We take a close look at the Samsung Galaxy A52, which promises to offer an incredible package of features and performance!
Find out what the Galaxy A52 offers, and why we gave it our Editor’s Choice Award!
Samsung Galaxy A52 : Awesome Is For Everyone!
Designed for the new normal, the Samsung Galaxy A52 promises to offer an incredible package of features and performance!
As Samsung’s official advertisement for the 2021 Galaxy A series says, Awesome Is For Everyone!
Samsung Galaxy A52 : Specifications
In this table, we compare the specifications of the Galaxy A52 against the Galaxy A72 :
| Specifications | Galaxy A72 | Galaxy A52 |
| Display Type | Super AMOLED | |
| Display Size | 6.7-inch | 6.5-inch |
| Display Resolution | 1080 x 2400 pixels | |
| Display Refresh | Up to 90 Hz | |
| Display Brightness | 800 nits maximum | |
| Protection | NA | |
| IP Rating | IP67 | |
| Operating System | Android 11 | |
| Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G | |
| CPU | 2 x Kryo 570 Gold cores (2.3 GHz) 6 x Kryo 570 Silver cores (1.8 GHz) |
|
| GPU | Qualcomm Adreno 619 | |
| Memory + Storage | 8 GB + 256 GB | |
| Storage Expansion | microSD card : up to 1 TB | |
| Front Camera | 32 MP camera (f/2.2) | |
| Main Camera | 64 MP (f/1.8) | |
| Ultra Wide Camera | 12 MP (f/2.2) | |
| Telephoto Camera | 8 MP (f/2.4) | – |
| Macro Camera | 5 MP (f/2.4) | |
| Depth Sensor | – | 5 MP (f/2.4) |
| Connectivity | Network : 4G LTE, 3G Wi-Fi : Wi-Fi 5 (2.4 / 5 GHz) Bluetooth : BT5.0 USB : USB Type C 2.0 |
|
| Fingerprint Sensor | Yes, In Display | |
| NFC | Yes | |
| Other Sensors | Accelerometer, Gyro, Geomagnetic, Hall sensor, Light sensor, Proximity |
|
| Audio | AKG stereo speakers | |
| Battery | 5,000 mAh | 4,500 mAh |
| Charging | 25 W fast charging | |
| Dimensions | 77.4 mm wide 165.0 mm tall 8.4 mm thick |
75.1 mm wide 159.9 mm tall 8.4 mm thick |
| Weight | 203 g | 189 g |
Samsung Galaxy A52 : Colour Options
The Samsung Galaxy A52 will come in four colour options – Awesome Violet, Awesome White, Awesome Black and Awesome Blue.
Samsung Galaxy A52 : Price + Availability
The Samsung Galaxy A52 has a launch price of RM1,499 (approx. US$362 / £262 / A$474 / S$487) with 8 GB RAM and 256 GB storage.
Here in Malaysia, it will come with a FREE clear standing cover worth RM109.
Here are some online purchase options :
- Malaysia | Malaysia | Malaysia | Malaysia
- Singapore | Singapore | Singapore | Singapore
- US | US | US | US | US | US | US
- UK | UK
Samsung Galaxy A52 : What’s Inside The Box?
We got our hands on the Samsung Galaxy A52, and unboxed it in this video :
Once you fully unbox it, this is what you will find inside :
- Samsung Galaxy A52 smartphone
- Set of Samsung Galaxy A52 documents
- Samsung EP-TA200 15-watt USB fast charger
- USB Type A to USB Type C data and power cable
- SIM tray pin
Even though Samsung bundled it with a charger, they did not include a free bumper case.
Samsung Galaxy A52 : Setting It Up!
Let’s show you just how easy it is to setup the Galaxy A52 for the first time!
Samsung Galaxy A52 : Hands-On Experience!
Now, let’s take a closer look at the Samsung Galaxy A52 smartphone…
Next Page > Key Features, Where To Buy?
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Samsung Galaxy A52 : Key Features
6.5-inch Super AMOLED Display
The Samsung Galaxy A52 comes with a large 6.5-inch Super AMOLED display, with a Full HD+ resolution of 1080 x 2400 pixels.
You may be delighted to learn that it not only supports a higher 90 Hz refresh rate, it also has 800 nits of maximum brightness!
The display is also Eye Care-certified, and automatically adjusts its colour temperature to reduce eye fatigue – what Samsung calls Eye Comfort Shield.
Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G
The Samsung Galaxy A52 is built around the Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G (SM7225) mobile platform, which consists of :
- 2 x high-performance Kryo 570 Gold cores, running at up to 2.3 GHz
- 6 x low-power Kryo 570 Silver cores, running at up to 1.8 GHz
- Qualcomm Adreno 619 GPU
- Qualcomm Hexagon 694 NPU
- Qualcomm Spectra 355L ISP
Fabricated on the 8 nm process technology, this mid-range mobile SoC promises to deliver 20% faster CPU, 20% faster AI and 10% faster graphics performance over its predecessor, the Snapdragon 730G.
RAM + Storage
The Samsung Galaxy A52 comes with 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB of internal storage. This is way more than what most users can ever expect to use.
But if you actually need more storage, it comes with a hybrid SIM tray, which allows you to add a microSD card for more storage!
1 + 4 Cameras!
The Samsung Galaxy A52 boasts a 32 MP front camera, with a wide f/2.2 aperture. The ultra-high resolution is, frankly, overkill for a selfie camera.
So if you don’t need the high resolution, switch to the 8 MP resolution for better low-light photos and videos.
In the back, it has a quad camera system that consists of :
- 64 MP main camera, with f/1.8 aperture
- 12 MP ultra-wide camera, with f/2.2 aperture
- 5 MP macro camera, with f/2.4 aperture
- 5 MP depth camera, with f/2.4 aperture
We should point out that the depth camera doesn’t take any photos.. It just obtains depth data to allow for more accurate software bokeh effects.
We really like how the matte colour scheme makes the slight camera bump appear even less conspicuous.
Connectivity
While the Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G is a 5G platform, 5G connectivity was turned off in our Galaxy A52. It may be offered as a 5G model in some countries, but not in Malaysia.
That’s just fine by us as we don’t see 5G connectivity becoming widespread for at least 3-4 more years! Turning off 5G will also help save power and extend battery life.
It also supports Wi-Fi 5 (802.11a/b/g/n/ac), as well as Bluetooth 5.0 and USB Type C connectivity.
Samsung Galaxy Ecosystem
The Samsung Galaxy A52 will allow you to be part of the Samsung ecosystem through these features :
- SmartThings lets you connect to, and control, smart devices including wearables, tablets, PCs and TVs.
- SmartThings Find lets you easily locate paired Galaxy devices, or using the Galaxy SmartTag.
- Music Share lets you sync your phone with a friend’s device to share music, without speaker pairing.
- Buds Together lets you pair your phone with two sets of Galaxy Buds, to listen together!
- Quick Share lets you easily and quickly send pictures and videos of any size to nearby Galaxy devices.
- Private Share lets you revoke photos and videos you shared with just a tap!
Security + Protection
The Samsung Galaxy A52 has Samsung Knox built-in, providing you with a defence-grade enclave to store your sensitive information and data.
is IP67-rated against dust- and water-resistance. This protects it against accidental water splashes, and immersion in up to 1 metre of fresh water, for up to 30 minutes.
We should point out that Samsung warns against immersing it in seawater, the swimming pool or in soapy water.
Next Page > Camera Performance + Photo Samples
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Samsung Galaxy A52 : Camera Performance + Photo Samples
The Samsung Galaxy A52’s 64 MP main camera takes 16 MP photos by default, with a resolution of 4624 x 3468 pixels.
The 46 MP sensor basically combines four pixels into one large “virtual pixel”, for better image quality and low-light performance.
The Galaxy A52 produces very good photos with really incredible detail at 16 MP, so stick with that unless you are planning to print really large format photos.
While the wide f/1.8 aperture creates a narrow depth-of-field, so there is the risk of ending up with an out-of-focus photo.
It is easy to “fix” that problem by tapping on the screen to make sure the camera focuses exactly where you want it to.
While this works with all smartphones, the Galaxy A52 does a much better job focusing than say, the Redmi 9T.
Here are ten unedited photo samples for you to check out.
Next Page > Battery Life + Recharging, Performance
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Samsung Galaxy A52 : Battery Life
The Samsung Galaxy A52 comes with a large 4,500 mAh battery.
To test its battery life, we turned off Automatic Brightness, and set its display brightness to 50%.
Why 50%? That is actually slightly higher than the average indoor brightness level of 40% during the day, and is what we usually use in all our mobile battery life tests.
It is important to fix the brightness level, to make sure the screen brightness does not change as the ambient brightness changes.
We then ran the PCMark Work 2.0 battery life test until its battery capacity dropped to 20% several times, and this was the best result we obtained with 60 Hz and 90 Hz refresh rates :
| Work 2.0 | Galaxy A52 (60 Hz) |
Redmi 9T | Galaxy A52 (90 Hz) |
Galaxy S20 Ultra |
Note20 Ultra |
| Battery Capacity | 4,500 mAh | 6,000 mAh | 4,500 mAh | 5,000 mAh | 4,500 mAh |
| Battery Life | 15 hrs 33 mins |
19 hrs 50 mins |
12 hrs 30 mins |
11 hrs 32 mins |
10 hrs 9 mins |
| Battery Utilisation (per min.) |
3.86 mAh | 4.03 mAh | 4.80 mAh | 5.78 mAh | 5.91 mAh |
| Review Links | – | Review | – | Review | Review |
| Price Check | US UK Malaysia Singapore |
US UK Malaysia Singapore Australia |
US UK Malaysia Singapore |
US UK Malaysia Singapore Australia |
US UK Malaysia Singapore Australia |
That’s excellent battery life! Over 15.5 hours with the display set to 60 Hz, and 12.5 hours with a 90 Hz refresh rate.
Samsung Galaxy A52 : Recharging Speed
Take a look at how fast it recharges its 4,500 mAh battery.
| Galaxy S20 Ultra |
Galaxy Note10+ |
Note20 Ultra |
Galaxy A52 |
Redmi 9T | |
| Battery Capacity | 5,000 mAh | 4,300 mAh | 4,500 mAh | 4,500 mAh | 6,000 mAh |
| Charger Output | 25 watts | 25 watts | 25 watts | 15 watts | 18 watts |
| Recharging Time | 57.5 mins | 63 mins | 66.5 mins | 84.5 mins | 184 mins |
| Recharging Speed (per minute) |
69.6 mAh | 54.6 mAh | 54.1 mAh | 42.4 mAh | 26.1 mAh |
| Review Links | Review | Review | Review | Review | |
| Price Check | US UK Malaysia Singapore Australia |
US UK Malaysia |
US UK Malaysia Singapore Australia |
US UK Malaysia Singapore Australia |
US UK Malaysia Singapore Australia |
Very nice! Even though it only comes with a 15 watt fast charger, the Samsung Galaxy A52 recharged 62% faster than the Redmi 9T with its 18 watt fast charger!
Samsung Galaxy A52 : Work Performance
We tested the Galaxy A52 using PCMark, which simulates work applications like web browsing, playing video, writing text and editing photos.
| Work 2.0 | Note20 Ultra |
Galaxy Note10+ |
Galaxy A52 |
Galaxy S10+ |
Redmi 9T |
| Mobile Platform | Exynos 990 |
Exynos 9825 |
SD 750G | Exynos 9820 |
SD 662 |
| Performance Score
(Average) |
10523 | 8981 | 7874 | 7846 | 5986 |
| Web Browsing | 8865 | 8293 | 7021 | 8583 | 5844 |
| Video Editing | 6232 | 9166 | 5693 | 5524 | 3423 |
| Writing | 11112 | 9579 | 7454 | 9076 | 6657 |
| Photo Editing | 30789 | 19376 | 15812 | 10710 | 12031 |
| Data Manipulation | 6825 | 6155 | 6424 | 6450 | 4799 |
The Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G is a powerful mid-range mobile SoC. It is actually as powerful as the flagship Samsung Exynos 9820 in work applications!
Samsung Galaxy A52 Gaming Performance : 3DMark
For gaming, we first tested the Galaxy A52 using 3DMark, with these results :
| 3DMark | Note20 Ultra |
Galaxy Note10+ |
Galaxy S10+ |
Galaxy A52 |
Redmi 9T |
| Device | Exynos 990 |
Exynos 9825 |
Exynos 9820 |
SD 750G | SD 662 |
| Sling Shot Extreme (OpenGL) | 6642 | 5037 | 4470 | 2565 | 1174 |
| Sling Shot Extreme (Vulkan) | 5722 | 4794 | 4314 | 2416 | 1098 |
| Sling Shot | 8128 | 4883 | 4343 | 3764 | 1844 |
The Samsung Galaxy A52 is definitely not as fast in games, as flagship mobile platforms. But it is just over twice as fast as mid-range smartphones like the Redmi 9T.
Samsung Galaxy A52 Overall Performance : AnTuTu
We then tested the Galaxy A52 using AnTuTu, yielding these results :
| AnTuTu | Note20 Ultra |
Galaxy Note10+ |
Galaxy A52 |
Galaxy S10+ |
Redmi 9T |
| Device | Exynos 990 |
Exynos 9825 |
SD 750G | Exynos 9820 |
SD 662 |
| AnTuTu Score | 522735 | 348397 | 341908 | 330549 | 173559 |
| CPU | 146783 | 101187 | 105098 | 100272 | 64505 |
| GPU | 215205 | 156700 | 88068 | 149930 | 31734 |
| Memory | 89376 | 72051 | 60642 | 68188 | 40377 |
| UX | 71371 | 18459 | 88100 | 12159 | 36943 |
Will you look at that? The Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G is right between the Exynos 9820 and Exynos 9825 – both flagship mobile SoCs from Samsung.
It is also notably twice as fast as the old Qualcomm Snapdragon 662 used in the Xiaomi Redmi 9T.
Next Page > A Quick Wrap, Verdict + Award
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Samsung Galaxy A52 : A Quick Wrap
The Galaxy A52 offers quite the awesome deal that Samsung promised. Let’s do a quick wrap of what we really liked about it.
Very Nice Display
The Samsung Galaxy A52 has a very nice 6.5-inch Super AMOLED display with a 90 Hz refresh rate, and brightness of up to 800 nits!
Great Performance
We are very glad Samsung built the Galaxy A52 around the Snapdragon 750G, which proved to offer really good CPU and GPU performance. It feels like a flagship device, without the flagship price.
Nice Set Of Cameras
The Samsung Galaxy A52 comes with a very nice set of cameras – both in front and in the back.
The 64 MP main camera and 12 MP ultra-wide camera are the main stars. The 5 MP macro camera will not see much use, but at least it is better than the 2 MP macro camera that comes in some mid-range devices!
The image quality of the 64 MP main camera, in particular, is superb in its default 16 MP mode.
Long Battery Life, Fast Recharging
You will really like how long the Galaxy A52 lasts, and how fast it recharges.
Small Niceties
There are a couple of small features that could be very important, and yet are not available in other mid-range smartphones :
- 3.5 mm audio port
- AKG-tuned speakers
- Triple card tray with microSD card slot
Samsung Galaxy A52 : Our Verdict + Award
The Samsung Galaxy A52 offers a lot of great features and a very long battery life, at a great price point.
There are very few smartphones at this price point that would offer you a large 90 Hz Super AMOLED display, a powerful processor and a 64 MP camera system, with a large battery.
This is why we believe it deserves nothing less than our Editor’s Choice Award! Congratulations, Samsung!
Samsung Galaxy A52 : Where To Buy?
The Samsung Galaxy A52 has a launch price of RM1,499 (approx. US$362 / £262 / A$474 / S$487) with 8 GB RAM and 256 GB storage.
Here in Malaysia, it will come with a FREE clear standing cover worth RM109.
Here are some online purchase options :
- Malaysia | Malaysia | Malaysia | Malaysia
- Singapore | Singapore | Singapore | Singapore
- US | US | US | US | US | US | US
- UK | UK
Recommended Reading
- Samsung Galaxy A72 : What You Need To Know!
- Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra Camera In Professional Hands?
- Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra : Dual Zoom + Audio Zoom Review
- Samsung Galaxy SmartTag : Hands-On Preview!
- Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus : Our Hands-On Preview!
- Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra : Our Hands-On Preview!
- S Pen Covers For Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra Showcase
- Galaxy S21, Galaxy S21+, Galaxy S21 Ultra Compared!
- Galaxy S21, S21+, S21 Ultra Malaysia Price + Pre-Order Deals
- Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra Colour Comparison!
- Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus Colour Comparison!
- Samsung Galaxy S21 Colour Comparison!
- Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra : What You Need To Know!
- Samsung Galaxy S21 Plus : What You Need To Know!
- Samsung Galaxy S21 : What You Need To Know!
- Samsung Exynos 2100 : What You Need To Know!
- 2021 Samsung Galaxy Unpacked : Are You Ready?
- Samsung Galaxy S21 Series Launch : Get Ready!
- 2021 Samsung TV First Look : What Could They Reveal?
- Samsung Galaxy A42 : Affordable 5G Smartphone!
- How Fast Can You Type On The Galaxy Tab S7 Keyboard?
- Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 120Hz Refresh Rate Explained!
- Galaxy Watch Active 2 : RM250 Instant Rebate Deal!
- Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 : How Good Is Its Main Camera?
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