The Galaxy A51 is a nicely specified handset that should appeal to Samsung fans looking for mid-range performance at a reasonable price. There are more affordable alternatives if you're interested in buying SIM-free, though.

The Samsung Galaxy A51 has a great display and good build quality, but is severely hindered by sluggish performance....

Colorful; bright OLED display Good build quality Dual-SIM Expandable storage

Sluggish performance

Doctor, there’s a fly in this ointment

A great design and screen are the big sells of this mid-ranger, which performs generally well but can struggle a little when it comes to gaming tasks. Otherwise the clean software experience makes for a generally polished and affordable choice.

Great display; High quality looks; Good main camera performance in most conditions; Solid battery life; Under display fingerprint scanner

Lacks overall power; Some lag in usage; Single speaker limited; Easy to block Bluetooth antenna and cause cut-out; Quad cameras oversell themselves a little

Samsung’s Galaxy A51 packs a great screen, a handful of cameras, and a big battery -- what more could you ask from a mid-range smartphone? Well, more consistent performance, for one.

Excellent design; Big and beautiful AMOLED screen; Flexible multi-camera system

Laggy performance; Camera quality is largely unremarkable; Mediocre battery life

The Samsung Galaxy A51 is an affordable way to get a good-looking Galaxy phone, but it makes Android feel a little too slow for us to wholeheartedly recommend it.

Bold OLED screen; Has a headphone jack; It’s a Samsung Galaxy; without an S20 price

Feels slower than most at this level; Poor fingerprint scanner; Unusually prominent punch-hole camera

At $400, Samsung's Galaxy A51 has a gorgeous display, good cameras, and a battery that will easily get you through the day, but it can use a boost in the processor department.

Excellent display; Solid cameras; Good battery life

Underwhelming performance; Not waterproof; Fingerprint sensor doesn’t work well

Small improvements and subtle tweaks over its predecessor but the Galaxy A51 is still incredible value

Astonishing value for money; 48MP camera for less; Massive Super AMOLED screen

Slightly shorter battery life than Galaxy A50; Cheaper alternatives in Xiaomi

“Samsung's Galaxy A51 has the best display at this price.”

Modern design; Excellent display; Good photos with enough light; Good battery life; A headphone jack

Lackluster performance; Slower fingerprint sensor; Won't receive OS updates quickly

The Samsung Galaxy A51 looks great on first impressions, but extended usage reveals some frustrating shortcomings. Read all about it in our full review.