Samsung Galaxy A52 review: A much-needed upgrade

Galaxy A52 is the successor to the Galaxy A51 which was the best-selling Android phone in 2020. The new smartphone comes in a fresh look, upgraded hardware, and surprisingly a Snapdragon chipset as well. Galaxy A52 has also been one of the most anticipated mid-range phones along with the Galaxy A72 that launched last month.

Samsung has been successfully making its mark in almost every price segment of the smartphone industry. In the price segment between ₹20,000 and ₹30,000 it has the Galaxy A phones, and some Galaxy M phones as well. Galaxy A52 is the latest entrant in this segment with a starting price of ₹26,499. We’ve been using the phone for some time, and here’s what we think about it.

Look and feel

Samsung has gone for a fresh look with this year’s Galaxy A phones, and it’s a much needed improvement over the glossy finish on the Galaxy A51. Galaxy A52 still has the plastic body but with a matte finish. This gives a good grip over the phone and also avoids fingerprint smudges. The phone fits well in your hand too, and isn’t slippery. The phone actually has a very candy colour look. Our review unit is the ‘Awesome Blue’ variant which looks much darker than what is advertised by Samsung. It also comes in violet, black and white.

Galaxy A52 will look familiar from the front with its Infinity-O cutout, and flat display. The screen is a 6.5-inch FHD+ Super AMOLED panel with a 90Hz refresh rate. It’s one of the best displays you’ll get on a smartphone in this price range. The colours are rich, bright and the 90Hz refresh rate adds to the overall smooth experience. You can also select the natural colour mode for warmer colour tones.

Performance

Galaxy A52 is powered by the Snapdragon 720G processor with up to 8GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage. The processor would seem like a major upgrade especially for people who have a gripe with Samsung sticking to its Exynos chipsets. However, during our usage, we experienced occasional stutters while running multiple apps in the background and multitasking. 

The UI also feels slow when shuffling through tabs on Chrome, or switching between apps. This is also very prominent when you use the in-display fingerprint sensor. When it comes to gaming, the phone can easily handle light games like Among Us. We also tried playing Genshin Impact which did have noticeable lags throughout the game.

Battery

Galaxy A52 comes with a 4,500mAh battery with support for up to 25W fast charging. The phone ships with a 15W charger, and the total charging time takes around one and a half hours. The battery life is impressive as it lasted over a day with 90Hz refresh rate turned on, light gaming, streaming and regular usage.

Camera

The cameras are also a big upgrade on the Galaxy A52 with a 64-megapixel primary camera, a 12-megapixel ultra wide angle lens, a 5-megapixel macro sensor and a 5-megapixel depth sensor. Like the other Samsung phones, you’ll have to manually select the 64-megapixel mode to use this sensor which can slow down the app a little bit. It otherwise captures 16-megapixel photos by default.

The colours tend to appear a little too bright in daylight but the 64MP images appear more natural. In low-light, the colours are actually captured quite accurately and there isn’t much loss in detail. Night mode in Galaxy A52 is also pretty decent as it manages to bring enough light in the photos without making the subject look hazy. The camera app also has quite a lot of features that will keep you busy. There’s AR doodle, single take and Snapchat filters integrated in the camera app.

Verdict

Overall, the Galaxy A52 is a decent mid-range phone except for its occasional stutters. The phone also has a lot to offer in terms of display, cameras and battery life. Galaxy A52 will most likely be a no brainer for Samsung fans seeing how the Galaxy A51 was a best-seller. But those looking for better value-for-money options can definitely consider checking out Redmi Note 10 Pro Max, and Realme X7 5G.