Samsung Galaxy A15 5G Review: Budget-Friendly 5G Power

Samsung Galaxy A15 5G offers a brighter screen, longer battery life, better cameras, and reliable performance at an affordable price.

Riya Singh October 7, 2024

0 31 5 minutes read

Samsung is well-known for its premium flagship phones but they also have some good budget-friendly options. One of these is Samsung Galaxy A15 5G which is part of their affordable “A series.” Priced at around $200, this phone offers quite a lot for its cost. After using it for about two weeks, I found that it has some solid features considering its price. Display is clear, camera works decently, the battery life holds up well and software runs smoothly for the most part.

However, in 2024, it’s not uncommon for budget phones to handle basic tasks like multitasking and running apps without major issues. Unfortunately, Galaxy A15 5G, powered by a MediaTek processor, feels a bit sluggish. It’s slower compared to phones with more powerful chips. If you’re able to invest an extra $100 or $200, you’d likely get a better overall experience with a faster phone.

That being said, Galaxy A15 5G still stands out as one of best options in its $200 price range. If you’re on a strict budget, it’s a solid choice that balances affordability with decent performance.

Samsung Galaxy A15 Spcification

Category	Samsung Galaxy A15 5G
🖥 OS	Android 14, four years of updates
📱 Display	6.5-inch AMOLED, 90Hz refresh rate
🧠 Chipset	Mediatek Dimensity 6100+
🔧 RAM	4GB
💾 Storage	128GB
🔊 Audio	Speakers, 3.5mm headphone jack
🌐 Connectivity	Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, NFC
🔒 Security	Fingerprint sensor
🚫 Protection	No IP rating
🔋 Battery	5,000 mAh
📏 Dimensions	6.32 inches x 3.02 inches x 0.33 inches
⚖ Weight	197 grams
🎨 Color	Blue Black, Light Blue
📷 Rear cameras	50MP main camera, 5MP ultrawide, 2MP macro
🤳 Selfie camera	13MP wide camera

Samsung Galaxy A15 5G Design

Samsung Galaxy A15 is mainly made of plastic, giving it a sturdy feel, though it doesn’t have the premium polish of more expensive Galaxy models. It’s similar in size and shape to Galaxy S23 FE and Galaxy S24+, with rounded corners and flat sides. Front of the phone is protected by Dragontrail Pro glass, while the back and frame are plastic. Front glass is slightly raised, and the plastic back is a bit inset.

Unlike higher-end phones, A15 doesn’t have an IP rating, so it’s not protected against water or dust. Some budget phones like Moto G Play, have better splash protection. Volume rocker and power button are housed in a small bump Samsung calls the Key Island. Power button which doubles as a fingerprint sensor, is a bit recessed, making it harder to press at first. Over time, it becomes easier to use the sensor accurately.

Left side has a combined SIM and microSD card tray, and the bottom includes a 3.5mm headphone jack, USB-C port, and a speaker. It’s nice to see a headphone jack and microSD slot, as these are disappearing from more expensive phones. Back of A15 features three cameras in a vertical row with no bump and front has a selfie camera in a small U-shaped notch at the top of the screen.

Galaxy A15 comes in two colors: Blue Black and Light Blue. I tested the Blue Black model.

Samsung Galaxy A15 5G Performance

Samsung Galaxy A15 5G comes with a MediaTek 6835 chip, 128GB of storage and 4GB of RAM. You can also add a microSD card for up to 1TB of extra storage. This is a nice upgrade from A14, which only had 64GB of space.

For a $200 phone, A15 performs well with daily tasks like checking emails, browsing the web and playing videos. However, it can feel bit slow when switching between apps.

In benchmark tests, A15 scored 704 (single-core) and 1,855 (multi-core) in Geekbench 6 which measures computing power. This is close to TCL 40 X but much lower than more expensive phones like the Galaxy S23 FE and S24.

For general tasks, A15 scored 8,734 in the PCMark Work 3.0 test, beating Galaxy A14 and TCL 40 X. However, OnePlus Nord N30 performed better with score of 10,245.

When testing graphics, A15 managed 8.6 frames per second (fps) in GFXBench Aztec Ruins test which shows how well it handles games. TCL 40 X scored lower, while pricier phones like Galaxy S23 FE and S24 performed much better.

In real-world use, A15 can play games like Genshin Impact smoothly on default settings. However, raising the graphics or frame rate will cause lag. Simpler games like Mario Kart Tour and Alto’s Odyssey run well, but heavy action may cause some slowdown in Mario Kart.

Galaxy A15 offers solid performance for the price, but it’s not as fast as more expensive phones.

Samsung Galaxy A15 Battery

Samsung Galaxy A15 5G has much better battery life than the A14. In tests where I streamed HD video over Wi-Fi with the screen on full brightness, the A15 lasted 14 hours and 3 minutes, compared to the A14’s 9 hours and 40 minutes. The TCL 40 X lasted 11 hours and 13 minutes, and the Nord N30 lasted 11 hours and 18 minutes. All these phones have 5,000mAh batteries.

The A15 doesn’t support wireless charging, but it does have 25W wired charging, which is faster than the A14’s 15W. It took about 90 minutes to charge the phone from 0% to 100% with a 25W charger. After 15 minutes of charging, the battery reached 28%, and after 30 minutes, it was at 49%. Keep in mind that Samsung doesn’t include a charging brick, so you’ll need to use your own.

Samsung Galaxy A15 Average Connectivity and Call Quality

Samsung Galaxy A15 5G offers decent connectivity and call quality. It works with major carriers like AT&T, T-Mobile, UScellular and Verizon and supports C-band 5G, which is widely available. However, it doesn’t support the faster mmWave 5G or eSIM, so you’ll need a physical SIM card. In New York City, the A15 reached peak download speeds of 397Mbps and upload speeds of 72.4Mbps on AT&T’s 5G network. While these speeds are decent, they are slightly lower than those of more expensive phones like the Motorola Edge.

Phone has Wi-Fi 5 and when connected to a Wi-Fi 6 access point, it hit download speeds of 412Mbps. Even when moved further away, it maintained solid speeds. Call quality was okay but background noise filtering could be better. Earpiece speaker is loud enough for most situations but the speakerphone can be hard to hear in noisy places.

Phone has single down-firing speaker which is loud but lacks bass, so for better audio quality, it’s best to use Bluetooth or wired headphones. A15 also supports Bluetooth 5.3 and has NFC for mobile payments.

Samsung Galaxy A15 5G Camera

A15 comes with a 50MP main camera, a 5MP ultra-wide camera and 2MP macro camera. Main camera produces sharp images, though colors are a bit oversaturated, and lens flare can be noticeable in some shots. The ultra-wide camera also has boosted colors but details can appear blurry and there’s noticeable distortion at the edges. The macro camera struggles without bright lighting, leading to grainy images.

The 13MP front camera takes good selfies with lots of detail, but it also tends to oversaturate colors. Portrait mode is a bit aggressive, making it hard to capture fine details like hair.

Phone records video in 1080p at 30fps but since it lacks optical image stabilization, videos can look shaky. However, video quality is still good for phone in this price range.

Samsung Galaxy A15 5G Software

A15 runs Android 14 with Samsung’s One UI 6.0. It has features like Edge Panels for quick access to apps and Multi Control, which lets you control other Galaxy devices from phone. Samsung promises four years of OS upgrades and five years of security updates, making it a great choice for long-term use.

Conclusion

Galaxy A15 5G is a solid upgrade over A14. It offers more storage, a brighter screen, longer battery life and reliable performance for everyday tasks. With its long software support and solid features, A15 is a great budget-friendly phone, making it new Editors’ Choice for low-cost Android devices.