Samsung Galaxy M31 vs Galaxy A51

56 out of 100
Samsung Galaxy M31
VS
52 out of 100
Samsung Galaxy A51

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 A51, which is powered by Exynos 9 Octa 9611 and came out 2 months before. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.

Key differences

An overview of the main advantages of each smartphone
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy M31
  • Comes with 2000 mAh larger battery capacity: 6000 vs 4000 mAh
  • Faster storage type - UFS 2.1 versus UFS 2.0
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy A51
  • Slow-motion recording at 960FPS
  • More recent OS version: Android 13 versus 12
  • Weighs 19 grams less

Review

Evaluation of Samsung Galaxy M31 and Galaxy A51 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
Choose the importance of each parameter to more accurately identify the smartphone that best meets your particular needs.
Adjust priorities
Feature
Priority (Weight)
Display:
Camera:
Performance:
Gaming:
Battery Life:
The higher the priority, the more it will affect the final NanoReview score.

Value for money

You can enter your local prices of these phones (in USD or other currency) and click on the "Calculate" button to see which one has a better value for money.
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Tests and specifications

Comparison table of technical specifications and tests

Display

Type Super AMOLED Super AMOLED
Size 6.4 inches 6.5 inches
Resolution 1080 x 2340 pixels 1080 x 2400 pixels
Aspect ratio 19.5:9 20:9
PPI 403 ppi 405 ppi
Refresh rate 60 Hz 60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No No
Max rated brightness 600 nits 400 nits
HDR support Yes, HDR10 No
Screen protection Corning Gorilla Glass 3 Corning Gorilla Glass 3
Screen-to-body ratio 84% 87.4%
Display features - Always-On Display - Always-On Display
Display tests
RGB color space 142% 98.8%
PWM 208 Hz 242 Hz
Response time 8.5 ms 25 ms
Contrast ∞ Infinity ∞ Infinity
Peak brightness test (auto)
620 nits
640 nits
Sources: NotebookCheck [3], [4]

Design and build

Height 159.2 mm (6.27 inches) 158.5 mm (6.24 inches)
Width 75.1 mm (2.96 inches) 73.6 mm (2.9 inches)
Thickness 8.9 mm (0.35 inches) 7.9 mm (0.31 inches)
Weight 191 g (6.74 oz) 172 g (6.07 oz)
Waterproof No No
Rear material Plastic Plastic
Frame material Plastic Plastic
Colors Black, Blue, Red White, Black
Fingerprint scanner Yes, rear Yes, in-display
Screen-to-body ratio
87.4%

Performance

Tests of Samsung Galaxy M31 and Samsung Galaxy A51 in the benchmarks
SoC
Chipset Samsung Exynos 7 Octa 9611 Samsung Exynos 9 Octa 9611
Max clock 2300 MHz 2300 MHz
CPU cores 8 (4 + 4) 8 (4 + 4)
Architecture - 4 cores at 1.7 GHz: Cortex-A53
- 4 cores at 2.3 GHz: Cortex-A73
- 4 cores at 1.7 GHz: Cortex-A53
- 4 cores at 2.3 GHz: Cortex-A73
Lithography process 10 nanometers 10 nanometers
Graphics Mali-G72 MP3 Mali-G72 MP3
GPU shading units 54 54
GPU clock 850 MHz 850 MHz
FLOPS ~91.8 GFLOPS ~91.8 GFLOPS

Benchmarks

Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
513
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
AnTuTu Benchmark 10
261994
247038
CPU 66550 69792
GPU 55246 55670
Memory 66684 60677
UX 73431 59872
Total score 261994 247038
3DMark Wild Life Performance
820
Max surface temperature 45.2 °C 42.2 °C
Stability 74% 95%
Graphics test 4 FPS 4 FPS
Graphics score 820 812
Sources: 3DMark [3], [4]

Memory

RAM
RAM size 6 GB 4, 6 GB
Memory type LPDDR4X LPDDR4X
Memory clock 1866 MHz 1866 MHz
Channels 2 2
Storage
Storage size 128 GB 64, 128 GB
Storage type UFS 2.1 UFS 2.0
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 13)
ROM One UI 4.1 One UI 5.0
OS size 15 GB 23 GB

Battery

Capacity 6000 mAh 4000 mAh
Max charge power 15 W 15 W
Battery type Li-Ion Li-Po
Replaceable No No
Wireless charging No No
Reverse charging No No
Fast charging Yes, Samsung Adaptive Fast Charge (45% in 60 min) Yes (40% in 35 min)
Full charging time 2:25 hr 1:50 hr
Battery life tests
Web browsing - 09:34 hr
Watching video - 11:29 hr
Gaming - 05:12 hr
Standby - 83 hr
General battery life
26:33 hr

Camera

Specs and camera test of smartphones
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 Up to 30FPS
1080p video recording Up to 30FPS Up to 30FPS
Slow motion 240 FPS (720p) 960 FPS (720p)
Angle of widest lens 123° 120°
Lenses 4 (64 MP + 8 MP + 5 MP + 5 MP) 4 (48 MP + 12 MP + 5 MP + 5 MP)
Wide (main) lens - 64 MP
- Aperture: f/1.8
- Focal length: 26 mm
- Pixel size: 0.8 micron
- Sensor: 1/1.72", ISOCELL Bright GW1 (ISOCELL CMOS)
- Phase autofocus
- 48 MP
- Aperture: f/2.0
- Focal length: 26 mm
- Pixel size: 0.8 micron
- Sensor: 1/2", Sony IMX582 (Exmor-RS CMOS)
- Phase autofocus
Ultra-wide lens - 8 MP
- Aperture: f/2.2
- Focal length: 12 mm
- Pixel size: 1.12 micron
- Sensor: 1/4.0" (CMOS)
- 12 MP
- Aperture: f/2.2
- Focal length: 13 mm
- Pixel size: 1.12 micron
Macro lens - 5 MP
- Aperture: f/2.2
- 5 MP
- Aperture: f/2.4
- Focal length: 40 mm
- Pixel size: 1.12 micron
Depth lens - 5 MP
- Aperture: f/2.2
- Pixel size: 1.12 micron
- Sensor: 1/5.0" (CMOS)
- 5 MP
- Aperture: f/2.2
- Pixel size: 1.12 micron
- Sensor: 1/5.0" (CMOS)
Camera features - Bokeh mode
- Pro mode
- Bokeh mode
- Pro mode
Selfie camera
Megapixels 32 megapixels 32 megapixels
Image resolution 6528 x 4896 6560 x 4928
Aperture f/2.0 f/2.2
Focal length 26 mm 26 mm
Pixel size 0.8 microns 0.8 microns
Sensor type CMOS ISOCELL CMOS
Sensor size 1/2.8" 1/2.8"
Video resolution 2160p (4K) at 30 FPS 2160p (4K) at 30 FPS

Connectivity

Wi-Fi standard Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 a/b/g/n/ac) Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 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
- Wi-Fi Display
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
81.7 dB
81.7 dB

Other

Category Mid-range Mid-range
Announced February 2020 December 2019
Release date March 2020 December 2019
SAR (head) 0.48 W/kg 0.596 W/kg
SAR (body) 1.13 W/kg 1.45 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

If the display and battery life are more important to you, then choose the Samsung Galaxy M31. But if the camera, software, and design are more of a priority – go for the Samsung Galaxy A51.

Cast your vote

So, which phone would you choose?
1590 (72.7%)
596 (27.3%)
Total votes: 2186

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