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Telstra Samsung Galaxy A20 $179 @ Coles

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Telstra Samsung Galaxy A20 $179 @ Coles
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Arthur Dunger on 25/05/2020 - 17:18 files.ozbargain.com.au (2630 clicks)
Last edited 25/05/2020 - 17:25 by 1 other user
  • 6.4" Super AMOLED 720 x 1560 (HD+) with water drop notch
  • Rear Finger Print
  • NFC
  • B28
  • USB-C
  • 4,000 mAh Battery
  • RAM 3GB
  • Storage 32GB
  • MicroSD (Up to 512GB)
  • One Sim Slot
  • Telstra Locked (unlocking links below)

Deal below has expired but still a handy link.
Unlock Samsung Galaxy A20 $5.20 (10% off) @ FoneFunShop
See FoneFunShop Rep's comment here for unlock instructions
I bought this flip case from Aliexpress
https://www.samsung.com/au/smartphones/galaxy-a20-a205/
Ozbargain's Best Budget Smartphone (Under $300) in 2019

Mobile Mobile Phone Samsung Android

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  • slowFTL on 25/05/2020 - 17:23
    +7

    I wonder what is the % of ozbargainers who have bought this phone lol. Thanks OP!

    • Oliver on 25/05/2020 - 19:00
      -1

      why

    • Agret on 25/05/2020 - 19:06
      -1

      From past threads the phone is really slow & subpar and the consensus is you should get the A30 instead. Hoping nobody on ozb buying the A20 after all the warnings posted.

      • ozblogger on 25/05/2020 - 19:35
        +2

        A30 has the same specs with a better res screen
        It wont be any better
        Wait for A31

        • ndftz on 25/05/2020 - 22:09
          +4

          Pfft those are rookie numbers.
          I'm going to wait for the A31.5

        • JimmyF on 27/05/2020 - 11:27

          A30 has the same specs with a better res screen

          The A20 and A30 have different CPUs, difference screens and different cameras. But yes otherwise they are the 'same'.

      • iknowtj on 25/05/2020 - 19:36
        +11

        I bought one for work - turn on the dev options and make transition speeds zero for animations and it more than fast enough.

        • worldwidehappiness on 25/05/2020 - 22:26
          +4

          I followed your tip on my LG phone. Amazing results! Thanks.

        • dreamstation on 26/05/2020 - 21:32
          +3

          Just did this now. It's legit. Thanks mate!

        • Arcticfox on 27/05/2020 - 08:13
          +2

          Excellent tip man, never knew this existed. My A20 flys now!

          Here's a youtube clip of you tip about turning dev options on:

          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RfV82FQFbk

          Thank you again.

        • ozhunter68 on 27/05/2020 - 15:02
          +1

          "iknowtj" Thanks for the tip. Do you set Developer Options>Drawing>Window animation scale: Animation off As Well as Transition animation scale: Animation off And Also Animator duration scale: Animation off?

      • dreamstation on 25/05/2020 - 19:42
        +18

        Well the A20 leaves my iPhone 4S for dead which I was still using up until purchasing the A20. Yeah sure it's a budget phone but for $179 I'm laughin. I can ring, send messages, browse the net, watch youtube and twitch. What more do I need.

      • donnot on 25/05/2020 - 23:05

        Can confirm - brother has had one for ~6 months and wishes he kept his Z2. Much, much slower than an Xperia Z2 and has been gradually getting sloooooower. Apps are slow to open (even settings), crash quite often and GPS is very average. Great battery life, NFC and USB-C though which is nice, but overall a frustrating phone to use.

      • Arthur Dunger on 26/05/2020 - 10:54
        +5

        the consensus is you should get the A30 instead.

        No it's not. I have posted this phone a few times and read all the other posts. There are mixed reviews but the general consensus is the community thinks it's the best value phone in this price range.

        That's why it was voted number one in the poll for best budget phone by Ozbargain members. The A30 has zero votes.

        • Arcticfox on 26/05/2020 - 17:05
          +3

          You are correct, it has the best features for a phone at this price point. He is always dumping on the A20 every time a deal for it pops up for some reason.

  • solidice on 25/05/2020 - 17:30

    Does it come with credit and sim?

    • iknowtj on 25/05/2020 - 19:36

      Yup

  • hopper on 25/05/2020 - 17:31
    +1

    volte and vowifi? sorry just need to confirm few things before i pull the trigger to buy these

    • uk3000 on 25/05/2020 - 19:27
      +2

      It supports both VoLTE and WoWifi and recently got an Android 10 upgrade, but GPS can be very finicky. YMMV but do search OzB for A20 + GPS.

      • slowFTL on 25/05/2020 - 19:44

        Did you unlock via FoneFunShop? Wondering whether the GPS issues is related to the unlocking process, read somewhere here.

        • uk3000 on 25/05/2020 - 19:59

          No, via Vodafone website directly, it was a Vodafone model. My device came from an AusPost shop and for some odd reason the unlock code was provided for free.

          • slowFTL on 25/05/2020 - 20:12

            @uk3000: Good for you, some imei allows for free unlocking from Vodafone. Is your A20 having GPS issues?

            • battler on 25/05/2020 - 20:22

              @slowFTL: My kid had A20 at school today (dropped kid off), then at lunchtime Life360 told me the kid was 15km away, and in a direction we do not travel !!
              Having said that, this is the first time GPS has played up on either of 2x A20's in the home in past 8 months.

            • uk3000 on 25/05/2020 - 23:44

              @slowFTL: Yep it is still having issues getting initial GPS fix, although seemingly it got a bit better after Android 10 upgrade. I got two of these for my in-laws and they are still happy with these phones. I suppose they don't use GPS a lot :)

              • slowFTL on 26/05/2020 - 10:14
                +2

                @uk3000: Thanks for getting back to me :-). Looks like the GPS problems are not related to the unlocking process, so maybe a quality control issue…

  • Ausdave on 25/05/2020 - 17:43
    +1

    Might be clearing stock for the A21?

  • Sidor on 25/05/2020 - 18:10

    How long has it taken to get a case from AliExpress?

    • Arthur Dunger on 25/05/2020 - 18:16
      +1

      I ordered it before the virus, but received other items last week which took 6 weeks!

      I imagine it will be getting faster if you order now.

      • a1234my on 26/05/2020 - 09:27

        I had things order since Feb only arrive last week. But remember Virus lock down started mid-end of Jan in china.

    • Muzeeb on 25/05/2020 - 18:18

      answer

      Muzeeb on 25/05/2020 - 18:18 (Collapsed - Offtopic. Show)
    • abctoz on 25/05/2020 - 20:39

      ordered a heater 2nd may just got it today in Sydney, i noticed they're are charging a bit extra for shipping now

    • kiteo on 26/05/2020 - 00:45

      I ordered a bunch of things from AliExpress in February - took anywhere from a month to three months. Much longer than usual. Not sure about now.

  • shortcircuit on 25/05/2020 - 19:12

    how this compare to Oppo A52?

    • Cheapo Moose on 25/05/2020 - 19:34

      I'd say the A52 is better but it's more expensive.

    • Sidor on 25/05/2020 - 20:10
      -3

      Oppo made in China,

      • Exec-Matrix on 28/05/2020 - 15:29
        +1

        Nothing wrong with this comment. Just shows the doo gooders downvoting it. And no don’t trust chinese phones myself

  • jackofspade on 25/05/2020 - 19:37
    +3

    Do they even have stock? I can never find one

  • syswong on 25/05/2020 - 20:35
    +2

    While the spec looks ok for the price. I am not sure people are awared of how confined the performace is with that processor.

    If I were one that can only afford this budget. I will rather go with a refurb Pixel or other cheap import phone which do not have the AMOLED, I always find Samsung's low end model lost touch with usability, they rather put a great display on a super slow processsor and not use a cheaper display but better performace hardware. They need to balance their spec better.

    • OssieA on 25/05/2020 - 22:36
      +1

      That's what I did. Got a pixel refurb for $120 a few months ago. going strong.

      • solidice on 26/05/2020 - 08:43

        Where is a good place to get a refurb pixel from?

        • syswong on 26/05/2020 - 09:49

          Aliexpress

        • OssieA on 27/05/2020 - 02:50

          I got mine from My Mobile, Westfield Liverpool (nsw)

          • ozhunter68 on 27/05/2020 - 14:21

            @OssieA: Are you guys referring to the original pixel with the SD821?

            If that still has original battery in it, would it still be any good, as in what % of capacity still?

  • Todes Angst on 26/05/2020 - 00:13
    +5

    This phone is a cracker and for $179 it is phenomenal. Has B28, NFC, SDCard support, Android 10, VoLTE, 4G and made by Samsung. I've had mine for a few months now and have zero issues with it. GPS works fine, spot on always. Mine was the Coles variant locked to Telstra and unlocked via FoneFunShop for $5. If your budget is under $200 for a phone this one is the best.

    • syswong on 26/05/2020 - 07:18
      -5

      Knowing how heavy One UI is on processing power, I suggest you go and check out a S10 or S20 and see how the OS is rub on proper hardware. I don't know what app you run on your phone but surly nothing heavy.

      Banggood now has deal for UMIDIGI POWER 3 and Realme 5i. Both around this price mark. Performance are both leaps ahead of A20 but with out the OLED screen.

      The UMIDIGI POWER 3 seems a more complete package with NFC but using a MediaTek processor while the Realme 5i save money on not having NFC it has a Snapdragon processor. Both balance out the performance with a IPS-LCD to meet the price point. There is also the famous Redmi 8T as well which also fits into this segment. THese option are all source from etailer so paypal / credit card purchase protection is sure recommendation.

      At the end of the day, at this price point something has to give. OLED, good CPU, local warranty, B28, NFC… you can't have everything but needs sensible sacrifice. Sacrificing processing power for screen which Samsung tend to do for their low end is not something I call sensible.

      • Todes Angst on 26/05/2020 - 09:03
        +4

        The A20 is $179 and ticks all the boxes and it is made by a reputable company. Plus it's Australian stock with an Australian warranty. It may not run Crisis at 200 FPS but it was never meant to. It is a very solid budget phone that will surprise anyone who buys it.

        • syswong on 26/05/2020 - 09:49
          -4

          Not asking it to do Crisis, Just Whatsapp, Wechat, Build in browser, and chrome video on overlay. I have a Samsung tablet with similar spec that really struggle just doing that. Try to add torrent to the mix oh god!!

          BTW why you border about Australia warranty for a sub $200 phone? Local warranty vs 6 months payment protection with double the performance, I choose the latter.

          • Todes Angst on 26/05/2020 - 11:27
            +5

            @syswong: Have you ever had a grey import phone break (e.g. Nokia 8.1 USB-c port problem)? Nigh on impossible to get it fixed for less than the price of a new phone. If I bought anything for $200 and it broke within a year I'd expect it to get fixed under warranty.

            I use ebay, Prime Video, netflix, twitch, facebook, twitter, instagram, 3 different NFC banking apps, WhatsApp, spotify plex, Lifx smart light app, Alexa, Google Home, Reddit, qTorrent etc all on my A20 and it's fine.

            This is why this phone is such a fantastic buy at $179. Sure there are other phones in this price range, but none of them are as good all-round as this and have virtually EVERY feature a mobile phone needs.

            If the A21 comes with wireless charging it will be nearly the perfect budget phone.

            • syswong on 26/05/2020 - 12:13
              -3

              @Todes Angst: Good luck getting a broken USB port fixed with Samsung, I mean physically broken. The point of buying a $200 phone is if it is broken within the first six month, I ask for return and claim it through paypal. After that I will try to warranty and if not success, just get a new one.

              I am lucky that I have not had a grey import broken, then ones that actually break is not cover by warranty anyway (broken screen). For such case I actually got better price and services overseas than Australia. 230 AUD to fix a Mi8 screen from Mi AUS (third party IPS screen) compare to 140 AUD in Mi Shanghai (Orginal AMOLED). In fact most AUS local warranty are garbage like LG and Moto. ONly Samsung and Applw is good because they run their own services centre. Note both are very strict so not easy to deal with unless your phone is in perfect condition.

              You can run all the apps you want but try to get it to multi task a few power hungry app together, like doing Snapseed with a video on overlay. it will not coupe. Its good for making calls, light browsing etc, nothing more.

      • ChaLuo on 30/05/2020 - 15:35

        UMIDIGI POWER 3 is a powerful nightmare

    • [Deactivated] on 27/05/2020 - 12:34

      See I'd say the RealMe c3 has the edge on it
      it as it has twice the storage (64gb vs 32gb), bigger battery (5000mAh vs 4000mAh)

      Currently $179 at Optus
      https://www.optus.com.au/prepaid/phones/realme/c3

      https://www.gsmarena.com/compare.php3?idPhone1=10089&idPhone…

      • ozhunter68 on 27/05/2020 - 14:25

        Also a good phone for the money.

  • Blottski on 26/05/2020 - 09:19
    +4

    Have used one for about 6 months now.

    It's a weird phone. Just does random annoying things.

    For some reason mine puts calls on hold with the phone to my ear (I have to physically turn the screen off before I start talking)

    It somehow seems to do random shit in my pocket even when the screen is off.

    For some reason, it's crap to type on. It's like the screen input lacks accuracy or something. I'd consider myself decent at entering stuff on a smartphone but I'm constantly making errors that don't seem to auto correct etc. Never had this issue with my iPhone 6s.

    All in all, I guess it behaves like a cheap phone but it's bloody frustrating.

    • Arthur Dunger on 26/05/2020 - 09:33
      +3

      Have you tried SwiftKey?

    • iknowtj on 27/05/2020 - 09:24

      The hold call button is top right of screen, I suspect, just like me you're tapping it with your ear.

      • Blottski on 27/05/2020 - 09:30

        Yeah. It's a nightmare.

        Great phone of casuals and teenagers but if a heavy user for business, look elsewhere.

        • iknowtj on 27/05/2020 - 10:23
          +3

          I actually use mine for work.

          Loads outlook, takes call and sms fine enough for me. Some quick adjustments in the developer menu make it much, much faster and smoother.

  • JimmyF on 26/05/2020 - 10:14
    -3

    The A20 is a underpowered phone for most people unless all you do is make calls and text message. Go the A30

    • kml22 on 26/05/2020 - 10:41
      +4

      Tell me a better with better spec for that price listed above?

      • JimmyF on 26/05/2020 - 11:59

        Tell me a better with better spec for that price listed above?

        Its not a pissing match, I'm just saying how it is as someone who has used this phone.

        I have a couple of family members who use it, all they do is call and text, so its perfect for them. But if you wanted to do much more, it bogs down often and has lots of thinking moments.

    • Arthur Dunger on 26/05/2020 - 10:50
      +3

      So what you're saying is if you spend more you'll get a better phone.

      • JimmyF on 26/05/2020 - 11:59
        -2

        Depends on your use case, if you just call/text then this phone will be fine, otherwise yes buy the next model up.

    • Ronnnie on 26/05/2020 - 23:24
      +2

      If you want a phone offering better performance than the A30 isn’t going to be any better, if anything worse because it uses a higher resolution screen but powered by a similar low end SoC.

      • JimmyF on 27/05/2020 - 09:36
        +1

        At least you provided a comment compared to the others that just down voted.

        Odd, one family member has the A30 and another the A20. The A20 is way slower in real life and seems to 'bog' down doing anything other than the simple things, while the A30 seems to be fine.

        The A20 feels like its caught running out of RAM or something, but they both have 3GB, so put it down to the CPU differences.

        We had the A30 first and got the A20 second as its pretty much the same on paper other than the camera and cpu.

        • Arthur Dunger on 27/05/2020 - 09:51
          +2

          I think you're getting negged because you're saying to get the A30 as though it's in the same price range. Most people are smart enough to know if you spend more money you will get a better phone.
          Regardless the speed test linked below shows they are virtually the same, so you're just paying more for the higher res screen.

          Did you try this with the A20? Seems like a good tip.

          • JimmyF on 27/05/2020 - 11:25
            -2

            @Arthur Dunger:

            I think you're getting negged because you're saying to get the A30 as though it's in the same price range.

            Well if people are stupid enough to think I said they're the same price, then so be it. I was just giving my experience of using both the A20 and A30 phones. As I said the A20 is fine for calls/texts mostly but does appear to bog down randomly doing even the simple things, unlike the A30.

            Regardless the speed test linked below shows they are virtually the same

            I keep hearing this, but as a user of both the A30 is much faster in real life compared to the A20. For example when replying to a message the keyboard appears instantly on the A30, but on the A20 there is a pause while it loads the keyboard and then displays it.

            so you're just paying more for the higher res screen

            and faster CPU (Exynos 7884 vs Exynos 7904) and better cameras and on the 64gb A30, 4GB of RAM.

            Did you try this with the A20? Seems like a good tip.

            Thanks, will give it a go.

      • [Deactivated] on 27/05/2020 - 12:23
        +2

        Hey Ronnie, it's actually not quite true, there is potentially one very important difference

        A20 - 32gb storage - 3Gb ram

        A30 - 32gb storage - 3Gb ram

        A30 - 64gb storage - 4Gb ram

        for Android, 4Gb is currently a sweet spot for anything above v8.0
        So the 64gb version with 4gb ram would usually feel a lot quicker.

        Although RealMe are fairly good bang for your buck.

        • Ronnnie on 27/05/2020 - 16:50
          +1

          It depends on screen resources, lower the resolution the less ram required to run the same apps. So yeah for an Android phone using a FHD it’ll require more ram, so will a QHD require more again.

          However the more expensive A30 could be using faster ram and faster storage which could mean better performance in certain tasks. In saying that looking at the linked speed test comparison performance looks roughly identical, with mostly slightly better response by the A20 most of the time. Get the A30 for the better screen and camera but not for its performance. :)

  • slowFTL on 26/05/2020 - 12:12
    +3

    Youtube A20 vs A30 speed test

  • Squirta on 27/05/2020 - 08:56

    Just had OW Price Beat Guarantee denied as the Coles version is network locked and OW is unlocked.

    • JimmyF on 27/05/2020 - 09:36
      -1

      That is correct, this is a Telstra locked version.

  • Squirta on 27/05/2020 - 10:18
    +1

    And I've called 7 Coles stores in SE Vic and there is no stock anywhere.

  • beerpara on 27/05/2020 - 10:39
    +1

    Thanks OP! Bought one this morning.

  • inherentchoice on 27/05/2020 - 11:19

    Can this be used on Boost Mobile or a Telstra reseller without unlocking?

    • JimmyF on 27/05/2020 - 11:26
      +2

      yes it can

  • spy on 27/05/2020 - 17:59
    +1

    6 stores checked, two more than a couple of weeks ago. No luck. Unsure why they keep advertising a phone they have no stock for.

    • Galaxyman on 28/05/2020 - 12:44

      I call that bait advertising. Like Aldi do when eaxh store gets 2 or 3 of a special buy item like they do with sink mixer taps. Not a "merchantable quantity".

  • voyager on 27/05/2020 - 20:04

    Picked one up today & tried my Aldi sim which wouldn't work - saying locked to a network.

  • brett-au on 27/05/2020 - 20:39
    +1

    Tried three stores, found one at coles lane cove in a very scruffy box. Amazingly when I shook the box, dirt started to fall out of it.

    I wonder if someone had bought it, work a way of opening the box with out breaking the security seals, filled it with dirt and then returned it?

    Annoyingly the person behind the counter wouldn't open it to prove it was okay. So if anyone wants to take a risk, there is still one there.

    • ozhunter68 on 28/05/2020 - 17:05

      Was bad luck for you, but better missing out than spending $179 on a box of dirt.

      Funny story though.

  • Galaxyman on 28/05/2020 - 12:43
    +1

    No stock of these phones at Chadstone…again. The service desk lady said they hadn't received any stock for this promotion.
    Bait advertising?

  • pmoarg on 29/05/2020 - 10:35
    +3

    I picked up one here in Perth, first store didn't have any but that was a smaller Coles. Phone didn't work with my Belong sim, so I unlocked it with the FoneFunShop software. Turned off the animations in developer options as recommended. So far so good.

    It's certainly an upgrade from my Galaxy S5, loving the larger screen size. I can see it's not quite as crisp as my S5, which had a higher resolution, but still looks good. No problems with GPS at this stage. Camera is great. I don't have any problems typing like Blottski reported, maybe it's an Apple vs Samsung thing?

    I don't play games so no comments there.

    Thanks for the post OP, it's a banger for $179 :)

  • Galaxyman on 29/05/2020 - 16:17

    Anyone found one in a Melbourne Coles? Thinking not many made it to metropolitan stores.

  • CalmLemons on 02/06/2020 - 00:24

    Anyway we can buy this online?

    • Arcticfox on 02/06/2020 - 13:55

      The supplied screenshot says it is unavailable online, must be purchased in store.

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