Can a single bottom-firing speaker be adequate for your on-the-budget audiophile?
On the epic finale of the four-part review of the Samsung Galaxy A07 4G, we would come to test the speakers, and other important features, such as NFC. This makes this article the shortest out of the rest.
Oh, you can read this article to hear our VERDICT!
SOUND TEST: Can that One Speaker Carry?
The Samsung Galaxy A07 4G features only one speaker, at the bottom as with many phones. The Galaxy A07 4G does have the artificial “sound booster” that allows you to maximize the volume beyond the usual 100%. However, we do not recommend it because it’s mere placebo, and the speaker will only distort the sound further.
As for the sound quality itself, we tested the Samsung Galaxy A07 4G on various platforms, notably through Spotify and Apple music with lossless to make it sound more accurate. While we played various tunes, the one we used for the test is “End of the Beginning” by Djo
Samsung gotta cut corners somewhere to meet its sub-6K price tag, and we suspect the speaker is affected. Mainly because it sounds distorted at max volume, and weak at 50% or low volume. There’s really not much details to be heard here. And in our opinion, it can sound irritating. This is disappointing considering Samsung is known for good sounding smartphones, even on the budget end.
NFC: Not Available.
Almost every smartphone, be it on the sub-7K range or the more expensive ones, have NFC. The Samsung Galaxy A07 4G is not one of those smartphones. We tested it by inserting a Beep Card, a stored journey card, at the back of our unit. Our phone did not give us any feedback. Not vibration, not a notification, nothing. Even the Beep app told us that NFC is not available. We looked at the settings; there is no toggle there.
For the consumers, this means you can’t use Google Pay, nor can you use the Samsung Galaxy A07 4G for tap-to-pay, like in MRT or LRT terminals. Old school is the way to go.
CONCLUSION:
The Samsung Galaxy A07 4G, despite its flaws, is still a practical handset to use, if you still can find one new. In an era wherein AI surged up the prices of many electronics, including smartphones, the Galaxy A07 4G comes from a bygone time wherein budget phones acted like budget phones. And yes, you can get either this or the 5G variant for a bargain price, to this day, in various authorized retailers nationwide (and maybe even in some Samsung stores). Should the Galaxy A08 be released, expect its price to soar significantly. It could be priced similarly to low-end midranger, akin to the ZTE Nubia neo 5 or the Redmi Note 15 Pro.
While the price is still bearable, enjoy it, as we may never come back to a time when budget smartphones are indeed budget smartphones.
Again, for those who are looking for it, the Samsung Galaxy A07 4G is priced at PHP 5,290 for the 4/64 option, and PHP 5,990 for the 4/128 version. Samsung has released a new variant, with 8GB RAM and 256GB storage for PHP 8,990 and it’s the only option available on Samsung’s website as of this writing. There may be cases of some stores increasing the price of the latter two variants due to increasing RAM costs. Still, the 4/128 version at least, still is a worthy competitor to its contemporaries, like the Honor X5c Plus and the Oppo A6 series.
PROS:
- Decent performance and choice of chipset for its price
- Decent camera quality overall, night or day. However, it may be slightly inconsistent with portrait shots
- Long-lasting battery
- Solid user interface great for casual users
- 90Hz refresh rate is always welcome for phones at its range
- L1 Widevine Certification means users can watch Full HD (1080p, and even 4K) content on Netflix without restrictions. This is quite rare for the price range.
- Comes with a basic IP54 protection adequate for everyday use.
CONS:
- Lackluster speaker. It sounds weak on low volume, and muffled on high volume
- No NFC
- Basic type of display with poor color saturation, resolution, and brightness. L1 Widevine Certification compensates for it slightly.
- Dated design, even for 2025-26 standards.