Samsung A73 Review Is It Worth Buying In 2024

Why the Samsung A73 Still Comes Up in Conversations

The Samsung A73 shipped in early 2022 with an Exynos 2200 chipset and a 6.7-inch Super AMOLED panel rated at 120Hz. It was positioned as a step-up mid-ranger. Three years later, it shows up on resale sites and in people's recommendations lists. That's the basic situation. Here is what actually matters when you are looking at this phone now. The short answer depends on what you are paying. If you can find a used A73 for under $250 and you need a big bright screen with decent cameras, it is serviceable. At that price point, the 120Hz display alone is still a selling point compared to some newer phones that drop to 60Hz in the base model. The Exynos 2200 uses a custom Xclipse GPU based on AMD RDNA 2 architecture, which means it handles light gaming better than most chips in this price range from its era. Apps open quickly enough for normal use. Multitasking across three or four apps works without constant reloading. I ran into a specific issue with one A73 I tested last year. The phone would randomly reboot when the battery hit around 15 percent while running Google Maps and Spotify simultaneously. I spent about two hours pulling logs through Samsung's secret menu using the dialer code *#2663#. The firmware version was 2022Q2 or thereabouts. Updating to the latest available One UI patch via smart switch completely stopped the reboots. The fix was not in the battery hardware itself. It was a power management bug in an older kernel build that Samsung patched later in the device's lifecycle. If you buy a used A73 and it has not been updated in over a year, update it first before judging the hardware.

What Still Holds Up

The display is the strongest argument for this phone. The Super AMOLED panel pushes about 800 nits of typical brightness and 1000 nits peak in HDR. It is not the brightest panel Samsung makes, but it is vivid and readable in most outdoor conditions. The 120Hz refresh rate feels smooth for scrolling through social media or browsing. Colors are accurate out of the box if you leave the default picture mode alone. Switching to Vivid makes everything oversaturated, which is a common mistake people make right after unboxing. The camera setup consists of a 108MP main sensor, a 12MP ultrawide, and two 5MP sensors for macro and depth. The 108MP sensor bins pixels down to 12MP by default, which gives you clean photos in good lighting. Night mode actually performs reasonably well compared to other phones in this bracket. The ultrawide is acceptable but shows noticeable softness at the edges. Video recording tops out at 4K at 30fps, which is a limitation. If you shoot a lot of video and need 60fps at 4K, this phone will disappoint you. Battery life is around a full day with moderate use. The 5000mAh cell is standard for this category. Charging speed is only 25W, which means a full charge takes roughly 90 minutes from empty. It is slower than many competitors, but it is not a dealbreaker if you charge overnight.

Where This Phone Falls Short in 2024

The biggest problem is software support. Samsung typically provides four years of Android updates and five years of security patches for their A-series phones, but the A73 launched with Android 12. That means it will receive updates through Android 16 at the earliest and security patches until roughly 2027. You are not locked out of support, but you are not getting the newest features either. Once the phone reaches the end of its security patch cycle, using it for banking and sensitive apps becomes a liability. Performance degrades noticeably over time. The Exynos 2200 was decent when new, but Android 14 and One UI 6 add background processes and visual effects that put more strain on the GPU. Apps that were snappy in 2022 feel slightly sluggish now. This is not unique to the A73. It happens to almost every phone in this tier as software demands increase. The lack of a wired charging speed above 25W is a quiet frustration. Phones at similar price points now offer 45W or even 67W charging. If you are in a hurry, the A73 cannot compete there. I also found that the fingerprint sensor, while fast, occasionally fails to register on the first attempt in dry conditions. It happens maybe once every ten attempts, which is annoying but not critical.

Alternatives to Consider

If your budget allows, the Samsung A54 and A55 are logical upgrades. The A54 uses the same Exynos 2200 but benefits from newer software optimization since it shipped later. The A55 moves to the Exynos 1480, which is more efficient and generates less heat during sustained use. Both have better build quality with aluminum frames instead of the plastic frame on the A73. For people who do not mind leaving Samsung, the Pixel 7a offers better cameras and longer software support at a comparable used price. The Tensor G2 chip handles daily tasks fine, and Google commits to seven years of updates on newer Pixels. The battery life on the 7a is weaker than the A73, but the camera system is clearly superior, especially in low light. If budget is tight and you just need a phone that works, the A34 or A35 are cheaper alternatives that still deliver solid performance. They do not have the same display brightness or camera resolution, but they fill the gap for casual users.

Final Thoughts on Price and Value

Buying the A73 in 2024 makes sense only if you find it at a steep discount. A brand new A73 at its original launch price of around $480 is not reasonable. Used prices between $200 and $280 are where the value sits. Check the battery health before purchasing. A degraded battery on a phone this old will make the experience worse than it needs to be. Look for a battery health reading above 85 percent if possible. The A73 is not a bad phone. It was a solid mid-ranger when it launched. It just is not a standout anymore. The display and cameras remain competent. The software support timeline is acceptable but not generous. If you can get it cheap and you do not need cutting-edge performance, it will serve you adequately for another year or two. After that, you will notice the gaps more frequently, and the phone will feel its age.