Let me share my opinion on this controversial phone, as it has been presented by some YouTubers. To start, I was (no longer as primary devices) a holder of Samsung phones and tablets in the mid-range category for the past 10 years. However, I can't say that I have particular experience, unlike other acquaintances and friends who have been using them for many more years and fully utilize all the features and the ecosystem in general. I always concluded that for their price and what they offer, they were not value for money, but at the same time, they gave you that premium feel. My biggest issue with the devices was always that in at least one update, the device would never turn on or would require an immediate factory reset with all that entails. So, to avoid further fatigue, coming from a Redmi Note 7 (4/64) - which for the last 3 years of its life had been flashed with a custom pixel experience ROM to work decently (compared to what I consider bad updates from Xiaomi) - I decided to switch to this Samsung.
~The camera of the Galaxy A16 5G (8/256) is slightly worse than the camera of the modified Redmi Note 7 in low light, but with quite good daylight lighting, it does a much better job, especially with some experimentation in pro mode.
~The video quality is unfortunately not satisfactory enough and limited to 1080p 30fps, due to the processor, compared to the 4k 30fps of the Redmi Note 7, but it has a stronger speaker and sound during calls.
~The connectivity options are upgraded for a low-end phone, with flawless connections to WIFI, Bluetooth, hotspot, NFC, GPS, etc.
~The operating system came with very few pre-installed applications, mainly from Samsung, (which cannot be considered bloatware only for those who use its ecosystem). The 5G network was disabled as it is by default activated to avoid battery consumption and especially in Greece, I believe it makes no sense to be used beyond some urban centers, as in the year 2024, there is still no suitable infrastructure for this network.
~The refresh rate at 90Hz, which is also activated from the start, provides a very good and smooth experience but with a corresponding impact on the battery. Compared to other devices that support 120Hz or more, where the experience is worse and often inferior.
~The fingerprint sensor is relatively quick for being built into the power button, but even today the Redmi Note 7 competes in this area with flagship devices from recent years with how good and fast the sensor is.
~The lens part is quite good and strong, especially in the white device, where it has this nice effect that lights up the entire device peripherally, it is truly a reason for someone to put on a transparent case.
~Its battery, with 4G+24/7 on with WiFi calling, sound at 40-70%, brightness at 15~40%, NFC off, relatively limited use on YouTube, a little video calling, and scrolling on social media, for me will easily last 1.5 days with a battery percentage of 10~95%. I can't say that it bothers me that it charges up to 25 watts, but otherwise, the battery doesn't struggle much and theoretically will last for more years.
~The operating system comes a bit trimmed compared to the flagships and a characteristic of it is the absence of the screen recorder. It will require the installation of some third-party application, but still, providing fake AR nonsense for the camera compared to something so user-friendly I find to be at least unacceptable.
~The absence of the 3.5 jack is something I have now gotten used to and it doesn't bother me to such a great extent, like the absence of the IR blaster, where I am the exception since I am one in 100,000 who still uses this feature. Nevertheless, there is a slot for a micro SD card up to 1TB.
~The phone is relatively heavy, 204 grams, compared to the average of phones that range around 180, where it may feel noticeable to some, but its square design provides quite a good grip.
~Some benchmarks show that the model with the Exynos processor (like this one) is slightly better compared to the MediaTek that was released in Asian countries and some areas of America; I don't know if in Europe it came exclusively with the Exynos 1330. Perhaps this is also the reason why many dismissed this phone due to lower performance. However, let's not forget that it is the only one to date that comes with Android 14, the latest security patch from November (at this moment), and 6 years of software and security updates from Samsung.
~For a low-end phone with 8/256, NFC, a "guarantee" of 6 years, good battery life, okay gaming performance, and with a small sacrifice in features compared to competitors in the same category and a price of 185 euros without VAT, it is a good deal.