The Galaxy M31s is a decent device overall. It features a bright display, a good set of cameras and battery life with a decent software experience.
Samsung Galaxy M-lineup is known for offering big batteries and good cameras. Add to that an AMOLED display as well. The Galaxy M31s is no different. It comes with a quad rear camera setup, a 6.5-inch AMOLED Super display, and a massive 6,000mAh battery. However, it compromises in one department. But is it a big compromise? Or is it still a good device? Let’s find out in our Galaxy M31s review. The Samsung Galaxy M31s features a familiar plastic back with a gradient coloring. The Mirage Blue colorway that we received starts off with a silver-tone and changes to Blue as you go downward. Further, mid-frame, back panel, and buttons on the device are all polycarbonate. I’m not a fan of glossy backs and this one is no different. It registers fingerprints and scratches easily. I used the phone for 10 days and the phone’s back edges are already scratched. I only kept it on the table or bed. Hence, I’d suggest you use it with a case. Notably, Samsung doesn’t provide a TPU case in the box. The company is likely to have opted for polycarbonate to keep the weight on the lower side as the phone packs a 6,000mAh battery. It doesn’t help with the looks though. That said, the Galaxy M31s doesn’t feel cheap by any means. The weight is evenly distributed, and it feels solid, but slippery in the hand. The rear panel holds the quad rear camera setup situated at the top-left corner in a vertical rectangular module. The right edge houses the power button that also has an embedded fingerprint sensor, which works eight out of ten times. There is certainly room for improvement with the fingerprint authentication. Coming to the left edge, it holds the SIM-tray with dual SIM slots and a dedicated microSD card slot. At the bottom you’ll find a 3.5mm headphone jack, USB Type-C port, and the speaker, while the top edge is clean. The Galaxy M31s features a 6.5-inch 1080 x 2400 pixel (FHD+) Super AMOLED display with an Infinity-O notch at the top. I personally prefer the punch-hole notch to be situated on the left side but this one doesn’t cause any hindrance while browsing or watching videos. However, while the front camera is active, like when on a video call, the software forms a black ring around it (as you can see in the above image), and that translates to an ugly round dot. Surprisingly it blinks at times when I’m browsing the web on Chrome. Talking about the 6.5-inch FHD+ display, it is very good. I watched two seasons of The Office, and it was fun. The screen is bright and vibrant, and I had no issues while viewing it under direct sunlight. It can get pretty low too, so reading ebooks at night wasn’t a problem either. However, it doesn’t feature a high refresh rate, which is quite common in the segment these days. I missed it, but it wouldn’t be a deal-breaker. Overall, I’m content with the quality of display provided on the smartphone. The Samsung Galaxy M31s is powered by the Exynos 9611 SoC that can also be found on a range of Samsung smartphones including Galaxy A50, Galaxy A51, Galaxy M30s, and the Galaxy M31. As compared to the Galaxy M31, this one offers an 8GB RAM option with 128GB of internal storage. In day-to-day usage, the processor handles tasks well. The RAM management isn’t aggressive either. However, it is a different story with Twitter. Using the social media app on this device was a disaster.
