Samsung Galaxy A52s: An Incremental Upgrade with Pricey Pitfalls

Design of the Samsung Galaxy A52s

In terms of design, the Galaxy A52s closely resembles its predecessor. It sports a polycarbonate back with a plastic frame. The frame features a smoky chrome finish, while the back has a matte white texture reminiscent of marble. This matte finish effectively resists fingerprints and gives the device a premium appearance. A notable design feature is the camera module, which protrudes slightly from the back yet maintains a consistent finish and color, making the lens cut-outs more noticeable and lending the device a modern vibe.

The back panel of the Samsung Galaxy A52s is crafted from polycarbonate.

Distinguishing itself from most phones in this category, the Galaxy A52s retains a 3.5mm headphone jack located at the bottom next to the USB Type-C port and the main speaker. The earpiece can be found in a small slit between the display glass and the plastic frame that surrounds it. In addition to handling phone calls, it also serves as a secondary speaker.

Similar to the Samsung Galaxy A52, the A52s carries an IP67 rating for dust and water resistance, making it one of the few devices in the market with this premium feature. According to Samsung, the phone can endure submersion in up to 1m of freshwater for 30 minutes.

The Galaxy A52s offers a 6.5-inch full-HD+ Super AMOLED display with a cutout for the selfie camera. Constructed from Gorilla Glass 5, the display is effective at resisting smudges. The bezels appear slightly thicker compared to many smartphones within the sub-Rs. 40,000 price range.

Specifications and software of Samsung Galaxy A52s

Powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 778G SoC, the Samsung Galaxy A52s utilizes a mid-range processor that is also featured in the Realme GT Master Edition and the Moto Edge 20, priced from Rs. 25,999 and Rs. 29,999 respectively. This processor is certainly capable, yet the Galaxy A52s will face comparison with other smartphones in the sub-Rs. 40,000 segment, such as the Realme GT and Xiaomi Mi 11X Pro, both of which boast Qualcomm’s high-end Snapdragon 888 processor.

The Samsung Galaxy A52s features a 3.5mm headphone jack.

The Galaxy A52s supports up to 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. It includes a hybrid dual-SIM tray that can accommodate microSD cards of up to 1TB. Connectivity options include Bluetooth 5, Dual-band Wi-Fi 6, NFC, and standard navigation systems. While the device features a 3.5mm headphone jack, there is no FM radio application included.

The Galaxy A52s runs on Samsung’s One UI 3.1, based on Android 11, and comes with the latest August security patch. It is highly customized and pre-loaded with various Samsung and third-party applications. If you don’t require them, you can uninstall the third-party apps. Apart from the occasional promotional notifications from the Galaxy Store, these pre-installed apps did not hinder my experience; the software performance felt smooth and lag-free during regular usage.

Performance and battery life of Samsung Galaxy A52s

The 6.5-inch Super AMOLED display features a 120Hz refresh rate, marking an upgrade from the 90Hz panel on the Galaxy A52. This 120Hz refresh rate enhances the experience when playing action-packed games, while the Super AMOLED display provides a captivating viewing experience with its deep blacks and rich colors, complemented by sound from the stereo speakers. The display effectively resists fingerprints and remains visible even in direct sunlight. One feature I found lacking in the Galaxy A52s was HDR10 support for streaming videos.

The Galaxy A52s display does not support HDR10.

The performance of the Snapdragon 778G in the Samsung Galaxy A52s is decent, yet it doesn’t quite match the performance of competing devices in the same price bracket. To give context, the A52s achieved an AnTuTu score of 5,07,534, significantly lower than the Realme GT’s score of 8,02,974. Similarly, in Geekbench, the Galaxy A52s scored 739 (single-core) and 2,733 (multi-core), compared to the Realme GT’s 1,138 and 3,408 respectively.

Beyond the benchmark scores, the Galaxy A52s performed adequately in gaming. I was able to play Call of Duty: Mobile at Very High graphics and frame rate settings without any significant heating or lag. Although the touch sampling felt slightly slow, it didn’t result in any match losses for me.

One annoyance was the position of the display’s ambient light sensor, located to the left of the punch-hole camera. This often resulted in me inadvertently blocking the sensor when holding the device horizontally for gaming or video-watching, causing the display to dim unnecessarily. The apparent solution would be to flip the phone upside down, but this ended up obstructing the speaker grille. Fortunately, Samsung provides a remedy: for uninterrupted gaming, you can access the Game Launcher app, select ‘Game performance’, then ‘Block during game’, and toggle the ‘Auto brightness’ option off.

The Galaxy A52s features a quad-camera setup on the rear.

In our HD video loop battery test, the Samsung Galaxy A52s lasted for 15 hours and 43 minutes, which is decent for a premium device but surprisingly less than the Galaxy A52. However, during typical usage, the phone easily managed to last a day and a half, with a mix of gaming, photography, and video streaming. Charging with the provided 15W charger took about 1 hour and 37 minutes, which is reasonable. Using a 25W charger, which is compatible with this phone, could improve this time.

Camera capabilities of Samsung Galaxy A52s

The Samsung Galaxy A52s features a quad-camera setup on the rear, consisting of a 64-megapixel primary sensor, a 12-megapixel ultra-wide sensor, a 5-megapixel macro lens, and a 5-megapixel depth sensor. For selfies, it uses a 32-megapixel front camera. The camera interface is characteristically Samsung, with essential controls readily accessible. Additionally, the camera modes are customizable. A noteworthy point is that the ultra-wide-angle camera records video at only 30fps at 1080p and 4K resolutions.

Samsung Galaxy A52s daylight camera samples. Top to bottom: Close-up, wide, ultra-wide-angle (Tap to see full size)

When capturing images in daylight, the Galaxy A52s performed admirably. The photos, although slightly oversaturated (which is generally seen with Samsung devices), were sharp and clear with good dynamic range. Indoor shots were generally clear as well, though results greatly depended on the quality of the available artificial lighting; poor lighting caused some loss of detail. The primary rear camera produced sharp portraits with high detail and solid edge detection. The 32-megapixel front camera also took impressive selfies with good detail and edge control.

Samsung Galaxy A52s selfie camera samples. Top: Auto mode, bottom: Portrait (Tap to see full size)

Some images captured with the ultra-wide-angle lens during the day looked decent, yet exhibited some purple fringing in well-lit areas. In addition, noticeable barrel distortion around the frame edges caused some images to appear stretched and blurry. Samsung’s ultra-wide correction feature didn’t improve the situation. The 5-megapixel macro camera delivered good close-up shots, but details seemed somewhat exaggerated.

Samsung Galaxy A52s low-light camera samples. Top: Auto mode, bottom: Night mode (Tap to see full size)

Low-light photographs exhibited noticeable declines in detail and sharpness. While Night mode did rectify some of these issues, its effectiveness in poorly lit conditions was limited, simply brightening the images without a significant boost in clarity or reduction of noise. I also noticed a watercolor-like effect in many Night mode photos, where textures were flattened, reminiscent of the Galaxy A52’s performance. Low-light selfies suffered from considerable noise, even when using Night mode.

Video recordings across various resolutions captured good detail in daylight. However, stabilization was only effective for 1080p at 30fps, while 1080p at 60fps and 4K at 30fps resulted in shaky footage. In low-light scenarios, the video quality deteriorated significantly, displaying blurred textures and restricted dynamic range, with subpar stabilization.

Conclusion

If you are a Samsung enthusiast or seeking a premium smartphone with an IP rating under Rs. 40,000, the Samsung Galaxy A52s is a commendable upgrade. However, regarding value for money, its elevated price positions it between devices that are either considerably cheaper or those that boast superior specifications and performance.

Motorola’s Edge 20 features the same processor but comes with a 108MP camera, 144Hz display, and a sleek design, priced lower at Rs. 29,999. Meanwhile, the Realme GT (Review) offers a Snapdragon 888 chip and substantially better low-light photography at a similar price of Rs. 37,999. For just a few thousand more, Xiaomi’s Mi 11X Pro (Review) (starting from Rs. 39,999) provides a larger display, a 108MP main camera, and HDR10+ support for videos, although it lacks an IP rating.