Samsung ramping up their 'A' game with A52 5G
Samsung Galaxy A52 5G.
Top-of-the-range phones continue to get more expensive while mid-range devices are getting better and the latest offering, from Samsung, is no exception. The Galaxy A52 5G provides all you need in a smartphone at half the price of a typical flagship. Impressive features include a Super AMOLED 120Hz display, a quad-camera array, 5G connectivity and an in-display fingerprint reader.
The A52 5G is available in violet, blue, black, and white, which was the colour of my review model. If you’re considering purchasing the A52 5G, check to see which colour you’d like because not all retailers have all the colours.
The mostly plastic construction doesn’t feel as premium as a flagship with more exotic materials like ceramic or glass, but the soft-textured back isn’t as prone to fingerprints either. There’s no mistaking the back for anything other than plastic since it doesn’t have a solid feel to it. There are Samsung branding and EU markings on the back along with a quad-camera array and LED flash which has a similar design aesthetic to the S21 range. There’s nothing particularly striking about the design but a nice case will change up the look regardless.
The front has a hole-punch notch in the top-centre portion of the screen and the bezels are no so petite. At certain angles, it looks as if there’s a white ring around the hole-punch that makes it stand out more than it should, especially when the screen is off.
Two features not found on the more expensive S21 range is a 3.5 mm headphone jack found on the bottom edge and a dual-SIM and microSD tray located on the top edge. Both are welcome additions although the base 128GB of storage will be plenty for most users.
The gorgeous 6.5-inch display is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5 and supports up to 120Hz refresh rates for silky smooth scrolling through social feeds, emails, webpages and games that support it. However, the processing power of the graphics hardware isn’t good enough to really reach the lofty heights of 120fps.
Peak brightness is a respectable 800nits in super bright conditions but there’s no support for HDR10. Despite the lack of support for the latter, visuals striking, vibrant and contrast is excellent. The screen is nice and big and makes watching video content a pleasure.
The screen is only FHD+ (2,400 x 1,080) resolution but everything looks sharp and crisp.
The A52 5G is also IP67-rated for water and dust protection and comes with a stereo speaker setup and support for Dolby Atmos. The latter doesn’t offer exceptional sound quality but does enhance watching movies or TV shows no end.
The Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G chipset does a stellar job, but it’s no powerhouse, especially for more demanding gaming titles. During 3D Mark Wild Life Stress Test, the A52 5G was able to achieve the same score from the first to the last test without getting hot but the average frame rates were relatively low.
You get Android 11 out of the box, and a decent 4,500mAh battery which is good enough to easily get you through a heavy day of use. The included wall charger is 15 watts which isn’t particularly fast with current speeds up to 66 watts. Still, it’s good to see it included considering you don’t get one in the S21 box and it does support up to 25 watts of fast charging with a supported charger. There’s no support for wireless charging which is a pity.
The base option available here in Ireland comes with 6GB of RAM, 128GB of storage and up to 1TB of expandable storage via microSD.
The quad-camera array has a main 64MP (f/1.8) camera with OIS, a 12MP (f/2.2) ultra-wide, a 5MP (f/2.4) camera exclusively for depth sensing duties and a 5MP (f/2.4) macro camera.
Overall, photo quality is decent although in general, colours are oversaturated. This is easy to fix in post-processing software, so I don’t see it as a deal-breaker. Image detail is good but not surprisingly, it’s not on par with the likes of the S21.
Portrait mode is good but doesn’t blur the background as much as others I’ve used.
Video is capped at 4K with 30fps and includes some nice features including the ability to take photos while you’re recording. Samsung’s Single Take feature is also present and there’s a ‘Fun’ mode that allows you to reimagine your world with unique Snapchat lenses.
The A5 series has always represented value for money and the A52 5G brings this to a new level. It’s an all-around solid performer that easily competes in a competitive mid-range market. The 6.5-inch screen is stunning and the 120hz refresh rate makes it feel a little faster than it really is. It’s also good that Samsung will support the A52 5G with software upgrades for three generations, and regular security updates for a minimum of four years.
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