Only time could tell if Samsung's M-series goes as popular in Pakistan as it is in India, but the company has just introduced its very first entry, the Galaxy M11 in stores nationwide at an affordable Samsung price. The budget pick was accompanied by the cheapest 2020 phone from Samsung A Lineup, the Galaxy A01 Core — the ‘Lite’ edition for the Galaxy A01.
Samsung Galaxy M11
Let’s start with the Galaxy M11 and its Infinity-O display that stretches a standard 6.4” corner-to-corner, delivering an HD+ resolution and edge-to-edge viewing experience. The back is ergonomic, smooth around the frame for a more comfortable grip, but the design feels at least two generations old. Featuring a run-of-the-mill matte polycarbonate finish, a triple-camera inside a compact housing, and a capacitive fingerprint reader, the Samsung Galaxy M11 has a tried-and-tested classic aesthetic available in Metallic Blue, Black, and Violet.
The three cameras of Samsung M11 include a 13MP (f/1.8) main camera, a 5MP ultra-wide lens, capped off by a 2MP depth sensor for ‘Live Focus’ in your portraits. The ultra-wide lens, while modest, does extend your Field-of-View from 77° to 115°. Take selfies powered by ‘Live Focus’ with the front-facing 8MP camera.
Samsung doesn’t name the mobile platform, but it has an octa-core CPU on Galaxy M11, combined with 3GB + 32GB and 4GB + 64GB of memory and storage — expandable up to 512GB via a microSD card.
The battery capacity is rated a decent 5,000 mAh, recharged with 15W Fast Charging over USB Type-C. Aside from the fingerprint scanner, the phone can also be secured with ‘Face Unlocking’. The Samsung Galaxy M11 starts from Rs. 28,000.
Samsung Galaxy A01 Core
The Galaxy A01 turned even more affordable, the A01 Core has a design older still. Forget the oversized bezel-free screens, the ‘Core’ features a small 5.3” display, sandwiched between heavy bezels. The front camera lives on the top bezel, while the rear-camera is bound inside a tightly-packed housing — a basic 8MP + 5MP array. Samsung has painted a striped pattern on the Galaxy A01 core back cover, that comes in Black, Blue, and Red.
The Samsung A01 Core also has the internals to match with its entry-level design. A 3,000 mAh battery, 1GB of RAM, and 16GB of storage are all the corners Samsung has cut to keep the price tag low. Instead of the full-blown Android, the phone has Android Go — an OS designed for entry-level hardware.
There’s no support for fingerprint security on Samsung Galaxy A01 core, and it’s retailing for Rs. 13,999 in Pakistan.