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    Home Unlabelled Android Forget the Note — Samsung’s foldables are coming for the Galaxy S as well

    Android Forget the Note — Samsung’s foldables are coming for the Galaxy S as well

    August 14, 2021

    Android Forget the Note — Samsung’s foldables are coming for the Galaxy S as well

    Forget the Note — Samsung’s foldables are coming for the Galaxy S as well

    Posted: 14 Aug 2021 12:06 AM PDT

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    Samsung Galaxy A52 5G review

    Posted: 13 Aug 2021 01:19 PM PDT

    Samsung Galaxy A52 5G review (US)

    Posted: 13 Aug 2021 05:55 PM PDT

    I recently switched from the Moto G6 to the Samsung Galaxy A52 5G, after the former device started to slow down a lot and drop cell signal, resulting in missed calls. Here in the US, we don't have much in the way of midrange devices, and real-world reviews of the A52 5G are rare. So I thought I'd share how I've found it after a few weeks.

    Note: only the A52 5G is available in the US. Elsewhere, there is a 5G and 4G variant. Please note that whenever I talk about the "A52" without specifying, I am talking about the 5G model.

    Why I chose the A52 5G:

    I wanted a phone with a long software support timeline, a good battery, and water resistance, but I didn't care about wireless charging or the greatest cameras. This meant the A52 5G took priority for me over comparable devices like the Pixel 4a and Pixel 4a 5G, Motorola's lineup, and the iPhone SE. I also got a good sale on it, paying ~$390 on Samsung's website, or $110 off the usual price of $500.

    Verizon info that I couldn't find elsewhere online:

    Verizon, one of the biggest carriers in the US and the one I use, does not sell the A52 5G. It does sell the A42 5G, a slightly downgraded model that has mmWave 5G (the A52 only has sub-6 Ghz 5G), but lacks water resistance, a high refresh rate screen, worse cameras, and only gets 2 years of OS updates to the A52's 3 years (both get 4 years of security updates). It normally retails at $400, so actually more than I paid for the A52 5G with that sale.

    You can buy an A52 unlocked and switch your SIM card to it, which is what I did. One thing I worried about was that, when doing research beforehand, I was warned that the A52 lacked support for Verizon's band 13, their main LTE band. However, I am pretty clearly getting band 13 support; I have downloaded multiple signal tracking apps that show I am connected to band 13 at times. Samsung's website doesn't show band 13 for the A52 but does show it for the A42 5G. However, Sprint says their variant supports band 13, as does info for the US model on PhoneScoop. If I had to guess, Samsung didn't put it up on their website because they didn't expect Verizon customers to buy the A52 and not the A42.

    I'm going to divide this into the good, the not-so-good (things I don't care for, but didn't mind all that much), and the ugly.

    The good:

    • Performance: I'm able to play a mobile game while Youtube is running Picture-in-picture and I'm scrolling Reddit in a pop-up view window (One UI is cool like that) without a hiccup. For my use case, this is as demanding as it gets, so I'm fine with the 750G chipset and 6 gigs of RAM.
    • Cameras: Of the quad camera setup, the 64 megapixel OIS main sensor is amazing, and the ultrawide is great for landscapes. The depth camera might be useful for portrait shots, and I'm sure I'll never find a case for the macro camera where getting in close with the main camera doesn't produce a better shot, so the smaller two are all but useless, but still nice to have. Supersteady stabilization on video is a neat trick, too. It's not a Pixel, but still pretty nice.
    • One UI: Aside from some cool gestures that were genuinely useful and the ability to swipe on the front fingerprint sensor, Motorola had all the downsides of Stock Android (less customizability) and none of the benefits (fast updates, Pixel-like AI experience). As a result, I'm loving OneUI, from the vast array of settings to Good Lock (One Handed Operation+ is amazing). Heck, you can even customize your call background! In addition, it'll get OS updates up to Android 14 and security updates a year thereafter.
    • 5G: Varies from 30 to 100 Mbps, so not nearly as fast as some of the claims for sub-6 5G (let alone mmwave) but still plenty fast.
    • Fingerprint sensor: I've heard complaints it's not as fast or as accurate as flagship devices, but monkey brain still thinks in-screen sensors are cool. It's faster than the Moto G6 reader, that's for sure.
    • Battery life: Pretty good, even with 120 hertz enabled. 7 to 10 hours SOT depending on how hard I push it.
    • Headphone jack and microSD card: need I say more? I occasionally used the jack on my Moto G6, though I've mostly switched to wireless, and I never used that microSD slot, even with a paltry 32 GB on the Moto, so I doubt I'll need it for the 128 GB A52, but good to have just in case.

    The not-so-good:

    • Speakers: They're stereo, with a bottom firing speaker and an amplified under-screen earpiece. They're plenty loud, but you can easily muffle the bottom one if you hold it the wrong way. This is probably a side effect of me coming from the G6, which used only its earpiece as a front-firing speaker; I don't think most people will be bothered by this. I mainly use headphones anyway.
    • Grip: Using it without a case is harder than with the G6. This is mainly because it's wider, but also because it's boxier. Though only slightly thicker, it feels a lot more so because the edges of the Moto G6 are curved, while the A52's are basically straight lines. Even with both of them in a Spigen case, this is somewhat noticeable.
    • RCS: I switched to Google Messages over Samsung Messages because chat features never showed up on the Samsung messages app. I prefer Google's in most ways anyways, but I did like how the Samsung app blended with the aesthetic of One UI.
    • Accidental Touch Protection: Way too many false positives when I used my phone in low light conditions, had to turn it off.

    The ugly:

    • Charging: The included 15 watt charger takes a long time to get to 100 (1:40 according to GSMArena, though longer if you use it while charging). In addition, if you do use it while charging on the 15 watt charger, it gets uncomfortably hot on one spot on the back. I've also used a USB-C laptop charger from HP (a first party one with USB-PD support, maybe don't try this with crappy Amazon ones that can't tell the difference between a phone and a laptop) and it seemed to charge at the same speed. The A52 does support 25 watt charging, and I plan to buy one.

    • Bluetooth bug: Occasionally my earbuds will randomly lose connection. This may be the fault of the frankly crappy earbuds (cheap Amazon seller earbuds, these are actually my second pair the company sent to me under warranty after my originals physically broke), and it doesn't happen a lot (once or twice a day), but it's still super annoying.

    Overall, I think the A52 5G is a great phone for the value in the US, and a worthy update to my G6 that should last 4 years or more. It is, in some ways, a flagship killer, with high end features like a 120 hertz screen, OIS on the main camera, and an underscreen fingerprint reader, but for far less. Depending on your priorities, do look at the other phones I mentioned earlier, as well as the upcoming Pixel 5a and S21 FE, if you're looking for something roughly around the $500 mark. And be on the lookout for sales!

    Outside of the US, I know you have a lot more options in the midrange, including from brands not as common here like Xiaomi and Nokia, so it might not be the best value, but also keep the 4G variant in mind. It costs ~$100 less, though it lacks 5G (duh), has a 90 hertz screen instead of 120 hertz, and a 720G chipset.

    AMA about the device in the comments.

    submitted by /u/huirittryyrugfhkhihf
    [link] [comments]

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