Latest Galaxy M40 news
Introduction
Samsung’s previous attempts at competing with Chinese brands haven’t been very successful in India. After tinkering with the Galaxy J series for many years, the company finally decided to come up with a new online-exclusive Galaxy M series to take on rivals in the budget and midrange segment.
Under the new lineup, Samsung already launched the Galaxy M10, M20, and M30 earlier this year. The company is now expanding its online-only portfolio further by adding Galaxy M40 to the mix. As the name suggests, the new model sits above the Galaxy M30 in the lineup and is the most premium Galaxy M offering so far.
Design
The Galaxy M40 looks similar in design to other devices in the lineup, particularly the M30, with identical button placement and an edge-to-edge display. The most apparent distinction between them is the Infinity-O display on the M40, which lends it a more modern look. The bottom chin here is once again bigger than the top bezel, but the overall screen-to-body ratio is impressive. Like the other M series devices announced so far, the M40 is also made out of plastic with a gradient-like finish on the back. It weighs 168 grams and measures 155.3 x 73.9 x 7.9 mm in physical dimensions.
The front of the Galaxy M40 is occupied by a large Infinity-O display with a circular punch-hole selfie camera on the top left corner. The volume rocker and power button are located on the right, while the hybrid SIM slot is on the left. The top of the device is clean and only has a secondary microphone. Down below, there is a USB Type-C port, primary microphone, and a speaker grille. The Galaxy M40 lacks a headphone jack, making it the cheapest Galaxy device and the first M series offering to skip the legacy port.
On the rear side, there is a vertically-arranged triple-camera setup on the top left corner, an LED flash below the cameras, Samsung branding in the middle, and a fingerprint scanner just above it.
Specifications
The Galaxy M40 boasts some impressive specs for its price and offers great value for the money. It comes with a 6.3-inch Infinity-O display, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 675 SoC, Adreno 612 GPU, 6GB RAM, 128GB internal storage, microSD slot, triple rear cameras, single selfie camera, rear-mounted fingerprint sensor, Dolby Atmos support, 3500 mAh battery with 15W fast charging, Android 9 Pie OS with One UI on top, and more. For the complete list of specifications, you can go to our Galaxy M40 specifications page.
While the Galaxy M40 sports better specifications than the Galaxy M30 in many areas, Samsung has made some baffling choices with the former model that makes it inferior to other M series devices in some aspects. Primary among them is the Galaxy M40’s LCD display and 3500mAh battery – both of which are a step down from the AMOLED panel and 5,000mAh battery in the Galaxy M30. The newer model also lacks a headphone jack and a dedicated microSD slot, which are present on other devices in the lineup.
Display
The biggest attraction of the Galaxy M40 is its Infinity-O display, which is basically Samsung’s marketing term for a screen with a punch-hole camera. It’s a 6.3-inch LCD panel with 1080 x 2340 resolution that gives it a pixel density of ~409 PPI. The display has an aspect ratio of 19.5:9 and the overall screen-to-body ratio stands at an impressive 91.8%.
No doubt, the Infinity-O design gives the display a premium look, but it's not an AMOLED panel like the one on the Galaxy M30. Basically, the Galaxy M40 trades a better panel for a more modern display design – a decision that may not go well with many buyers.
Camera
The Galaxy M40 sports a 3+1 camera setup, i.e., triple cameras on the back and a single camera on the front. The setup here is very similar to the ones found on the Galaxy M30 and A50, with the main difference being the megapixel count of the sensors. The Galaxy A50 leads the pack in this regard, followed by the M40 and M30, respectively.
The triple rear cameras on the Galaxy M40 consists of a 32 MP f/1.7 primary camera with PDAF, an 8MP f/2.2 ultrawide secondary camera with 123-degree FOV, and a 5 MP f/2.2 depth sensor for better bokeh effect. The rear cameras support standard features like panorama, HDR, Live Focus, etc. On the front, the M40 comes with a 16 MP f/2.0 camera for selfies and Fast Face Unlock feature. It can also record 1080p videos at 30fps, while the primary rear camera can do 2160p videos at 30fps.
Software
The Galaxy M40 is the first Galaxy M series device to run Android 9 Pie and One UI out of the box. The software experience here is similar to any other Galaxy device running the same OS version. You can read our One UI (Android Pie) Feature Focus series to learn about all the new features and changes included in this Android version.
Though the other Galaxy M models started receiving Android Pie update recently, coming with the latest software onboard may work in Galaxy M40’s favor with regard to future updates. If Samsung sticks to its two major OS updates per device policy, then the Galaxy M40 may receive an additional Android version update compared to other devices in its lineup.
Availability
Samsung announced the Galaxy M40 in the second week of June, and it went on sale on June 18 in India. It will be available for purchase on Amazon.in and Samsung online store via flash sales initially. It comes in Midnight Blue and Seawater Blue gradient color options and is priced at ₹19,990 (~$290). The Korean company has not yet announced Galaxy M40 availability outside India.
