Samsung Galaxy F41 hands-on: To be, or not to be, that is the question

Ah, the Galaxy F41. This is a phone that we had initially assumed to be an ‘affordable’ foldable, only to later find out that Samsung was looking at rebranding the excellent Galaxy M31. The Galaxy M series was launched as an Amazon exclusive, though it eventually started selling on other major online retailers in India. But it seems that wasn’t enough and Samsung wanted to make an exclusive lineup for Flipkart, the other big Indian retail player, and the Galaxy F series seems to be the result.

So the Galaxy F41 is a rebranded Galaxy M31, but are they both exactly the same? Well, there are a couple of changes. There’s the name, of course, with Samsung using the ‘Full On’ branding to make the F series sound cooler than the M series. The F41 has only three rear cameras while the M31 has four (the former lacks a macro camera). Finally, the F41 comes in an exclusive green color, and Samsung is also using different names for the color options. Where the M31 comes in Ocean Blue, Iceberg Blue, and Space Black, the F41 is available in Fusion Blue, Fusion Green, and Fusion Black.

Unfortunately, none of those changes really make a compelling case — or any case at all — for the F41’s existence. While it remains to be seen how different future F series phones will be from Galaxy M handsets, the F41 is simply not a great choice, and that’s because both the F41 and M31 are priced the same. You get the 6GB+64GB configuration for Rs 15,499, and the 6GB+128GB configuration for Rs 16,499.

But the M31 gives you four rear cameras for that price instead of three. Granted, the low-resolution macro cameras on Samsung’s budget phones aren’t all that special, nor is everyone interested in macro photography. Still, why would you want to pay the same price to get lesser specs, even if the only thing you’re missing out on is a macro camera you may or may not use?

The Galaxy F41 seems to be designed for a certain retailer instead of the consumer, and that would be okay if it had something unique to offer. But it doesn’t (except for a new color?), and since you will be paying the same for both the M31 and F41, the former just makes more sense, no matter how important or unimportant a macro camera may be for you.

• Buy the Galaxy F41 from Flipkart
• Buy the Galaxy M31 from Amazon India

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