The Samsung Galaxy A05 is an entry-level 4G phone from 2023. Samsung listed it in Thailand and Malaysia in September 2023, alongside the Galaxy A05s. It replaced the Galaxy A04 and sold mainly in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and Ukraine. It was not officially sold in the US. In India, Samsung later sold the same phone as the Galaxy M05 and the Galaxy F05.
Design and display
The Galaxy A05 has a 6.7-inch PLS LCD with HD+ resolution (720 x 1600 pixels). It runs at 60 Hz. A waterdrop notch holds the selfie camera. The plastic back has a fine linear pattern. Samsung sold it in Black, Silver and Light Green.
The phone measures 168.8 x 78.2 x 8.8 mm and weighs 195 g. Samsung lists no fingerprint sensor for this model. A 3.5 mm headphone jack and a USB-C 2.0 port sit on the bottom edge.
Performance
Inside is the MediaTek Helio G85. It has two Cortex-A75 cores at 2.0 GHz, six Cortex-A55 cores at 1.8 GHz and a Mali-G52 MC2 GPU. Samsung offered 4 GB or 6 GB of RAM with 64 GB or 128 GB of eMMC storage. A microSD slot adds up to 1 TB. The phone supports 4G, Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth 5.3, but not 5G or NFC.
The Galaxy A05s uses the faster Snapdragon 680 instead. It also adds a sharper 90 Hz screen and a side fingerprint sensor.
Cameras
The rear has a 50 MP main camera with an f/1.8 lens and autofocus. A 2 MP depth sensor helps with portrait shots. There is no ultrawide or optical zoom. Samsung lists video recording up to 1080p at 60 fps. The front camera has 8 MP and an f/2.0 lens.
Battery and charging
The 5,000 mAh battery supports 25W wired charging. Samsung says it reaches 48% in 30 minutes. There is no wireless charging.
Software and updates
The Galaxy A05 launched with Android 13 and One UI Core 5.1. Samsung promised two Android upgrades and four years of security updates. The Indian Galaxy M05 and F05 arrived later with Android 14 and One UI 6.0.
Should you buy the Galaxy A05?
The Galaxy A05 suits buyers who need a large screen and a big battery. Expandable storage helps with photos and video. Its HD+ panel, slow eMMC storage and lack of a fingerprint sensor show its low price. Samsung has already released the Galaxy A06 as its successor. That model is a better choice if both cost about the same.
