Can't decide whether to buy Samsung A71 vs iPhone SE

[iHorseHead]

Hey!
I don't know if it's the right place to ask, but I can't decide whether I should buy Samsung Galaxy A71 or iPhone SE.
I've been watching comparison videos and I can't understand which phone has a better camera. iPhone SE has wireless charging and is waterproof and "Hey Siri" works on it, which is cool when you're taking a shower and want to change the song. However, the battery seems to be quite bad.
Which one would you buy?

 

[AustinIllini]

At this point, it's just a matter of personal taste.

I'd buy the Mini but that's just my taste.

 

[iHorseHead]

At this point, it's just a matter of personal taste.

I'd buy the Mini but that's just my taste.

Mini is a lot more expensive. Samsung is $540, SE 2020 is $560 and mini is $968

 

[AustinIllini]

Mini is a lot more expensive. Samsung is $540, SE 2020 is $560 and mini is $968

Doesn't change the fact that it's a matter of personal taste anymore.

 

[ian87w]

Imo both phones attract different people.

A71: large screen, modern edge to edge looking, OLED screen, ultra wide angle camera, great battery life, SD card slot, but no IP rating. Some people might feel it's too tall/large.

SE: old school bezels, LCD, poorer battery life, only single lens camera, but IP rated and runs iOS and better chipset. It will definitely be supported longer than the A71.

Disclosure: I own an A71. In my country, the base 64GB iPhone SE is more expensive than 128GB A71. They're not even in the same ballpark. The iPhone SE is competing closer to the S20 FE price wise.

 

[iHorseHead]

Imo both phones attract different people.

A71: large screen, modern edge to edge looking, OLED screen, ultra wide angle camera, great battery life, SD card slot, but no IP rating. Some people might feel it's too tall/large.

SE: old school bezels, LCD, poorer battery life, only single lens camera, but IP rated and runs iOS and better chipset. It will definitely be supported longer than the A71.

Disclosure: I own an A71. In my country, the base 64GB iPhone SE is more expensive than 128GB A71. They're not even in the same ballpark. The iPhone SE is competing closer to the S20 FE price wise.

A71 will be supported for 3 major Android releases and then it will receive security updates. It will be supported for 3-4 years.
Would you say that A71 has better camera than SE?

 

[ian87w]

A71 will be supported for 3 major Android releases and then it will receive security updates. It will be supported for 3-4 years.
Would you say that A71 has better camera than SE?

The OS update promise from Samsung is a bit iffy. The A71 is relegated to quarterly security updates. Mine is still on October 2020 security patch. A leak suggests update to Android 11/OneUI 3 won't happen until May 2021. I'm kinda annoyed myself.

Meanwhile, the SE will get 5 years of iOS updates at the least, and it will be updated at the same time as other iphones.

As for camera, I only have my iPhone 7 Plus as comparison. The A71 takes decent pictures, but it's not as fast. Eg. An HDR image won't display in real-time, and it takes a second or so after you took the photo for the phone to show the HDR result. Iphones, otoh, have a snappier camera.

 

[The_Interloper]

You couldn't be choosing between two more different devices.

If camera is your priority, get the SE. I've had both and never got a truly decent picture with the A71, even using GCam. It feels a bit like a phone camera from 4-5 years ago. There seems to be a "softness" to the edges of photos; it really shows up in text where edges are quite fuzzy or even blurry. Low light performance is particularly poor; night shots are lousy.

The ultrawide is OK, nothing more, and the macro lens is useless. For video the SE is miles better.

TBH, you would be better off pitching the Pixel 4a against the SE. They are more closely matched devices.

 

[iHorseHead]

You couldn't be choosing between two more different devices.

If camera is your priority, get the SE. I've had both and never got a truly decent picture with the A71, even using GCam. It feels a bit like a phone camera from 4-5 years ago. There seems to be a "softness" to the edges of photos; it really shows up in text where edges are quite fuzzy or even blurry. Low light performance is particularly poor; night shots are lousy.

The ultrawide is OK, nothing more, and the macro lens is useless. For video the SE is miles better.

TBH, you would be better off pitching the Pixel 4a against the SE. They are more closely matched devices.

Thank you for your reply. They don't sell Pixel 4A in my country and the ones that I found are like 1000€, no joke and on the comments there were complaints about the slow delivery etc.

Well, yes, camera and battery.

 

[The_Interloper]

Thank you for your reply. They don't sell Pixel 4A in my country and the ones that I found are like 1000€, no joke and on the comments there were complaints about the slow delivery etc.

Well, yes, camera and battery.

Fair enough. I'd go for the SE then for the camera. The A71 is far better for screen (though some may find it too big) and battery. It's a tricky balance - each has its pros and cons.

SE - good camera (great for video), OK screen, mediocre battery, wireless charging, dust/water resistance, dated design, excellent Touch ID, Lightning, no fast charger included, no headphone jack.

A71 - mediocre camera, excellent screen, excellent battery, no wireless charging, no dust/water resistance, modern design, mediocre in-screen fingerprint scanner, USB-C, fast charger included, headphone jack.

Both are good value for very different reasons.

 

[Burebista]

Bear in mind that by today’s standards iPhone SE camera can only be called “good” in good lighting conditions. If you’re outside and the sun is shining the photos will come out excellent because of Apple’s color science and smart hdr.

However, the quality will immediately fall off the cliff if the lighting is less than perfect. Say it’s an overcast day. Or you’re indoors and it’s dim, artificial or mixed lighting. To say nothing about night because it doesn’t have a night mode.

If camera is one of your priorities I wouldn’t go with the SE. Don’t know about A71 (I probably wouldn’t go for it either for photos) but anything from Pixel 2 and up will give you far better results. Plus they’re really cheap.

 

[The Game 161]

well if photos is your main thing at a low price then pixel 4a all day long...

 

[hendrilei]

Yeah, these 2 phones can’t be compared.

Can you accept smaller large bezel screen ? This alone, is one of the usual main factor for consideration, unless you prefer compact phone. Otherwise, thick bezel can be quite annoying for some people. It gives an out of date vibe or maybe “classic” ?

If you like “flashy” phone (screen, camera, storage) 2-3 years max usage, imho, samsung will be a better choice

If you are looking for a good longevity phone (with, for some people, screen and battery capacity as its shortcoming, camera - debatable; for eye catching picture samsung will be better, for quality freak - some insist iphone has more “real” quality), iphone might be a choice. Ios has a very good support for 5-6 years, stable and very few case of laggy issue. Built quality surely is better compare to samsung a71. But don’t forget to consider which ecosystem you are into. Sometimes people forget to consider this. Though recently apple seems to be more adaptable, but still not as open as android devices

 

[The_Interloper]

OP mentioned the Pixel 4a is no-go in his country. Maybe the better option would be to look around for a deal on the S20 FE. That has flagship-level cameras, an excellent SOC, wireless charging and water/dust resistance; it's a significant step up from the A71.

 

[hendrilei]

OP mentioned the Pixel 4a is no-go in his country. Maybe the better option would be to look around for a deal on the S20 FE. That has flagship-level cameras, an excellent SOC, wireless charging and water/dust resistance; it's a significant step up from the A71.

Price have to be a concerned as well