Samsung Galaxy Avant/Core LTE, decent Moto G LTE competitor, just not at full-price.

[Aniallation]

When it comes to sub-$200 smartphones with LTE that have decent specs and work in North America, there isn't much choice, but the market is definitely growing rapidly. For now you've got a handful to choose from, the LTE version of the 2013 Moto G, the HTC Desire 510, and a few others. Among the crowd is the Samsung Galaxy Core LTE, known as the Galaxy Avant for the US market on T-Mobile. For the sake of the review I'll be calling it the Avant, to avoid confusion with the non-LTE Galaxy Core, which is a completely different device. I picked one of these up at Koodo (Telus subsidiary) here in Canada who had them on sale for $130, a noticeable amount cheaper then the $225 that Fido/Rogers wants for the Moto G LTE. At the time of this article T-Mobile also has them on sale for $140 in the US. Please note that the Avant variant in the US does not seem to be available in white that the Canadian Core LTE is available in.

 

I have yet to unlock mine in order to use my SIM card, so I can't speak on behalf of voice or data quality yet. The Avant/Core LTE supports LTE and non-LTE connections on AT&T and T-Mobile in the US, and all Canadian  LTE carriers. HSPA+ on non-LTE networks is penta-band, and both variants are compatible with 3G AWS networks such as Wind and Mobilicity in Canada.

 

The two have the same quad-core Snapdragon processor. They also have very similar cameras, connectivity, and battery sizes. The Samsung has the advantage of more RAM then the Moto (1.5GB vs 1GB), as well as some extra features like NFC. However the Moto has the advantage of having a higher resolution display of the same size, a noticeable improvement in pixel density (qHD 960x540 vs 720p) as well as runs vanilla Android as opposed to TouchWiz on the Samsung. Both devices here in Canada at the time of the review run 4.4 KitKat, as the Canadian Moto G has not yet received the Lollipop OTA. There have been no news of a Lollipop update for the Avant, but it will more then likely come eventually. However as for Android 5.1, definitely would not be surprising if this phone does not make the cut.

 

 

If you were looking for something exciting on the box, sadly it's just standard Samsung fake-wood affair.

 

 

The Avant heavily borrows from the design of the Galaxy S5, with chrome plastic trim around the bezel as well as earpiece speaker and home button. It looks very similar to the Galaxy S5 Mini, and since they also in fact have very similar CPUs, the Avant could be considered an S5 Mini with a cut-down feature set. As usual with Samsung devices, hardware home, back, and multitasking buttons are used, rather then onscreen ones.

 

 

The back of the Avant also contains a rubberized soft-touch back meant to resemble leather. It more closely resembles the back of the Galaxy Note 4. Unlike the S5 Mini, the Avant does not have a heart rate sensor or IR blaster.

 

It feels great in the hand, comfortable to hold and grippy on the rear instead of slippery like some of it's competitors. The Moto G with it's rounded back does feel slightly more comforting to hold, but the texture on the back of the Avant feels less plain in the hand then the G. Your choice.

 

 

Underneath the removable back cover is the 2100mAh battery as well as the MicroSD and MicroSIM card slots. Although the battery is the same capacity as the one in the S3, it is a slightly different size. Avant battery will work in S3, but not the other way around, sad news for finding replacement batteries, as if Samsung used the same batteries, replacements/spares would be a lot cheaper and easier to find.

 

 

Turn on the device and you're greeted with standard TouchWiz affair. Let's go into that in detail using screenshots instead of shitty BlackBerry photos.

 

 

The stock launcher and widgets are identical to what you get on the S5, I've replaced it with Google Now Launcher. 

 

 

The rest of the system UI is also pretty much identical. Some features of flagship Galaxy phones exist, such as S-Beam, Smart Stay (screen stays on as long as you're looking at it) and Download Booster (use both mobile data and WiFi to download things quicker), however not all features are present. Many of the motion and eye-based features are absent from the Avant. One thing that many will definitely notice lacking once you use the phone though, is that there is no auto brightness control, as shown by the lack of the "auto" option next to the brightness control in the drop-down menu.

 

Believe it or not, TouchWiz actually runs..... well! It's a very noticeable performance increase if you've used the older-design KitKat TouchWiz on an S3 or S4. Compared to those it's much more optimized for the hardware and tweaked for better overall usability. There's now barely any stuttering in UI navigation, animations are smooth with little delay, and no more annoying launcher reloading when you multitask, the launcher actually stays in memory well now. People have been saying the same praise for this new TouchWiz on the S5 and Note 4 as well. Props to Samsung for once!

 

 

Android 4.4.2 KitKat comes shipped with the device, it is unknown when and if a Lollipop update will come.

 

 

The Avant has the same MSM8226 CPU found in the Moto G, as well as some other phones including the LG L90, Sony Xperia E3 and M2, and Nokia Lumia 630.

 

 

Antutu scores the Avant with a higher average then the Moto G (G gets about 17300), however this is mostly thanks to it's higher graphics score, due to the Avant having less pixels to power then the G does. The Moto G does better then the Avant in CPU, RAM and multitasking score, likely due to vanilla Android running instead of more resource-heavy TouchWiz. Quadrant scores are about the same. Games ran well, even more demanding titles such as Goat Simulator and Asphalt 8.

 

 

The camera is far from inspiring. According to other reviews, outside pictures are excellent, but this is LTT forum, what is the sun to us? Indoor pictures look grainy, and color reproduction can be anywhere from quite oversaturated to downright terrible depending on lighting conditions. Auto-focus takes quite a while after tapping, and shutter lag is very intrusive. The flash however works well and pictures taken with it look nice aside from still being generally grainy. 

 

Conclusion

 

Pros:

-Looks nice

-Sales put it at an aggressive price

-Hardware buttons give you more screen real estate then software keys

-Familiar UI for past TouchWiz users

-Smooth gaming performance

-Surprisingly smooth and snappy for a budget TouchWiz device

-Not much bloatware out of the box

-Lower ppi of 245 isn't that bad to the eye

-Good camera outside (according to various external review sources)

-Excellent call quality (according to various external review sources)

 

Cons:

-S5-style TouchWiz is much too childish and... blue... IMO

-Performance impact vs vanilla Android

-Mediocre camera when indoors

-Rear facing speaker sounds good but is too quiet to be useful for media

-Screen is quite lacking in colors and vibrance, unknown panel type, some sources state PLS

-Fake leather back looks nice, but doesn't feel fantastically solid

-No auto-brightness?!

-Future updates past Lollipop not likely

 

 

Would I recommend? Only on a sale. Although it is a good phone for the price, it's good looks doesn't make up for it's boring screen, camera and speaker. At regular price, the 2nd generation Moto G, or waiting out for the Asus Zenfone 2, would definitely be better choices.  Even the first generation Moto G LTE would be a better choice for the money if faster network speeds is an absolute requirement. The screen pixel density isn't a big deal, but if you can live with it's boring colors along with the lackluster camera and speaker and lack of assurance for updates, it's a good option on the short list when priced at under $150.

[Guest]

"but this is LTT forum, what is the sun to us?"

You sir, are an inspiration.

 

​Also, I'd go Moto G because Motorola has promised and delivered on Lollipop (Samsung typically never updates non-flagship phones after their initial build), and the speakers on it are great. Nice review though!

[Aniallation]

​Also, I'd go Moto G because Motorola has promised and delivered on Lollipop (Samsung typically never updates non-flagship phones after their initial build), and the speakers on it are great. Nice review though!

Thanks! Samsung has actually updated many of their non-flagship Android phones, but it often goes unnoticed because generally they're just updated for one major Android version. The Avant will most likely get Lollipop, but I wouldn't be surprised if it didn't get 5.1.

[Guest]

Thanks! Samsung has actually updated many of their non-flagship Android phones, but it often goes unnoticed because generally they're just updated for one major Android version. The Avant will most likely get Lollipop, but I wouldn't be surprised if it didn't get 5.1.

Samsung's update list basically boils down to all variants of the S4, S5, Note 3, Note 4, Note Edge, and a few non-flagships. Then for tablets it the S-Tabs and some others.

 

They just have too many low-end phones that will be stuck on 4.4.2, not even 4.4.4 for god's sake. That's what happens when you make 40 models and forget about them the next day because you've moved on to number 41.

[Aniallation]

Samsung's update list basically boils down to all variants of the S4, S5, Note 3, Note 4, Note Edge, and a few non-flagships. Then for tablets it the S-Tabs and some others.

 

They just have too many low-end phones that will be stuck on 4.4.2, not even 4.4.4 for god's sake. That's what happens when you make 40 models and forget about them the next day because you've moved on to number 41.

All of my past Samsung phones have gotten updates at least one major version of Android. I even had a Galaxy S II HD LTE once, which doesn't even exist outside of one carrier in one country (Canada) with no other variants anywhere else in the world. It came with Froyo, but got OTA's to Gingerbread, ICS, and even 4.1 Jelly Bean with NatureUX. 3 major Android updates to a device in which there probably aren't even 1000 in circulation anymore. (there was only one ROM developer for it, he lived across the city from me, and we worked to get KitKat on it before the OTA got to the Nexus 4, haha)

 

Apparently Samsung is putting 4.4.4 aside and instead putting more work into getting Lollipop done quicker, makes sense since there's so much they have to add in terms of TouchWiz theming and stock Samsung bloat apps

[ForsakenLive]

it has touchwiz so, no, it's not a competitor.

[Aniallation]

it has touchwiz so, no, it's not a competitor.

I don't mind TouchWiz anymore tbh, the S5-style TouchWiz with the childish design is a LOT better optimized and run noticeably better then the S3/S4 TouchWiz did.

[Aniallation]

pie