Latest Galaxy A40 news
Introduction
When Samsung launched the Galaxy A10, A30, and A50, it left many wondering where are the Galaxy A20 and A40. A few weeks later, the company announced the A20 in Russia, followed by the launch of the Galaxy A40 in Europe.
While the Galaxy A20 borrows features from the A10 and A30, the Galaxy A40 is a bit different and is not necessarily better than the A30, contrary to the model number. This probably explains why the Galaxy A40 was not launched alongside the A30 in India. It also indicates that Samsung may not launch the A40 in markets where the A30 will be available and vice versa.
Design
Just like all the new A series models, the Galaxy A40 is made out of glossy plastic that bears some resemblance to glass, due to which Samsung calls it as Glasstic in its marketing materials. Because of its smaller display, the A40 has a smaller footprint than all the new A series devices announced so far. It measures 144.3 x 69.1 x 7.9 mm and should weigh less than its neighbors in the lineup.
The front is occupied by an Infinity display with a waterdrop notch for the single selfie camera. With a noticeable chin, the top and bottom bezels are not proportionate, but the device still manages to offer a good screen-to-body ratio by today’s standards.
The volume rocker and power button are placed on the right and are easy to reach. The left side houses a SIM tray with a microSD slot. On the bottom side, there is a headphone jack, USB Type-C port, primary mic, and a speaker grille. The top side is clean and has only a secondary microphone. On the rear side, the Galaxy A40 has a vertically arranged dual-camera setup with an LED on the top left, Samsung branding in the middle, and a fingerprint reader just above it.
Specifications
The Galaxy A40 packs a 5.9-inch full-HD+ Super AMOLED Infinity-U display, Exynos 7885 octa-core chipset with Mali-G71 GPU, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage, dual rear cameras, single selfie shooter, rear-mounted fingerprint reader, USB Type-C port, and a 3,100mAh battery with 15W fast charging. Like the other new Galaxy A models, it runs Android 9 Pie with Samsung’s One UI on top out of the box.
Compared to the Galaxy A30, the A40 has an older and possibly slower chipset, smaller but sharper display, and a substantially reduced battery capacity. This makes the Galaxy A40 moniker for the device puzzling as it gives the impression of superiority over the A30. You can find the list of all specifications on our Galaxy A40 page.
Display
The Galaxy A30 sports a 5.9-inch full-HD+ (1080 x 2340) Super AMOLED Infinity-U display, giving it a pixel density of ~437 PPI. From the A10 to A50, all the recent Galaxy A models come with above 6-inch screens, making this the smallest and consequently the sharpest display in the new lineup.
Samsung uses the Infinity-U terminology to refer to screens with a U-shaped waterdrop notch, which is not all that different from its V-shaped cutouts on devices like the A10. The display has Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection and 19.5:9 aspect ratio. Given how good Samsung’s Super AMOLED displays are, this is one area where you can expect the A40 to be better than its rivals in the market.
Camera
The rear dual-camera setup on the Galaxy A40 is similar to the one on the A30 but with a minor change in primary camera’s aperture. It consists of a 16 MP f/2.0 primary camera with PDAF (Phase Detection Auto Focus and a 5 MP f/2.2 ultrawide lens. There is also an LED to assist in low-light conditions. The primary camera supports 1080p video recording at 30fps. For selfies, there is a single 25 MP camera, as opposed to the 16 MP on the A30, that can also record 1080p videos. The camera software doesn’t offer any new features and is similar to what you find on other A and M series devices.
Software
Barring the Galaxy S flagships, most other Galaxy devices often launch with older versions of Android. Thankfully, that’s not the case with the new A series models, including the A30, as they not only come with Android 9 Pie out of the box but also run Samsung’s One UI. This can be a major factor for many buyers who are apprehensive of Samsung’s performance in rolling out quick updates. The presence of One UI means the A40 will offer a similar experience and feature-set found in other Galaxy devices running the same Samsung skin.
Availability
Samsung debuted the Galaxy A40 officially in the Netherlands in April. It is priced at €249 (~$280) and comes in only a 4GB/64GB variant. Color options include black, blue, coral, and white. Pricing and availability vary by region.
