Samsung Galaxy M31 Review - Android

Launched in the Philippines for Php13,990, the Galaxy M31 has a lot of value-oriented features that Samsung’s fancy Galaxy A series doesn’t have for the same price.

So here in our Samsung Galaxy M31 review, we’ll see if these features makes it a worthy device to own.

Samsung Galaxy M31 Specs

• Android 10, OneUI 2.0
• Dual SIM, Dual Standby
• 6.4-inch Full HD+ Super AMOLED Display, Corning Gorilla Glass 3
• Samsung Exynos 9611 2.3GHz octa-core processor
• Mali-G72 MP3 GPU
• 6GB RAM LPDDR4X
• 128GB onboard storage, expandable via microSD up to 512GB
• 64-megapixel main + 8-megapixel ultra-wide + 5-megapixel macro + 5-megapixel depth cameras
• 32-megapixel front-facing camera
• Fingerprint scanner, Face unlock
• HSPA+, 4G LTE
• WiFi, WiFi hotspot
• 3.5mm audio jack
• Bluetooth 5.0, FM Radio
• USB Type-C
• Dimensions: 159.2 x 75.1 x 8.9mm
• Weight: 191g
• Colors: Space Black, Ocean Blue
• 6,000mAh non-removable battery

Design and Build Quality

You can look at the design in two different ways. One, Samsung didn’t bother to spice up the design since it’s only a budget device. Or, you can see it as Samsung intentionally going with a simple and minimalistic look.

The look of the Galaxy M31 is similar to the Galaxy M20 from early 2019. It has a plastic back panel that’s available in Space Black and, the unit we have here, the Ocean Blue. The color options are a bit dark and muted and we wish there’s a lighter version.

With its shiny and glass-like surface, the Samsung Galaxy M31 is ludicrously a fingerprint magnet. Plus, the plastic material is really prone to hairline scratches over time. With that, we suggest you purchase a protective case, as it doesn’t come one in the box. No official IP rating either, but we expect it to withstand minor water splashes.

The moment you’d pick it up, you’d instantly notice how large it is. This thing is 8.9mm thick and weighs 191g. But, that’s understandable considering that we’re getting a large 6,000mAh battery out of it.

It may be a little heavy and thick, the curved corners still makes it really comfortable in the hands.

The overall build is pretty solid, no weird flexing or anything. This is probably due to the sturdy chassis on the inside, and the Corning Gorilla Glass 3 on the front. It’s quite disappointing that Samsung didn’t went with Gorilla Glass 5, just like most of its competition.The review unit we got also didn’t come with a pre-applied screen protector.

But nonetheless, the screen is a beauty to look at. The Samsung Galaxy M31 has a 6.4-inch Super AMOLED panel. It is large enough without adding extra bulk to the already thick device. It has ultra-thin bezels on top and sides, made possible by the slightly noticeable Infinity-U notch for the selfie camera. However, the chin bezel is relatively thick.

On the left side, we have the SIM tray that can house two nano SIM cards and a microSD card all at the same time.

While on the right, we have the lock/power switch below the volume controls. The physical buttons feel surprisingly rigid and tactile that’s really comfortable to press.

The top only have the noise-cancelling microphone. While on the bottom we have a USB Type-C (thankfully), a bottom-firing speaker, primary microphone, and the headphone jack.

On the back, we have the L-shaped quad-camera setup that’s similar to the Galaxy A71, only inverted. The fingerprint scanner is on the middle, while on the bottom we have the Samsung logo.

Overall, we’re pretty satisfied with the build of the Samsung Galaxy M31. Although it lacks any design flare, it feels sturdy and industrial enough to last.

Display and Sound Quality

Being one of the biggest OLED suppliers in the world, pretty much all Samsung midrange phones comes with a Super AMOLED screen. The Samsung Galaxy M31 also has it, with a 2340 x 1080 pixel resolution and ~402ppi. But unlike most AMOLED screens, this one has been stripped down with extras like HDR10 support.

However, it has the usual pros that AMOLEDs have. For one, it offers really vibrant colors and deep contrast. The color mode was set to Vivid out of the box, which really saturates the screen that may misrepresent colors. We suggest you go to the settings and set it to Natural mode.

Moreover, sharpness is really good, great for reading small texts. The screen brightness is also flexible enough for using it at sunnr outdoors, or browsing your feed at night. The OLED panel also enables its Always-On feature, which displays the time, date and notification even when the screen is off.

Unlike most phones, the Samsung Galaxy M31 didn’t came with a case on the box. However, unlike most phones, it did come with a pair of headset on the box. It’s not the best-sounding earphones around, but it’s better than nothing.

Hardware and Performance

The Samsung Galaxy M31 is powered by a 2.3GHz Exynos 9611 octa-core processor, the same processor found on the new Galaxy A51 and Galaxy M21. It’s bundled with a decent 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, expandable up to 512GB via a microSD card.

Mobile Legends Graphics Settings

In terms of numbers and benchmarks, Samsung’s Exynos 9611 fails to compete with those of Qualcomm, MediaTek, and Kirin. Still, as per hour testing, it provided a decent and reliable performance — from multitasking, social media browsing, taking pictures, and what not. Although, we did notice a couple of lagging here and there, which we rarely experienced on other devices.

Samsung Galaxy M31 Benchmark scores

Gaming was also satisfactory on the Galaxy M31. Titles like Call of Duty Mobile ran at playable frame rates at Medium settings, but still not the smoothest. On the other hand, Mobile Legends was playable smoothly with the High Frame Rate (HFR) mode enabled.

Software and User Interface

If there’s one thing that’s really great about the Samsung Galaxy M31, that’s the user interface. This device runs on Android 10 with Samsung’s One UI 2.0 interface on top.

Just like in our Galaxy A71 and other Samsung reviews, we’re impressed by how clean and straightforward this interface is. I really like the smooth transition when you swipe up/down the home screen to launch the app drawer. There’s a search tab on top so you can look up the app you want to use easily.

The notifications tab looks organized. On top of its is the control center, which you can expand by swiping further down, giving you more access to different settings.

You can enable the Dark Mode on the control center, or have it scheduled in the settings menu.

The Always On feature is also configurable in the settings. You can choose when it shows up, and customize what information it displays and the text color.

The Samsung Galaxy M31 also has a Game Launcher app. You can easily launch games from here, download new games, link your Discord account, and see your total play hours.

For customization, One UI has a dedicated Galaxy Themes store that offers wallpapers, icons, and Always-On screen designs. Oh, and for those who are worried, there are a couple of pre-installed apps, which you can uninstall easily. Out of the 128GB of storage, 108GB is usable.

23/07/2020 02:06 AM

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