Home > Smartphone comparison > Galaxy M31 vs Galaxy A31 – which one to choose?

Samsung Galaxy M31 vs Galaxy A31

43 out of 100
Samsung Galaxy M31
VS
40 out of 100
Samsung Galaxy A31
Samsung Galaxy M31
Samsung Galaxy A31

Here we compared two mid-range smartphones: the 6.4-inch Samsung Galaxy M31 (with Exynos 7 Octa 9611) that was released on February 25, 2020, against the Samsung Galaxy A31, which is powered by Mediatek Helio P65. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.

Select the amount of RAM to evaluate performance and value for money more precisely
Memory
  1. Differences
  2. Review
  3. Specs
  4. Benchmarks
  5. Battery life
  6. Camera
  7. Comments

Key differences

An overview of the main advantages of each smartphone
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy M31
  • Comes with 1000 mAh larger battery capacity: 6000 vs 5000 mAh
  • Slow-motion recording at 240FPS
  • Ability to record video in 4K resolution
  • 14% better performance in AnTuTu Benchmark (326K versus 286K)
  • Has 50% more RAM: 6GB versus 4GB
  • Faster storage type - UFS 2.1 versus eMMC 5.1
  • More energy-efficient CPU – Exynos 7 Octa 9611
  • The front-facing camera can record video at 4K
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy A31
  • 27% faster in single-core GeekBench 6 test: 414 and 327 points

Review

Evaluation of Samsung Galaxy M31 and Galaxy A31 crucial features
Display
Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness
Camera
Photo and video recording quality
Performance
CPU and memory performance (apps, system)
Gaming
Capabilities for playing modern games
Battery
Battery life, charging type and speed
Connectivity
Networks, ports, data transmission
Scores with a red asterisk (*) are approximate and may change in the future as we gather more data.
NanoReview Score
Final comparison evaluation
Select your primary usage scenario to get a more accurate NanoReview Score
πŸ“± Primary usage:

Value for money (Beta)

To get an accurate value-for-money index, update the default prices with actual prices from your country’s retailers (for the selected memory configs) and press the "Calculate" button.
Currency
6 / 64 GB
VS
4 / 64 GB
173.2
(Excellent)
Value Index
118.5
(Excellent)

Tests and specifications

Comparison table of technical specifications and tests
Phone:
Galaxy M31
vs
Galaxy A31

Display

Type Super AMOLED Super AMOLED
Size 6.4 inches 6.4 inches
Resolution 1080 x 2340 pixels 1080 x 2400 pixels
Aspect ratio 19.5:9 20:9
PPI 403 ppi 411 ppi
Refresh rate 60 Hz 60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No No
Max rated brightness 600 nits 600 nits
HDR support Yes, HDR10 No
Screen protection Corning Gorilla Glass 3 Tempered glass
Screen-to-body ratio 84.1% 84.9%
Display features - Always-On Display - Always-On Display
Display tests
RGB color space 142% 96.8%
PWM 208 Hz 238 Hz
Response time 8.5 ms 8 ms
Contrast ∞ Infinity ∞ Infinity
Peak brightness test (auto)
Galaxy M31
609 nits
Galaxy A31 +3%
629 nits
Sources: NotebookCheck [3], [4]

Design and build

Height 159.2 mm (6.27 inches) 159.3 mm (6.27 inches)
Width 75.1 mm (2.96 inches) 73.1 mm (2.88 inches)
Thickness 8.9 mm (0.35 inches) 8.6 mm (0.34 inches)
Weight 191 g (6.74 oz) 185 g (6.53 oz)
Waterproof No No
Rear material Plastic Plastic
Frame material Plastic Plastic
Colors Black, Blue, Red White, Black, Blue, Red
Fingerprint scanner Yes, rear Yes, in-display
Screen-to-body ratio
Galaxy M31
84.1%
Galaxy A31 +1%
84.9%

Performance

Chipset specifications of Samsung Galaxy M31 and Samsung Galaxy A31
SoC
Chipset Samsung Exynos 7 Octa 9611 Mediatek Helio P65
Max clock 2300 MHz 2000 MHz
CPU cores 8 (4 + 4) 8 (2 + 6)
Architecture - 4 cores at 1.7 GHz: Cortex-A53
- 4 cores at 2.3 GHz: Cortex-A73		 - 6 cores at 1.7 GHz: Cortex-A55
- 2 cores at 2 GHz: Cortex-A75
Manufacturing Samsung TSMC
Lithography process 10 nanometers 12 nanometers
Neural processor (NPU) Yes Yes
GPU
Graphics Mali-G72 MP3 Arm Mali-G52 2EEMC2
GPU shading units 36 48
GPU clock 850 MHz 820 MHz
FLOPS ~61.2 GFLOPS ~78.7 GFLOPS

Benchmarks

Benchmark comparison of Samsung Galaxy M31 and Samsung Galaxy A31
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
Galaxy M31
327
Galaxy A31 +27%
414
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Galaxy M31
1023
Galaxy A31 +16%
1183
Compute Score (GPU)
Compute Score (GPU) - 968
Single-core score 327 414
Multi-core score 1023 1183
Sources: Geekbench [3], [4]
AnTuTu Benchmark 11
Galaxy M31 +14%
326489
Galaxy A31
286046
CPU 112563 126654
GPU 39553 16593
Memory 63619 65117
UX 110754 77682
Total score 326489 286046
Samples Less than 3 [4 tests]
Submit your benchmark results

Recent User Tests

The latest benchmark tests that have been submitted by users
Samsung Galaxy M31
DateBenchmarkResult
πŸ“˜ 2026-09-25 (Doc)AnTuTu 11352951
πŸ“˜ 2024-06-27 (Jogo)Geekbench 6 CPU327 / 1023
Add View all (2)
Samsung Galaxy A31
DateBenchmarkResult
πŸ“˜ 2026-05-05 (Π”ΠΌΠΈΡ‚Ρ€ΠΈΠΉ)AnTuTu 11285204
πŸ“˜ 2026-05-01 -> KntbekovvdkgAnTuTu 11241611
πŸ“˜ 2025-12-28 (Π§Π˜Π›Π˜Πš)AnTuTu 11286046
πŸ“˜ 2025-10-30 (Todoshi)AnTuTu 11290447
πŸ“˜ 2024-04-18 (samueltails)Geekbench 6 GPU968
Add View all (6)

Memory

RAM
RAM size 6 GB 4 GB
Memory type LPDDR4X LPDDR4X
Memory clock 1866 MHz 1866 MHz
Channels 2 2
Storage
Storage size 64 GB 64 GB
Storage type UFS 2.1 eMMC 5.1
Memory card MicroSD MicroSD
Memory card max size Up to 512 GB Up to 512 GB

Software

Operating system Android 10 (Can be upgraded to Android 12) Android 10 (Can be upgraded to Android 12)
ROM One UI 4.1 One UI 4.1
OS size 15 GB 27 GB
OS updates 2 years 2 years
Security updates 4 years 4 years

Battery

Capacity 6000 mAh 5000 mAh
Max charge power 15 W 15 W
Battery type Li-Ion Li-Ion
Replaceable No No
Wireless charging No No
Reverse charging No No
Fast charging Yes, Samsung Adaptive Fast Charge (45% in 60 min) Yes, Samsung Adaptive Fast Charge (50% in 60 min)
Full charging time 2:25 hr 2:25 hr
Battery life tests
Web browsing 10:13 hr 10:26 hr
Watching video 14:16 hr 14:36 hr
Gaming 05:44 hr 05:44 hr
Standby 117 hr 126 hr
General battery life
Galaxy M31
24:27 hr
Galaxy A31 +4%
25:27 hr
Add your battery life

Main camera

Matrix 64 megapixels 48 megapixels
Image resolution 9248 x 6920 8000 x 6000
Zoom Digital Digital
Flash LED LED
Stabilization Digital Digital
8K video recording No No
4K video recording Up to 30FPS No
1080p video recording Up to 30FPS Up to 30FPS
Slow motion 240 FPS (720p) No
Angle of widest lens 123Β° 123Β°
Lenses 1) Standard: 64 MP
2) Ultrawide: 8 MP
3) Macro: 5 MP
4) Depth: 5 MP
1) Standard: 48 MP
2) Ultrawide: 8 MP
3) Macro: 5 MP
4) Depth: 5 MP
Camera features - Bokeh mode
- Pro mode		 - Bokeh mode
- Pro mode
Standard lens
Image resolution 64 MP 48 MP
Aperture f/1.8 f/2.0
Focal length 26 mm 26 mm
Sensor ISOCELL Bright GW1 Samsung S5KGM2
Sensor size 1/1.72" (β‰ˆ 0.58 inch) 1/2.0" (β‰ˆ 0.5 inch)
Pixel size 0.8 micron 0.8 micron
Autofocus Phase autofocus Phase autofocus
Stabilization Digital Digital
Ultra-wide lens
Image resolution 8 MP 8 MP
Aperture f/2.2 f/2.2
Focal length 12 mm 13 mm
Sensor size 1/4.0" (β‰ˆ 0.25 inch) 1/4.0" (β‰ˆ 0.25 inch)
Pixel size 1.12 micron 1.12 micron
Stabilization Digital Digital
Macro lens
Image resolution 5 MP 5 MP
Aperture f/2.2 f/2.4
Stabilization Digital No

Selfie camera

Megapixels 32 megapixels 20 megapixels
Image resolution 6528 x 4896 5963 x 3354
Aperture f/2.0 f/2.2
Focal length 26 mm -
Sensor Sony IMX616 CMOS
Sensor size 1/2.8" (β‰ˆ 0.36 inch) -
Pixel size 0.8 micron -
Autofocus No No
Stabilization Digital Digital
Video resolution 2160p (4K) at 30 FPS 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS
Depth sensor (TOF 3D) No No

Connectivity

Wi-Fi standard Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac) Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display		 - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
Bluetooth version 5 5
Bluetooth features PBAP/PAB, PAN, OPP, MAP, HSP, HID, HFP, DIP, AVRCP, A2DP PBAP/PAB, PAN, OPP, MAP, HSP, HID, HFP, DIP, AVRCP, A2DP
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 2 2
USB features - Charging
- USB-Storage mode
- OTG		 - Charging
- USB-Storage mode
- OTG
GPS GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo
NFC* Depends on the region Yes
Infrared port No No
Network
Number of SIM* 2 2
Type of SIM card Nano Nano
Multi SIM mode Standby Standby
eSIM support* No No
Hybrid slot No No
LTE Cat* 12 12
5G support No No

Sound

Speakers Mono Mono
Headphone audio jack Yes Yes
FM radio Yes Yes
Dolby Atmos Yes Yes
Speakers test
Max loudness
Galaxy M31 +4%
81.7 dB
Galaxy A31
78.5 dB

Other

Category Mid-range Mid-range
Announced February 2020 March 2020
Release date March 2020 April 2020
Launch price (MSRP) $220 $210
Successor - - Samsung Galaxy A37 5G
SAR (head) 0.48 W/kg 0.49 W/kg
SAR (body) 1.13 W/kg 1.68 W/kg
Sensors - Proximity sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient light sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint		 - Proximity sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient light sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint
*Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.

Conclusion

These smartphones have a lot in common, but we would recommend the Samsung Galaxy M31. It has a better display, camera, and performance.

Cast your vote

So, which phone would you choose?
615 (70.4%)
259 (29.6%)
Total votes: 874

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