Having recently reviewed the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 and Z Flip3, reviewing the A52s 5G was like a return to normalcy.
The phone is what you’d expect from a mid-range by Samsung, and in all honesty, I didn’t have much to complain about. Without further ado, let’s get into what the A52s 5G has to offer.
On the outside
In terms of colours, I got the Awesome Black variant which was matte and quite nice to look at, but very prone to fingerprints.
It’s likely that the other colours like Awesome White, Awesome Purple, and Awesome Mint won’t let fingerprints easily show up due to their lighter colours.
Though the A52s 5G’s back feels plasticky when tapped, it doesn’t really take away from the solid feel of the phone, much like how it was on the A72 too.
In terms of display, the A52s 5G’s 6.5-inch Super AMOLED display was clear and vibrant, though I’ve come to expect at least that across many of Samsung’s newer devices.
Although the phone doesn’t have a curved display, I’d still sometimes find myself triggering unwanted actions, especially when using the phone one-handed.
However, one feature that I wished was more sensitive was the on-screen fingerprint ID sensor. On the A72, I noted that this feature was smooth and fast. But on the A52s 5G, it was sometimes literally a battle, and I’d just opt to use my pattern unlock.
When it worked fine, it was good, but otherwise, it could be quite inconsistent, and that was what mainly annoyed me.
Through the lenses
In terms of cameras, I never expect too much from mid-range phones, and I’ve yet to be blown away by any of them in the photography department.
I’d say the same for the A52s 5G, which passed for photography but wasn’t impressive. It has a 64MP wide, 12MP ultrawide, 5MP macro, and 5MP depth camera.
Pictures came out alright, though I personally felt that pictures of objects that had too many details (like a large bush or tree) tended to end up blurry.
The A52s 5G also only offers up to 10x zoom, but I’ve never found a use for extreme zooms anyway, so this wasn’t a let-down. It does offer macro photography though, yet it also lacks details here.
In all, the A52s 5G’s camera capabilities can get you by in this era of Instagram, but I would consider it far from good.
On the inside
With a Qualcomm SM7325 Snapdragon 778G processor, the A52s 5G was smooth to use across a variety of applications.
This coupled with its stereo speakers made it a joy to use for entertainment purposes, and I didn’t notice the phone heat up too significantly throughout.
Of course, I also tried out Genshin Impact on it. It ran pretty alright, albeit with expected hiccups and stutters when too much was going on.
Still playable, but just not my first choice of a device to play the heavy game on.
Its 4,500mAh battery lasted pretty long with regular usage, and turning off the 120Hz refresh rate option would keep your phone juiced up longer.
Charging it back up was fast though, so I have no complaints in the battery department.
Verdict
Overall, the Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G is a great mid-range phone, and if Samsung’s past models are anything to go by, it should last you a good few years before an upgrade is worth considering.
However, because it’s priced at RM1,899, I’m of the opinion that you may as well put in another RM1K or so and get a flagship like the Samsung Galaxy S21.
Many of the features that the latter offers would surpass that of the A52s 5G’s, and with only one year of difference between the two releases, the software discrepancy wouldn’t be that noticeable either.
If not a flagship, then perhaps even the A72 would be more worth the purchase, as it’s technically slightly more high-end for exactly the same price.
Had Malaysia’s 5G infrastructure been more developed and actually usable by the general populace, perhaps the argument for getting the A52s 5G would’ve been stronger.
But until then, there’s better value for money to be found in Samsung’s other models.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Great display | On-screen fingerprint sensor is not consistent |
| Improved processor | High price tag for a mid-range phone |
| Good battery life |