This is the most expensive phone in the Samsung Galaxy M-series so far. Apart from Samsung’s flagship S10 series model, you will also get a hole-punch display in the Galaxy M40 launched in the price segment of less than Rs 20,000. This is the first time that Samsung has not given space to the earpiece in any of its smartphones, this handset produces audio vibrations when receiving a voice call. Other specifications of the phone are also strong. Is the Galaxy M40 smartphone the best smartphone in the price segment of less than Rs 20,000? Let’s find out.
Design of Samsung Galaxy M40
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The design of the Galaxy M40 is no different from other M-series smartphones. It has a glossy plastic frame and rear panel. Fingerprints are easily visible but surprisingly, the phone does not slip even when used with one hand.
With everyday use, the plastic rear panel has developed small scratches. To protect the Galaxy M40 from scratches, keep it in a case. Please note that the case is not provided in the retail box.
The Galaxy M40 sports a 6.3-inch full-HD+ Infinity O (1080×2340 pixels) display. It has Corning Gorilla Glass protection to prevent scratches. However, this is a PLS TFT LCD panel instead of the Super AMOLED panel used in the Galaxy M30 (Review). The display is bright, colours look vibrant and viewing angles are also good.
The bezel around the display and the border at the bottom of the phone are thin. The hybrid SIM tray is provided on the left side of the phone in which the user can insert two nano-SIMs or a single SIM and a microSD card (up to 512 GB) if he wants. You cannot use all three cards at the same time, like you can in the Galaxy M30. There was a little difficulty in inserting the nano-SIM in the first slot as the slot seems a little small. But we did not face any problem with the second slot.
Apart from the earpiece, the Galaxy M40 also does not have a 3.5 mm headphone jack. The company has provided a Type-C headset in the retail box, and we also got a Type-C to 3.5 mm adapter, with the help of which you can use the existing headphones. On the back of the phone, there is a triple camera module with LED flash on the left side.
The LED flash is placed just below the camera module. For security, a fingerprint sensor is provided on the back panel of the phone. The sensor is placed a little higher than we would have liked, it identifies the finger correctly. Face unlock feature is also provided in Galaxy M40 but it is not fast, it takes a few seconds in low light.
Overall, the Galaxy M40 is a comfortable phone. We particularly liked its slim and compact body and it weighs just 168 grams. We got the Midnight Blue variant of the Galaxy M50 for review which got dirty quickly. We cannot say how the Seawater Blue variant of the Galaxy M40 will feel after use. In the retail box you will get a SIM eject tool, 15 watt adapter, Type-C cable and Type-C headset.
Samsung Galaxy M40 Specifications and Software
The core specifications of the Galaxy M40 are similar to those of the Galaxy A70 (Review). The Galaxy M40 is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 675 processor that we first saw in the Redmi Note 7 Pro (Review). Currently, only one variant of the Galaxy M40 is available in India, which has 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage.
Talking about other specifications, the phone includes 4G VoLTE, dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11ac, NFC, FM radio, Bluetooth version 5, and USB Type-C port. Talking about sensors, ambient light sensor, hall sensor, gyroscope and accelerometer sensor are part of this phone. Galaxy M40 also has a “virtual light sensor” to adjust the brightness of the screen.
Talking about the software, Galaxy M40 runs on OneUI 1.1 based on Android 9.0 Pie. Samsung Galaxy M40 has recently received an update, with the update the phone has received the May 2019 Android security patch. The features given in the phone are similar to what we have seen in other Samsung smartphones recently, so there is nothing new to tell here.
You can also customize the phone’s theme, monitor your habits with the help of Google Digital Wellbeing feature, configure motion and gesture shortcuts, enable Dolby Atmos for wired and wireless headphones, etc. Some features were missing such as the Always-on display as the Galaxy M40 does not have an AMOLED panel.
OneUI will keep sending you unwanted notifications but if you pay attention while setting up the phone and uncheck the relevant options, you can have a spam-free experience. Surprisingly, this phone does not support Samsung Pay or Samsung Pay Mini despite having NFC.
Samsung Galaxy M40 performance, camera and battery life
Regular app and UI performance is pretty good. We used the Galaxy M40 everyday for several days and we don’t have any major complaints with the phone. Apps open quickly, the interface is smooth and the phone doesn’t get too hot when running simple chat and social apps.
Games also ran smoothly but the Galaxy M40 smartphone gets a bit hot when playing heavy games like PUBG: Mobile. Even after playing for 10 minutes, the back of the phone got quite hot. While playing PUBG, the sound from the speaker at the bottom of the phone was quite low but the volume was quite loud in other apps like YouTube.
Music playback can be controlled with the help of the in-line remote provided in the phone. Dolby Atmos works to increase the volume and improve the soundstage. Due to the thin borders around the display, it feels quite good while watching videos or content. Most apps automatically mask the hole-punch area, but if the cutout doesn’t bother you, you can force them to use the full screen space.
Samsung’s Screen Sound technology works quite well for voice calls. The first time you receive an incoming call, you’ll see a visual overlay showing you where to place your ear. The Galaxy M40 smartphone is Widevine L1 certified, which means you can stream high-resolution movies on platforms like Amazon Prime Video and Netflix.
Galaxy M40 has a triple rear camera setup. The primary sensor is 32 megapixels. It comes with AI scene optimizer and F/1.7 lens. There is a 5 megapixel secondary camera on the back. It is also a depth sensor. The third camera is 8 megapixels, it comes with an ultra wide angle lens. The phone does not have optical stabilization, autofocus also does not work fast. However, the phone is capable of 4K video recording and making slow-motion videos.
The main sensor saves 12-megapixel images by default and you can manually change the resolution to 32 megapixels if you want. The lower resolution makes the images look a little better, so it’s best to stick with this option. In good light, the main camera captures a good amount of detail and the colours are also well presented.
Photos look good on the phone’s display, but finer textures and sharpness aren’t as good when you zoom in on the image. There’s usually a bit of grain around the edges of the frame and highlights tend to be overexposed. The wide-angle camera is fun to use as it lets you capture interesting scenes, but detail can be lacking and there’s no autofocus.
Macro shots in daylight were also good. The level of background blur was also good. Samsung’s scene optimizer is also provided in the camera app. Sharpness was also good in the pictures. The phone also has live focus or portrait mode, which works well for objects and pets. While shooting indoors, outdoors and in adequate light, improper edge detection was experienced for background blur.
In low light, the autofocus of the Galaxy M40 smartphone becomes a bit slow and there is also a lack of detail. The pictures taken in landscapes were also not very good, the dark areas were a bit grainy. The quality of the pictures taken with the 16-megapixel selfie camera was also average. Portrait mode is also provided which works well.
Video quality is good in 4K and 1080p resolutions, but the phone lacks stabilisation. Super slow-motion video was also good, but you can only do it in short bursts. Battery life is one of the Galaxy M40’s strengths. In our HD video loop test, the 3,500mAh battery lasted for 15 hours and 30 minutes and with regular use, the battery lasted almost a full day on a single charge.
Even after heavy usage of the phone like using the camera and benchmarks, the phone lasted for about 20 hours. Galaxy M4 comes with a 15 watt fast charger and the phone supports Qualcomm Quick Charge technology. The phone was charged from 0 to 47 percent in 30 minutes and up to 86 percent in one hour.
Our verdict
Samsung Galaxy M40 has many features which make it an attractive option. Galaxy M40 uses screen sound technology for voice calls, and it also comes with a hole-punch display. Apart from this, the RAM and phone storage are also quite good, not only this, the phone also has a powerful processor.
The LCD screen offers good brightness and colours. Photos taken with the Galaxy M40 are average and the autofocus speed could have been a little better. The hybrid dual-SIM slot is also a concern, especially since the Galaxy A70 (Review), Galaxy A50 (Review), and Galaxy M30 (Review) come with a separate microSD card slot.
The face unlock feature also doesn’t work fast. On paper, the Galaxy M40 seems to be a better smartphone than the Galaxy A50. However, there may be some reasons to choose the Galaxy A50 over the Galaxy M40. Of course, you will get a slightly weaker processor and less storage in it but you can get a bigger battery, AMOLED display and headphone jack.
The Samsung Galaxy M40 has a good processor for gaming, but if that’s your priority, the Redmi Note 7 Pro (Review) with 6GB of RAM is also a great option and is available at a lower price. We shouldn’t forget the Poco F1, which comes with a Snapdragon 845 processor and is available for Rs 17,999.
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