Samsung's Galaxy A series has had a complete overhaul with a number of new devices announced, including the Galaxy A80 and its rotating camera, as well as the more subtle, but powerful Galaxy A70.

The Galaxy A70 might not have all the bells and whistles offered by the A80, but it does offer a huge display, huge battery and some colourful finish options. Here are our first impressions. 

Samsung Galaxy A70 128GB

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Our quick take

The Samsung Galaxy A70 isn't the model that immediately catches your eye from the latest Galaxy A series, but that's not to say it should be ignored. 

It doesn't push as many design boundaries as the Galaxy A80 but it does offer a premium, slim design, a huge battery capacity, microSD and a massive display.

We're also expecting it to be quite a bit cheaper than the A80 so don't take your eye off this one just yet. We will bring you our full review soon.

Samsung Galaxy A70 initial

FORAGAINST
  • Huge display
  • big battery
  • slim design
  • microSD
  • Not as exciting as A80
  • price not announced yet

Samsung Galaxy A70 128GB

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Colourful, solid design

  • 164.3 x 76.7 x 7.9mm
  • Metal and glass
  • Coral, Blue, White, Black

The Samsung Galaxy A70 features a metal frame and a glass front and rear - a typical design choice from Samsung in recent years. 

Solid in the hand, the device features curved edges on the back and a flat display on the front but despite its mid-range status, it still feels like a premium device and it's nice and slim too - slimmer than the A80 sliding device.

Samsung Galaxy A70 initial review product images image 17

There is a triple camera on the rear, situated in the top left corner with a flash below, while on the front, there's a tear-drop display, offering a full screen experience with only a small interruption in the centre at the top.

The Galaxy A70 also has an under-display fingerprint sensor for a more seamless design overall and it comes in four colours including Blue and Coral, which are more striking than the Black and White alternatives.

Tear-drop display

  • 6.7-inch, Full HD+
  • Super AMOLED
  • Infinity-U Display

The Samsung Galaxy A70 has a large 6.7-inch display, which is the same size as the more premium Galaxy A80, as well as the flagship Galaxy S10 5G. Unlike the A80 though, the A70 has a small tear-drop notch in the centre of the display for the front camera, which Samsung calls an Infinity U Display.

The small tear-drop notch is barely noticeable though, even if it isn't quite the uninterrupted experience of the A80, but you still get a huge Super AMOLED screen with bright and punchy colours.

Samsung Galaxy A70 initial review product images image 9

Like the Galaxy A80, the Galaxy A70 has flat display, which we mentioned above, with a Full HD+ resolution. This means the A70 packs in a few less pixels per inch compared to the Galaxy S10 range, but it might not be something that bothers you unless you enjoy watching 2K+ content on your phone.

We couldn't test the A70's display fully during our brief amount of time with it but we will be looking closer at it when we get it in for full review.

Triple rear camera 

  • Triple rear (32MP+8MP+5MP)
  • Single front (32MP)

The Samsung Galaxy A70 comes with a triple rear camera, which is made up of a 32-megapixel main camera with an f/1.7 aperture, an 8-megapixel ultra wide camera with an f/2.2 aperture and a 5-megapixel depth camera with an f/2.2 aperture. 

Unlike the Galaxy A80, there is a separate front camera on the A70 so no clever rotating camera on this device. The front camera is a 32-megapixel sensor with an f/2.0 aperture.

Samsung Galaxy A70 initial review product images image 13

We weren't able to test the camera functionality of the A70 during our time with it but we will of course do this during our full review. There's some serious competition in the smartphone camera field at the moment so it will be interesting to see how this device fares.

In terms of features, the depth lens allows you to adjust the depth of field to focus before and after a shot, and the Scene Optimiser and Flaw Detection modes found on Samsung's flagship models are on board too.

Hardware and software

  • Octa-core processor
  • 6GB/8GB RAM
  • 128GB internal storage + microSD
  • 4500mAh battery

As with the Samsung Galaxy A80, Samsung hasn't specified which processor the A70 runs on, though there are two models, one with 6GB of RAM and the other with 8GB of RAM. Both have 128GB of storage and microSD expansion up to 512GB - something the A80 misses off its list.

The battery capacity sits at a huge 4500mAh, which should easily see you through a day and then some, though we haven't been able to test that as yet. There is also Super Fast Charging on board but Samsung didn't mention wireless charging.

Samsung Galaxy A70 initial review product images image 11

In terms of software, the Galaxy A70 runs on Android Pie with Samsung's One UI over the top, delivering a similar experience to the A80 and the flagship Galaxy S10. There will be some features missing compared to the flagship range but you can read our S10 tips and tricks for an idea of what to expect from the A70.

Samsung Galaxy A70 128GB

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To recap

The Samsung Galaxy A70 isn't the model that immediately catches your eye from the latest Galaxy A series, but that's not to say it should be ignored. It doesn't push as many design boundaries as the Galaxy A80 but it does offer a premium, slim design, a huge battery capacity, microSD and a massive display.