Samsung A52 5G is one of the very few devices that made headlines this year.
I’ve been using this phone for the past few months and I have a few opinions to share.
Before we jump into this long-term review, hit the subscribe button, it would be massively
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Samsung A52 5G is one of the most easy-going devices.
It’s a midrange phone, but I didn’t feel like using a midrange or an underpowered device.
It has some flagship traits too.
It’s a plastic phone and many see it as a downside, but I actually like the fact that
it’s a plastic phone.
First of all, it’s not going to break like an expensive phone.
The material used on the back of this phone makes it kind of scratch-resistant.
The matte finish of my A52 doesn’t pick up any fingerprints and smudges either.
Since the phone is really thin, it easily slides into my jeans.
It's lightweight so it doesn’t make my hands tired either.
Its form factor makes it easy to use even with one hand.
On top of that, Samsung has made this phone water and dust-resistant.
It's an IP67 rated phone and that’s the flagship trait no 1.
No problem splashing or spilling the water on this one.
When I am investing an amount of $500 in a phone, the feature I wouldn’t want to miss
is a microSD card slot and a headphone jack, the good news is that the A52 5G has got them
both.
You can top the storage up to 1 Terabyte on this little thing.
Samsung is known for producing the best Super AMOLED displays and it has deployed one of
its nicest screens on the A52 5G.
The display is not the brightest, it peaks out at 800 nits, but its color accuracy and
viewing angles are well worth it.
The bezels and bottom chin are notable, but once you start using this phone, you won’t
mind them.
To make the display more responsive, Samsung has added a 120 Hertz refresh rate and that
is the flagship trait no 2 of this phone.
120 Hertz refresh rate also helps the A52 5G stand apart from the 4G Galaxy A52 that
comes with a 90 Hertz refresh rate only.
So, whether you’re performing your everyday tasks, scrolling through the settings, through
the social media apps, playing a runner, or a high-end game, the screen's fluidity will
add charm to your experience.
120 Hertz display has a downside too.
At first, resource-intensive tasks make this phone heat up more than the normal Galaxy
A52 5G.
It also consumes slightly more battery.
But that’s all bearable.
And by the way, this is an HDR10 supported screen.
Underneath this screen is a fingerprint scanner.
It’s a slow scanner out of the box, but you can make it super-fast with a little trick
you can find on the top right corner of this screen.
Internals of this phone is decent for day-to-day usage.
Samsung has used a slightly better Snapdragon 750G chip on this phone, this is also another
differentiating factor between the A52 5G and 4G.
This is an 8-nanometer chip, it performs really well.
Gaming performance is pretty decent, all the games run without any lags or stutters.
Gamers also get to enjoy the dual stereo speakers of this phone, that’s the flagship trait
no 3.
Here’s the speaker-test of this phone for all of you.
We get a 4500 mAh battery in this phone and it brings a 15W charger out of the box.
I included the A52 5G in two battery drain tests that are already published on my channel.
The phone easily gives you a screen on time of over 7 hours if you’re performing some
resource-intensive tasks.
Otherwise, it easily lasts for a day and a half on moderate use.
That battery performance is pretty incredible for a phone with a 4500 mAh battery.
Charging this phone with a 25W charger takes about 70 minutes and about 100 minutes with
a 15W charger, so the choice of investing in a 25W charger has to be your personal preference.
And by the way, I make a lot of in-depth reviews and comparisons, so make sure you're subscribed
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Before I forget, I’d like to share the software experience too.
A52 5G is equipped with Samsung’s One UI and this is hands down one of the cleanest
UIs out there.
I’m a huge fan of the One UI.
Samsung’s software is what actually adds to the longevity of this phone too.
First of all, this software gives some very useful features like the edge panels, you
get a neat dark mode, there is Always-on-Display too, the navigation gestures look really cool.
On top of that, Samsung treats this phone really well.
I have been getting all security updates on time.
The A52 5G qualifies for 3 years of software and 4 years of security updates.
It means that if you get this phone today, you’re good for the next 4 years until 2025.
That’s how long this phone can really last.
The camera app is good enough, this year Samsung introduced a Snapchat fun mode exclusive to
the A52 and A72.
To be honest, I have never used this fun mode and I never found its utility either, maybe
because I’m not a Snapchat user.
This camera app is feature-rich for sure, you can record videos up to 4K at 30 FPS with
EIS and 1080P 30FPS videos can use OIS.
There is a PRO Photo and Video mode, but the phone misses the RAW format, Samsung should
start giving us RAW format on the midrange phones.
Samsung has made some extra efforts in the camera hardware department this time.
They have brought optical image stabilization to their midrange lineup; this is happening
for the very first time.
The A52 5G gets the main 64 megapixels Sony IMX682 sensor with Optical image stabilization.
The ultrawide camera on this phone is quite good.
For an average mobile photographer, this camera is more than a lot.
Whether you want to take photos or record some good videos, this camera setup will suffice.
I feel like this phone could do with just two cameras at the back, the other two cameras,
the depth sensor, and macro sensor are nothing more than a gimmick.
A single telephoto lens instead of these two extra lenses would have made more sense.
I will attach some camera samples that I took very recently to give you guys a better idea.
Let’s talk about the most important thing now, the price of this phone.
At $500, this phone seems a bit expensive.
Let me address the A52 5G vs A52 4G concerns first.
If you’re living in a region where the A52 4G is available, but you’re interested in
the A52 5G instead, I’d advise you to go with the A52 4G and stop looking at the 5G
variant.
The A52 4G’s price makes much more sense.
Even the A72 is cheaper than the A52 5G and you can pick that up too.
Now the A52 5G, this phone is designed for an entirely different audience.
This phone is for users who are looking for an affordable Samsung-only option with 5G
capability.
Because if you add just 100 dollars more, you can get the S20 FE 5G, a better and more
capable device in every single way.
But if you just want to get the A52 5G only, then remember that you’re paying 500 us
dollars first of all for Samsung’s brand value, Samsung’s software support for up
to 4 years, and the overall longevity of the device.
That’s all from my side.
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