (A71) or 4,000mAh (A51) battery with fast charging support. Both phones are available in Prism Crush Black, Silver, Blue and Pink. 

So far, we don’t know exactly when these handsets will launch, or indeed how much they will cost. At launch, their predecessors the A50 and A70 cost £309 and £329 respectively, which means that we’re looking at a pair of very competitively priced, high-spec mid-range handsets. Not bad at all.