Galaxy A73 vs A71: A worthy upgrade if you can forego the 3.5mm port

The Galaxy A33 and A53 were today’s event main players, but Samsung also talked relatively briefly about the Galaxy A73. At least it acknowledged it and revealed the official spec sheet.

Galaxy A71 customers will be the most likely to want to upgrade to the Galaxy A73. And good news, this year’s model has an updated design, improved build quality with stronger materials, a new camera with a very high-resolution sensor, better firmware, an upgraded display, and a lot more. Here’s how they compare.

Galaxy A73 vs Galaxy A71: Design and build quality

Speaking of design and build quality, the Galaxy A73 certainly looks more modern and mature thanks to its matte paint finish and camera housing design.

But it’s not just the looks that have improved since 2020. The Galaxy A73 uses better Gorilla Glass (version 5) to protect the display, and the device was sealed with an IP67 rating.

The IP67 certificate indicates that the Galax A73 is resistant to dust particles and can survive a quick dip in freshwater. The Galaxy A71, in contrast, has a colorful, glossy back panel, Gorilla Glass 3, and lacks an IP rating.

Galaxy A73 vs Galaxy A71: Display

On the face of it, not much has changed regarding display technology for the Galaxy A7x series. But appearances can be deceiving.

The Galaxy A73 has a 6.7-inch FHD+ Super AMOLED+ Infinity-O display, which doesn’t sound like much of an upgrade over the 2020 model. However, Samsung gave the Galaxy A73 a 120Hz panel, meaning it can render twice the amount of frames and deliver smoother animations and better (perceived) touch response times.

Galaxy A73 vs Galaxy A71: Firmware support

Samsung is stepping up its firmware game again. After announcing three major OS upgrades for select phones last year, Samsung has extended that period to include four major OS upgrades and up to five years of security patches.

The Galaxy A73 is one of the phones that will take advantage of Samsung’s new policy. It ships with Android 12 (One UI 4.1) and should be upgraded to Android 13, 14, and 16 throughout its lifetime.

The Galaxy A73 offers a better software experience out of the box compared to the A71. Not only that, but Samsung has set the stage for the A73 to remain relevant and safe to use for a longer time.

Galaxy A73 vs Galaxy A71: Performance

The Galaxy A73 has one of the best mid-range chipsets ever produced. The phone is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G SoC, which offers plenty of CPU and GPU power to handle virtually any mobile task.

In contrast, the Galaxy A71 conceals a Snapdragon 730 SoC, while the 5G variant is powered by the Exynos 980. Both chips were manufactured on an 8nm process, whereas the newer Snapdragon 778G is based on a 6nm node.

All things considered, the Galaxy A73 should offer great performance and energy efficiency alike.

Galaxy A73 vs Galaxy A71: Camera

Samsung has upgraded this year’s mid-range camera systems, and the Galaxy A73 features a new 108MP sensor with an f/1.8 aperture and OIS (Optical Image Stabilization). It almost doubles the resolution of the Galaxy A71’s 64MP sensor.

In addition, the new device is equipped a 12MP (f/2.2) ultra-wide camera, and two 5MP (f/2.4) depth and macro sensors. The selfie camera appears to be the same, with a resolution of 32MP and an f/2.2 aperture.

Camera hardware aside, the Galaxy A73 ships with newer firmware and a chipset that’s capable of more advanced camera and AI camera features. Furthermore, with subsequent Android OS and One UI upgrades, the Galaxy A73’s camera experience should continue to improve for years to come.

Galaxy A73 vs Galaxy A71: Other hardware specs

Same as the Galaxy A71, the new 2022 model relies on a battery with 25W Super-Fast Charging.

However, the Galaxy A73 should deliver improved battery life for a couple of reasons. Firstly, the new 6nm chipset should be more energy-efficient than the 8nm solutions. And secondly, the Galaxy A73 boasts a slightly larger battery with a capacity of 5,000mAH.

Other specs worth mentioning include better connectivity enabled by the newer chipset, such as Wi-Fi 6E and 5G.

Worth noting is that the Galaxy A73 doesn’t ship with a wall charger, so you may have to purchase one separately or repurpose your existing Galaxy A71 charger. The 3.5mm audio port is also gone, and if you don’t have a pair of USB-C or wireless earbuds, your only other option is to use a dongle.

Galaxy A73 vs Galaxy A71: Is the 2022 model worth it?

Save for a couple of missing features mentioned above, the Galaxy A73 appears to be a more-than-decent upgrade over the 2020 models.

There’s more processing power on tap, along with better firmware support with four major OS upgrades guaranteed, an improved main camera, and a display that can render animations more smoothly. If anything, the Galaxy A73 is the definition of an upgrade.

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