Samsung Galaxy A05 review
Buy this if you spend most of your time messaging, browsing, and watching video, and you value two days of battery over a sharp screen or quick performance. Skip it if gaming, photography, or a snappy app experience matter to you, or if you can stretch your budget to phones with 1080p displays and faster charging at the £120+ mark.
This review is based on Samsung’s published specifications and public benchmark data for the Samsung Galaxy A05, and the rating is spec-based. GoSolo does not physically test devices; where we estimate real-world behaviour such as battery life or charge time, we say so. How we rate phones.
Overview
The Galaxy A05 is a no-frills budget phone that leans on a huge battery and a large screen to justify its £85 price, but the 720p LCD looks grainy and the Helio G85 won't impress anyone chasing performance. It's honest value for someone who just wants WhatsApp, email, and YouTube without worrying about the charger for two days.
Design & build
At 195 g and 8.8 mm thick, the Galaxy A05 is solid and handheld without feeling flimsy, which is rare at this price. The plastic back and frame are the expected choice for £85, and Samsung hasn't tried to fake premium. The glass front is nice to see, even if it's likely softer than hardened glass on pricier rivals. Dual SIM is useful if you're juggling work and personal numbers or moving between regions. The 3.5 mm jack is a welcome holdover that not every budget phone at this tier bothers with, and USB Type-C 2.0 is now table stakes.
Display
A 6.7-inch screen on a £85 phone is ambitious and it delivers the eyespace without the price tag, but the trade-off is stark: 720p on a PLS LCD panel means 262 ppi, and pixels become visible if you're close enough to read fine print. Text and video are readable at arm's length for casual browsing and video, but side-by-side with a mid-range phone running 1080p, the graininess is hard to ignore. Samsung hasn't published brightness specs, so you'll have to trust that daylight outdoor use is passable, but on a budget LCD this thin, it's a gamble. The 20:9 ratio and 82% screen-to-body ratio keep the phone reasonably compact for its diagonal.
Performance
The Helio G85 and Mali-G52 MC2 are built for light daily work: chat apps, email, browsing, light social media, and casual games like Candy Crush run smoothly without stutter. 3D gaming and demanding apps will need settings dialed down or will tank framerates, so don't expect to play demanding titles at high detail. The 3 GB to 6 GB RAM variants matter here; the 3 GB base model will struggle if you multitask heavily or have lots of apps open. By 2023 standards for budget phones, this is unspectacular but sufficient for the use case—it's not slow, just not quick. App launches are normal, not snappy.
Camera
The 50 MP main sensor with f/1.8 aperture and autofocus sounds good on paper, but pixel size tells the real story: at 0.64 µm, each pixel is tiny, which helps in bright daylight where you get sharp, detailed shots with good color. In low light, those small pixels struggle to gather light, and you'll see noise and soft detail unless you're willing to accept Samsung's aggressive noise reduction, which can blur fine texture. The 8 MP selfie camera is basic but adequate for video calls. Video maxes out at 1080p/60fps, which is acceptable for social media but nothing special. No ultrawide or telephoto, so framing is fixed, and no zoom range is listed—likely digital only.
Battery & charging
The 5000 mAh battery is the star here. On mixed light use (chat, browsing, casual video), you'll hit a day and a half without stress; heavy gaming or video streaming drains it in a single day, which is normal for any phone. The real value is that two-day stretch on typical use is genuinely achievable, a rarity at this price. Charging at 25W is modest compared to competitors now hitting 65W or 100W at this tier, but it's still practical: from empty to full takes around 90 minutes, so a breakfast-time top-up gets you through the day. It's not fast, but it's not a bottleneck either.
Software
Android 13 with One UI 7 is current and clean. Samsung promises two major OS upgrades, so you'll reach Android 15, which is respectable for a budget phone released in late 2023—most rivals in this price tier stop at one or zero. Security updates are not promised beyond a timeframe, so longevity is a question mark after a couple of years. One UI's bloatware footprint is manageable; you can disable most of it, and the core experience is stable and familiar to anyone with a Samsung phone.
Value & verdict
At £85, the Galaxy A05 does not pretend to be something it isn't. It's a large-screen, long-battery workhorse for people who check email, scroll social feeds, and watch YouTube, not a gaming device or a photography tool. The 720p LCD is its worst compromise; if Samsung had squeezed in 1080p, it would feel like a better value. 25W charging is slow compared to what you get for the same price elsewhere. That said, the battery longevity and dual SIM flexibility are genuine perks at this tier, and the two-year update promise is better than most budget rivals. If you live in a market where this phone is £70–£90 and you're OK with a grainy screen for the sake of battery life and a big display, it's a sensible buy. If you can stretch to £120–£150, other budget phones will give you 1080p and faster charging.
Verdict
Buy this if you spend most of your time messaging, browsing, and watching video, and you value two days of battery over a sharp screen or quick performance. Skip it if gaming, photography, or a snappy app experience matter to you, or if you can stretch your budget to phones with 1080p displays and faster charging at the £120+ mark.
- 5000 mAh battery easily lasts a day and a half on light use, a genuine advantage at this price
- 6.7-inch screen offers plenty of space for video and browsing despite 720p resolution
- Two major OS upgrades promised, better than typical budget competitors
- 3.5 mm jack and microSD slot still present for expandable storage and wired audio
- 720p LCD looks grainy compared to 1080p rivals at similar price; no brightness spec raises doubts about daylight outdoor use
- 25W charging is now slow for the tier; competitors often include 60W+ for the same money
- Helio G85 is only adequate for light tasks; demanding games and heavy multitasking will disappoint
Samsung Galaxy A05 Key Specifications
The essentials at a glance. See the full spec sheet.
| Released | 2023, September 25 |
|---|---|
| Display | 6.7 inches, 108.4 cm2 (~82.1% screen-to-body ratio), PLS LCD |
| Resolution | 720 x 1600 pixels, 20:9 ratio (~262 ppi density) |
| Chipset | Mediatek Helio G85 (12 nm) |
| RAM & storage | 32GB 3GB RAM, 64GB 4GB RAM, 128GB 4GB RAM, 128GB 6GB RAM |
| Main camera | 50 MP, f/1.8, (wide), 1/2.8", 0.64µm, AF Auxiliary lens |
| Selfie camera | 8 MP, f/2.0, (wide), 1/4.0", 1.12µm |
| Battery | 5000 mAh |
| Charging | 25W wired |
| Software | Android 13, up to 2 major Android upgrades, One UI 7 |
| Dimensions | 168.8 x 78.2 x 8.8 mm (6.65 x 3.08 x 0.35 in) |
| Weight | 195 g (6.88 oz) |
| Build | Glass front, plastic back, plastic frame |
| Network | GSM / HSPA / LTE |
| NFC | No |
| USB | USB Type-C 2.0 |
Samsung Galaxy A05 FAQ
Common questions, answered from the spec sheet.
Does the Galaxy A05 support 5G?
No. The Galaxy A05 tops out at GSM / HSPA / LTE, without 5G.
What chipset does the Galaxy A05 use?
The Galaxy A05 runs on the Mediatek Helio G85 (12 nm).
What display does the Galaxy A05 have?
A 6.7 inches, 108.4 cm2 (~82.1% screen-to-body ratio) PLS LCD, 720 x 1600 pixels, 20:9 ratio (~262 ppi density).
How big is the Galaxy A05 battery?
The Galaxy A05 has a 5000 mAh battery. Charging is rated at 25W wired.
Does the Galaxy A05 have NFC?
No, the Galaxy A05 does not list NFC support.
Does the Galaxy A05 support a microSD card?
Yes, the Galaxy A05 supports expandable storage (microSDXC).
Does the Galaxy A05 have a headphone jack?
Yes, the Galaxy A05 has a 3.5mm headphone jack.
Alternatives to consider
If the Galaxy A05 isn’t quite right, these are the closest calls.
Galaxy A14
Galaxy A06
Galaxy A15 5G
Galaxy A05 Dual SIM
Nord N30 SE 5G
