The Samsung Galaxy A16 is cheap, but gets more updates than many Android flagships. You can read how this works in this review.
Check de Samsung Galaxy A16 review
Samsung normally announces its smartphones in a big way, but that does not apply to the Galaxy A16. The device suddenly appeared quietly in the company’s online store. With a suggested retail price of 229 euros, the A16 is one of the cheapest Samsung phones at the moment – and perhaps that is the reason why Samsung pays less attention to it.
Still, we expect the Galaxy A16 to be a sales hit, because its direct predecessors were also frequently sold. The new smartphone also has a number of interesting improvements that make it even more interesting. So it’s time for the review, in which we tell you everything about the A16.
The review sample of the Galaxy A16 was made available by Samsung.
Samsung Galaxy A16 review
Typical Samsung design
The Galaxy A16 may be one of the cheapest Samsung phones, but the device does not necessarily feel cheap. Although the smartphone is made entirely of plastic, it is reasonably sturdy and really looks like a Samsung. This is mainly due to the recognizable design, with three cameras on the back that protrude from the housing.
The budget smartphone is available in three colors: dark blue, gray and green. We tested the dark blue version, which secretly looks more like black/gray, and it looks quite neutral. The back is sensitive to fingerprints and smudges and quite slippery. A case is therefore not an unnecessary luxury.
On the right side we find the so-called key islandwhich is a fancy name for the bulge in the frame near the power and volume buttons. This makes the buttons easier to find by touch. On the left there is room for the SIM card slot and at the bottom we see the USB-C port and single speaker.
Nice AMOLED screen
The screen of the Samsung Galaxy A16 is 6.7 inches, making it ideal if you like watching YouTube, films or series on your phone. The resolution of 2340 by 1080 pixels is fine, as is the refresh rate of 90Hz. It is also an AMOLED display, which we do not often see in this price segment.
The display obviously doesn’t look as nice as more expensive Android phones, but we certainly can’t complain. In this price range, the image quality is simply okay. It is a bit of a shame that the screen is not that bright. The Samsung A16 achieves a maximum brightness of 800 nits – and that is not enough on a sunny day.
In addition, the edges around the screen are quite thick, especially at the bottom. Samsung also opts for an old-fashioned notch in the screen. Not very nice, although it is not a disaster either.
Hardware is only just fast enough
The Galaxy A16 runs on an Exynos 1330 processor, which Samsung also used in the Galaxy A14. The chip is assisted by 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage space. The amount of working memory is meager in 2024, but we see it more often in the budget segment.
The performance is excellent at first glance: you swipe smoothly through the interface and the start-up goes quite smoothly. However, the Galaxy A16 quickly becomes difficult when you start multitasking and then starts to stutter regularly. That’s a bit normal for a smartphone costing around 200 euros, but it is something to take into account.
A fingerprint scanner is placed in the power button on the right. This is in itself a nice place for the scanner, but it does not always work perfectly. During our test period we set up our fingerprint several times, and yet the scanner regularly required several attempts.
Unlike its predecessor, the Galaxy A16 no longer has a headphone jack. There is room for a micro SD memory card, so you can easily expand the storage. As mentioned, 128GB is standard and that is probably more than sufficient for most people.
Great update policy for the price
The affordable Galaxy A16 runs on Android 14 with version 6.1 of One UI out of the box. If you have used Samsung’s software before, you know exactly what to expect. One UI looks very different from the standard version of Android and adds the necessary extra functions, but is nice and clear to use.
The software on the Galaxy A16 is less extensive than on, for example, the more expensive Galaxy S phones. For example, Galaxy AI, the set of AI functions that also works in Dutch, is missing. Understandable, because the Galaxy A16 is probably not powerful enough to run the functions smoothly.
With last year’s Galaxy A15, Samsung promised to give the phone four Android version updates and five years of security patches. The company goes even further, because the Galaxy A16 is supported for no less than six years (!).
The smartphone will therefore receive six version upgrades and security patches until October 2030. For a phone costing around 200 euros, this is impressive; In fact, there is no budget phone that can rely on the latest software for so long. In fact, the A16’s update policy is better than many smartphones that cost multiples.
Camera’s
Then the cameras of this affordable Samsung. The Galaxy A16 has a total of four, with a 50 megapixel main camera, 5 megapixel wide-angle lens and 2 megapixel macro camera on the back. You will take most photos with the main camera, which is (logically) also the best of the three.
Snapshots – as you probably expect – mainly come into their own when there is enough daylight. You then see quite a bit of detail, although the contrast is a bit disappointing. The sky is also quickly overexposed during photography: you quickly notice this is a budget camera.
The wide-angle lens is a nice feature on paper, but the very low resolution of 5 megapixels makes it difficult to take a nice photo. With enough daylight, pictures are still acceptable, although you see little detail and a lot of distortion on the sides. Colors also look a bit dull.
The macro camera is of even less use. Not only is the usefulness of a macro lens limited, but here too the resolution is far too low. It’s better to zoom in with the main camera to get a close-up because snapshots then have more detail. Leave out that macro camera next time, Samsung.
Long battery life, slow charging
The Samsung Galaxy A16 has a 5000 mAh battery, just like many Android smartphones. It can easily last a whole day and during our test period it also reached a day and a half. If you are a light smartphone user, you can also go two days without charging.
Speaking of charging: the A16 charges with a maximum of 25 watts, like almost every Galaxy A smartphone you can currently buy. In 2024, 25 watts is quite slow, but because the Galaxy A16 only costs about 200 euros, we can live with it. A full charge takes about an hour and a half.
To charge quickly, you have to arrange the necessary plug yourself. The box only contains a USB-C cable, although you can of course also use a charger that you still have in the drawer.
Conclusion Samsung Galaxy A16 review
The Samsung Galaxy A16 is a budget smartphone that is particularly notable for its excellent six-year update policy. The device receives updates for longer than most Android phones and that is a big plus. We do wonder whether the hardware is fast enough to run all those new Android versions smoothly.
Other than that, there is little to really get excited about. The design is solid (but a bit standard), the battery ‘just’ lasts a long day and you shouldn’t expect miracles from the performance and cameras.
Nevertheless, we expect many units of the Galaxy A16 to be sold in the coming months. Especially if the price drops a little further, this cheap Samsung is an easy purchase for many users.
Samsung Galaxy A16 kopen
Are you looking for a cheap Samsung smartphone and has your eye fallen on the Galaxy A16? The phone has a suggested retail price of 229 eurobut has already dropped slightly in price. You can check the best deals in the price comparator below.
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Source: www.androidplanet.nl
