The much-awaited Samsung Galaxy M31s was launched in India last week with a starting price just under Rs 20,000. The Samsung Galaxy M31s touts mid-range specifications such as an Infinity-O sAMOLED display, 25W fast charging support, and 64MP Intelli-Cam quad camera setup at the back. After comparing the phone with its predecessor Samsung Galaxy M31 (review), we decided to pit it against the POCO X2 (review) – which is the among the most popular smartphones in the sub-Rs 20,000 segment. Here’s how the Samsung Galaxy M31s compares with the POCO X2.
Samsung Galaxy M31s vs POCO X2: price in India and availability
Samsung Galaxy M31s comes in two RAM variants 6GB and 8GB, which have been priced in India at Rs 19,499 and Rs 21,499 respectively. The handset will go on sale in the country from August 8th via Amazon in Mirage Blue and Mirage Black colour options.
The POCO X2, on the other hand, is priced at Rs 17,499 for the base 6GB RAM + 64GB storage variant. The 6GB + 128GB and 8GB + 128GB options cost Rs 18,499 and Rs 20,999, respectively. The handset is still available via flash sale on Flipkart in Atlantis Blue, Pheonix Red, and Matrix Purple colours.
Samsung Galaxy M31s vs POCO X2: design
The Samsung Galaxy M31s and POCO X2 both sport attractive designs for the price. The Samsung phone has a gradient finish at the back and a centred punch-hole display up front. The handset packs quad cameras in a rectangular module at the back. The POCO X2, in contrast, has a slightly bigger form factor. It features an elongated punch-hole cutout on the front for dual selfie cameras and a vertically-aligned quad camera setup at the back. Both phones sport a side-mounted fingerprint scanner and Type-C port sandwiched in-between the 3.5mm headphone jack and speaker grille at the bottom edge.
Samsung Galaxy M31s vs POCO X2: specifications
Coming to the specifications, the Samsung Galaxy M31s is the first Galaxy M series phone to ship with a 6.5-inch Infinity-O sAMOLED display that bears FHD+ resolution and centred punch-hole for the selfie camera. The handset runs One UI 2.0 atop Android 10 out of the box and is powered by the company’s own Exynos 9611 SoC. The phone ships with 6GB and 8GB RAM options and 128GB storage onboard, which is further expandable up to 512GB using a microSD card.
The Samsung Galaxy M31s sports quad rear cameras, which comprises of a 64MP Sony IMX682 primary sensor with an f/1.8 lens, 12MP 123-degree ultra-wide sensor, 5MP depth, and 5MP macro lenses. Up front, the smartphone features a 32MP shooter for selfies and video calling. The camera sensor supports 4K video recording and features such as slow-mo videos, Single Take, Smart Wide Selfie, and Filters. The Galaxy M31s packs a large 6,000mAh battery and supports 25W fast charging, as well as reverse charging.
As for the POCO X2 specifications, the handset runs Android 10-based MIUI 11 with POCO launcher out of the box. The phone sports a 6.67-inch full-HD+ display of LCD variety with 120Hz refresh rate, HDR 10 support, and Gorilla Glass 5. The phone is powered by the Snapdragon 730G gaming chipset coupled with up to 8GB RAM and 128GB user-expandable storage onboard. In the camera department, the handset sports 64MP (wide angle) + 8MP (ultra-wide-angle) + a 2MP (depth-of-field) + 2MP macro lens quad rear cameras. For selfies and video calling, the POCO X2 uses with dual cameras that comprise 20MP primary wide-angle lens and a 2MP depth-of-field sensor.
The POCO X2 packs a 4,500mAh battery and supports 27W fast charging. In terms of connectivity, POCO X2 and Samsung Galaxy M31s both sport dual SIM support, 4G LTE, dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5, and GPS.
Samsung Galaxy M31s vs POCO X2: verdict
We’re yet to review Samsung Galaxy M31s, but based on the specifications it seems like a solid mid-range offering. The handset has a gargantuan battery with 25W fast charging support, sAMOLED display, and some interesting camera features such Single Take that allows users to capture multiple photos and videos with just one tap. However, the M31s lacks the impressive 120Hz refresh rate, gaming-focused Snapdragon 730G SoC, and dedicated depth sensor that the POCO X2 brings to the table.
