The Galaxy F02s is the latest entrant in the entry-level segment but will it be able to take on the established players?
The Samsung Galaxy F02s is joining the budget segment with a price of Rs 8,999 for the base 3GB/32GB variant and Rs 9,999 for the 4GB/64GB variant. Samsung is trying to push the customers into buying its smartphones even in the entry-level space but players like Realme and Micromax are already doing well within the same price bracket.
So, here we are putting the Micromax In 1 and the Realme C25 up against the Galaxy F02s to find out the one that deserves your money the most as all of them come with a variant that costs Rs 9,999.
Display
While the design of all the three phones look ordinary and usual, we feel the In 1 stands out the most with its X pattern on the back. For the display, the Micromax In 1 comes with a 6.67-inch Full HD+ display with a resolution of 1080 x 2460 pixels, 20:9 aspect ratio, 91.4% screen to body ratio, and 450nits maximum brightness. It sports a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner.
Samsung Galaxy F02s flaunts a 6.5-inches HD+ TFT display with 1560 x 720 pixels resolution and water drop notch while the Realme C25 features a 6.52-inch HD+ display with 720 x 1600 pixels resolution and a 20:9 aspect ratio. There is a water drop notch on the screen same as the F02s.
While all of them are LCD panels, the Micromax In 1 wins this round as it has a Full-HD resolution which will result in a much crispier and clear looking image on the display. Both the others have a HD display with lesser resolution resulting in reduced image quality compared to the IN 1.
Performance and Software
Under the hood, the Micromax IN 1 is powered by a 2.0GHz octa-core MediaTek Helio G80 SoC which will be coupled with up to 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. The memory can be expanded by up to 256GB via micro sd card slot. It runs Android 10 OS and said to be upgradeble to Android 11 in May this year.
The Realme C25 is powered by the MediaTek Helio G70 SoC. It comes with up to 4GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. There will also be support for storage expansion via microSD card. It runs on Realme UI 2.0 based Android 11 OS.
The Galaxy F02s is powered by octa-core Snapdragon 450 chipset, Adreno 506 GPU. The phone has up to 4GB RAM and 64GB onboard storage. The smartphone also has a microSD card for expandable storage up to 1TB. On the software front, Galaxy F02s runs Android 10-based One UI 2.5.
The chip on the Galaxy F02s was launched more than 3 years ago while the MediaTek G Series processor while the MediaTek Helio G80 on the IN 1 was launched just an year ago. Out of the three, the In 1 gets an advantage here as it is equipped with the most powerful processor amongst the three phones.
But for onboard storage, you get the highest amount in Realme C25 considering the Rs 9999 variants of the three smartphones. The only advantage Galaxy F02s has over here is the 1TB expandable storage whereas it goes up to only 256GB in the other two. In our opinion, the Micromax IN 1 is the phone to go for if you want the best performing one. Also, the Galaxy F02s comes with Android 10 and no sign of Android 11, again making it lack behind. On the other hand, you get a stock Android experience on the IN 1 without any ads and bloatware.
Cameras
For the camera, Micromax In 1 is equipped with a triple-camera setup with a combination of a 48-megapixel primary camera, a 2-megapixel depth camera and a 2-megapixel macro camera. The phone has an 8-megapixel front camera sensor.
On the Realme C25, there is a square-shaped triple camera setup with a combination of a 48-megapixel primary camera, a 2-megapixel depth sensor, and a 2-megapixel macro shooter. For the front, there is an 8-megapixel selfie camera.
The Galaxy F02s sports a triple camera setup at the back with a 13-megapixel primary sensor, 2 megapixels macro sensor and a 2 megapixels depth sensor. On the front side, there is a 5 megapixels sensor housed in the notch on the front for selfies and video calling with f/2.2 aperture.
On the basis of on-paper specifications, the Galaxy F02s again loses the round against the other two with lower resolution sensors while IN 1 and Realme C25 stand identical against each other. Both the other phones should be able to capture decent shots when given adequate light and in outdoor conditions.
Battery
The Micromax In 1 packs a 5,000mAh battery with 18W fast charging.
The Realme C25 packs a huge 6,000mAh battery with 18W fast charging support.
The Galaxy F02s packs a 5,000mAh battery with 15W quick charge support.
In terms of battery size, the Realme C25 wins the round with the biggest battery but it will charge the slowest. The Micromax IN 1 on the other hand will charge the fastest with a decently sized battery. The Galaxy F02s again loses the round for obvious reasons.
In our opinion, the Micromax IN 1 wins the most rounds and provides the highest value for your money while the Galaxy F02s loses to the already established players in almost every aspect.