The beefier version of the Galaxy A52 5G has arrived, and we can already say that it competes in the premium mid-range category. The Galaxy A52s 5G is equipped with a Snapdragon 778G 5G (6 nm)–it’s a midrange 5G chipset with increased power. It also has a refresh rate of 120Hz, which adds to the overall user experience.
On the A series, Samsung’s slogan “Awesome is for Everyone” truly means “Awesome is for Everyone.” This is due to the fact that not only the specifications but also the design language are lovely, and the slim body makes it appear sleek and aesthetic. The most recent premium handset had its ups and downs, which we’ll go over in this article review, so keep reading.
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In contrast to the non-5g A52 variant, the back of the Galaxy A52s now has a solid feel to it. In our review of the Galaxy A52, we mentioned that if you press the center of the back, you can feel the plastic back hitting the device’s battery, but in the Galaxy A52s 5G, everything is compact and solid. Still, if you try to pull the plastic back, it feels like it could pop off from the body. We will still not dare to test the device’s IP67 protection.
Speaking of the plastic back, it has a matte smooth feel and a Samsung logo below. Because the back is prone to scratches, you should consider using a jelly case. The camera module, on the other hand, is similar to previous A52 versions. They kept the look on each lens, and the bump is a similar color to the body. As we mentioned in previous reviews, it adds aesthetics to the overall look, which is great. The colorways are easy to use, and the Awesome Violet in our hands is cute and sweet. Awesome Black, Awesome White, and Awesome Mint are the other colors available.
The power and volume rockers are on the right side of the frame, while the sim tray and secondary microphone are on top. The left side is clear, while the bottom features a single firing speaker, a USB Type-C port, the main microphone, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. The sim tray is a hybrid, which means it can hold either two nano sims or one nano sim and a Micro SD card. The storage capacity of the Galaxy A52s 5G can be increased to 1TB.
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Moving on to the display, the Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G has a 6.5-inch FHD+ Super AMOLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate. It has a small punch-hole cutout in the middle for the high-resolution 32MP selfie camera and a secondary speaker on top. The bottom-firing speaker fires sound louder than the earpiece, but it still surrounds and adds loudness without degrading the quality. Listening to earphones is the best way to experience immersive audio. Looking at the overall display, it has noticeable bezels but is not that thick, and the chin side is thinner than most smartphones in the category. For added durability, the Galaxy A52s is also protected by Gorilla Glass 5.
In terms of quality, the 120Hz and Super AMOLED provide a vibrant screen with premium vibes. It’s just as sharp and compact, with deep blacks and vibrant colors. What we like best about it is the ability to change the color temperature and range of the screen. The Natural mode appears to be an IPS LCD, which is ideal for productivity and color grading tasks, as it reduces vibrancy, whereas selecting a warm color temperature increases the screen’s visibility, making it appear more premium, similar to other higher-priced phones, which is impressive.
Because of the One UI’s compact design, it appears high-end, and the 120Hz adds more smooth and seamless animation. However, once you’ve tried 120Hz, you’ll never want to go back to 60Hz unless you use power-saving mode. The 60Hz will feel choppy and will degrade the overall UI experience. It lacks an adaptive refresh rate option, and we are aware that it will sacrifice some battery juice in order to provide an all-out viewing experience.
The Galaxy A52s 5g has a quad-camera setup, with a 64MP main snapper, a 12MP ultrawide with a 123° field of view, and a 5MP for macro and depth. It has a nice set of specs, but when we hear the term premium midrange, we expect it to have a great set of lenses that the lower midrange lacks, such as the periscope lens. We also discovered that the macro lens lacks autofocus, which is a real bummer.
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When it comes to the quality of the 64MP main camera, it is impressive and we cannot fault it. It produces excellent colors and hdr processing. Even if the highlights are blown out, the highlights will be drastically toned down, and this is an excellent process for unbalanced exposure. The shadows are also excellent, with no deep blacks that distort the image, and the colors are quite true to life, with no visible color shifts.
However, white balance handling isn’t the best. We frequently receive a cooler temperature after sunset, this is the correct white balance but it’s called “correction” to correct the color of the scene, which means it needs more accuracy in its WB detector. Even so, when there are enough light sources and the sun shines, the white balance is excellent. We believe the sensor is having difficulty detecting the scene when there is no clear information or when the light source is limited. Overall, shooting with the main camera produces sharp, detailed, and true-to-life images. It still offers the best value for money.
It produces the same color reproduction as the main camera when shooting ultrawide. On the edges, distortion is minimal and there is no color fringing. The only issue we found was that when there are black parts, it outputs grains and noise. However, when there are enough light sources, the overall quality is best.
The 5MP macro, like the others, lacks an autofocus system and has a 3-5cm fixed focus. Unless there are light sources, the 5MP detail is fine, and there are no visible grains or noise.
In terms of the selfie, the skin tone is fine, the sharpness is excellent, and the blacks are not too deep. The details are preserved, and the contrast level makes the image looks flattering. The output is balanced, and the colors are visible in a wider range.
For video recording, it can record video at up to 4k@30fps on both the rear and front cameras. They all have some stabilization, and enabling super steady will vastly improve the shakiness to produce steady video. The front selfie camera lacks the super steady feature.
The Galaxy A52s 5G’s stock camera app has a great number of features as well. It has the single-take feature, which is a good addition, and it is available on Samsung’s premium flagship phones. There’s also a night mode and pro video, but none of the resolutions support 24fps. It also has a pro mode with an ISO range of up to 3200 and a shutter speed of 10 seconds. For us, a 10-second shutter is insufficient; perhaps they should have included at least a 30-second shutter to capture the stars at night. Nonetheless, it has a super slow-mo and a slow-motion shot at 720p. It also has Bixby Vision and AR Zone for fun and creative outputs.
Overall, the camera’s white balance detection performance is quite poor, but when it gets it right, it produces beautiful colorful details. The supporting lenses are also of high quality. WB detection can be fixed after a software update, we will update this article if there’s an optimization in its camera.
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Under the hood, the Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G now has a better and stronger 5G chipset—Snapdragon 778G 5G—it has a 6nm architecture process and, in papers, has smaller transistors, a 9 percent higher CPU clockspeed, and it is newer than the vanilla version Galaxy A52 5G. It also has improved multicore processing, implying that the chipset is more of an all-around device. While the Snapdragon 750G has a faster GPU clock speed, it may be adequate for gaming.
We tried to play games on the Galaxy A52s to see if it could handle graphically intensive games. It performs admirably in esports titles such as PUBG Mobile, COD Mobile, Mobile Legends, and Wildrift. When playing Honkai Impact 3 and Genshin Impact, stability suffers, particularly in Genshin Impact, which is a power-hungry game. However, it can run the game on low settings, which is sufficient.
In terms of security, the fingerprint scanner works well and is dependable, but there’s a pop-up window that informs us that we must keep our fingers a little longer on the sensor in order to unlock it. Touching the sensor in a split second on other smartphones, even those in the lower midrange can unlock the device fast, but the Galaxy A52s 5G is different. It’s probably a safe protocol to improve accuracy rather than speed, which is unusual for us. Nonetheless, the face unlock works fine and is secure, even in low light. Simply keep the screen’s brightness at more than 70% and it can be unlocked even when there is a limited light source.
In terms of software, the Galaxy A52s 5G runs Android 11 with One UI 3.1 on top. Because of the 120Hz capability, scrolling to the entire OS feels seamless and stutter-free. There are no lags or frame drops, and apps run smoothly with no delays. Samsung has its own ecosystem, which includes Bixby, Game Launcher, AR Zone, SmartThings, and other pre-installed Samsung apps; it also has a Google ecosystem, which includes stock Google apps. The two ecosystems coexisted without interfering with each other’s functions. There’s also a Bixby routine, side key function, and motions and gestures like lift to wake, double-tap the screen, and so on. We can see those features on the flagships as well, so we’re glad they’re available on the Galaxy A52s. On the leftmost corner of the home screen, you can also access quick news and information by selecting Google Discover or Samsung Free.
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The Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G, like the vanilla and non-5G variants, is powered by a 4500mAh battery. The super AMOLED with a 6nm process allows the 4500mAh battery to perform similarly to midranges with 5000mah batteries, but the 120Hz consumes some of the capacity. The numbers don’t lie, but the Galaxy A52s 5G’s personality compromises the battery capacity. It lasts a day or so as a daily driver and 6 hours of heavy usage when gaming at FHD and high quality, which isn’t bad considering the feel it can give to users.
Charging on its 25W charger was sufficient for us; it took 1 hour and 27 minutes to charge completely. We are neither disappointed nor impressed, but we would like to see at least 33W and up to its charging capability in order to fully charge the device in less than an hour. However, given the optimization and the fact that it charges the battery quickly despite having 500mAh less than the standard of today’s batteries, we believe it is balanced.
Overall, In comparison to the lower versions, this has a great package that Samsung fans will love, but we’re still skeptical about its build and durability. However, Samsung has a large service center network across the country, so it may still be acceptable for some.
Samsung retains its value for money feature on their Galaxy A52s 5G. The performance is excellent for the price. They never disappoint us with their camera performance because their ecosystem’s HDR and image processing are clearer and more balanced. The design is the added value, and it costs P22,990 for the 8GB + 128GB variant, while the higher storage costs P24,990. It is available in Samsung official online stores Lazada, Shopee, as well as physical stores nationwide. It is suitable for anyone looking for a high-quality phone at a reasonable price. It’s a fantastic smartphone and a great value for money that Samsung fans will adore.
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