Let's Talk About The Samsung Galaxy A70
I've had three of these phones over the years. Not because they're perfect—far from it—but because for the price point Samsung hit something reasonable that still works in 2024. The A70 was released back in 2019 and honestly, it aged about as well as any mid-range phone of that era. You can still grab one used or refurbished, and if you know what you're doing, it's not a bad deal. First, let's get the specs out of the way so we're on the same page. This phone runs a Snapdragon 675 or Exynos 9610 depending on your region. Six gigabytes of RAM, up to 128 gigabytes of storage with a microSD slot. The display is a 6.7-inch Super AMOLED panel at 1080 by 2400 resolution. That OLED screen is genuinely the standout feature of this device. Even now, looking at it beside newer budget phones with LCD panels, the A70's display holds up really well. Colors are accurate, blacks are deep, and viewing angles are solid. The cameras are a mixed bag. You get a 32-megapixel main sensor, an 8-megapixel ultrawide, and a 5-megapixel depth sensor. In practice, the ultrawide is fine for group shots and interiors. The main camera struggles in low light—expect a lot of noise and softness after dusk. I learned this the hard way trying to take concert photos at a friend's gig. The phone just couldn't keep up. But in good daylight, the main sensor produces decent results, especially for social media where you're compressing everything anyway.
Getting The Most Out Of It
One thing most people miss with this phone is how much potential is locked behind the software settings. Samsung's One UI, even in its older versions, has some useful customization options that aren't obvious. The Always On Display alone can be configured in ways most owners never discover. You can set it to show only during certain hours, change which information appears, and even disable the tap-to-show feature if you find it distracting. Storage management on this device is another area where people waste space without realizing it. The phone comes with about 64 gigabytes of usable storage out of the box. After system files and preloaded apps, you're looking at roughly 50 to 52 gigabytes available. That sounds fine until you start installing a few games and taking thousands of photos. My workaround was moving my entire photo library to a cloud service within the first month and keeping only recently taken images on the device. This usually frees up around 20 to 30 gigabytes depending on your habits. Battery life is mediocre at best. The 4,500 milliamp-hour battery is a decent size, but the combination of that large AMOLED screen and the processor means you're looking at maybe six to seven hours of screen-on time with moderate use. If you're a heavy user, expect a full charge to last through the workday and not much more. I keep adaptive brightness on and reduce the refresh rate to 60 hertz in the display settings, which gives me maybe an hour or two of extra battery. Not a game-changer, but noticeable.
Software Updates And Longevity
This is where things get messy. Samsung typically provides two major Android updates for their A-series phones. The A70 shipped with Android 9 and received Android 10. Security patches continued for a while after that, but support has tapered off significantly. If you're buying this phone used in 2024, don't expect any new features coming down the pipeline. You're stuck with whatever version it currently has. One practical consequence of this is app compatibility. Some banking apps and newer services may stop working properly once they drop support for older Android versions. I ran into this when my workplace required an app update that explicitly stated a minimum of Android 11. The workaround was using the web version of the service instead, which worked fine. It's not ideal, but it kept me functional.
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What To Watch Out For
There are a few known issues that come up repeatedly with this model. The most common complaint is screen burn-in. Like any OLED display from this era, if you leave static elements on screen for extended periods, they can leave permanent ghosts. I've seen several A70s with the navigation bar burned into the display. Keep auto-lock set to 30 seconds and avoid static wallpapers with fixed icons. Navigation buttons should be set to gestures or hide entirely when possible. Another issue is the fingerprint sensor. It's ultrasonic, which sounds fancy, but in practice it's slower than the capacitive sensors on cheaper phones. Wet fingers make it nearly useless. I stopped relying on it entirely and switched to pattern unlock. Slower to verify, yes, but at least it works consistently. The build quality is adequate but not impressive. The polycarbonate back scratches easily, and the frame can develop gaps over time, especially if you've dropped it more than once. I'd recommend a case from day one. The phone feels a bit bulky in hand too, which is worth considering if you have smaller hands.
Who Should Actually Buy This Phone
Realistically, the A70 makes sense if you're on a very tight budget and need a larger screen for media consumption. The display alone justifies the purchase in that scenario. If you need something for basic browsing, messaging, and casual gaming, it'll handle that fine. Gaming performance is where you'll notice the age—the Snapdragon 675 can manage most titles at medium settings, but competitive shooters will stress it. If you need a phone primarily for photography, look elsewhere. There are better options at this price point. Same if you care about software longevity. But if you want a simple, functional device with a good screen and don't mind its limitations, the A70 is still usable in 2024. Just go in with realistic expectations.
