Samsung Galaxy A52 review: The ‘cheaper’ phone feature we all need

The latest high-end mobile usually comes with an equally high price, but this one is better on the budget and solves a major phone problem.

Samsung has just launched new devices in their Galaxy A series line-up – the Galaxy A32, Galaxy A32 5G, Galaxy A52, Galaxy A52 5G and Galaxy A72.

In the past week I’ve been playing around with the Samsung Galaxy A52 and it has been an eye-opening experience.

If you’re in on team Android it can be difficult to decide which smartphone to go for when it comes time for an upgrade or, dare I say it, replacement.

There are so many devices on the market at the moment and it’s hard to know which are the best value for money – especially when some of the most popular mobile devices on the market retail for more than $1000.

The Samsung Galaxy A52, at least, aims to be the option that’s better on the budget while still providing many features you’d expect on a premium smartphone.

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The Samsung Galaxy A52 in awesome violet. Picture: Supplied

The Samsung Galaxy A52 comes in three different colours – awesome blue, awesome black and awesome violet (also awesome white in other countries). Sharing a name, I’m pretty pleased with the branding here.

I’ve had my hands on the violet and I can confirm (unbiased) the colour is indeed pretty awesome.

The front of the device is also stunning – with a 6.5” near bezel-less FHD+ Super AMOLED Display and 90Hz refresh rate. This means you’ve got ultra-smooth scrolling at your fingertips and a screen that is well equipped for gaming.

There’s also 128GB of in-built storage (which is also expandable up to 1TB with a micro SD card) so you can download tonnes of content or capture plenty of photos and videos.

The phone is packed with cameras, boasting a 32MP front camera and four back cameras including a 12mp F2.2 Ultra wide, 64MP F1.8 (Main camera), 5MP F2.4 Depth camera, and 5MP F2.4 Macro lens.

From my initial tests, I can say that the cameras are impressive and the optical image stabilisation allows for much smoother video recordings than expected. When it comes to playing back video footage you’ll also notice the loud volumes the speakers can produce.

With stereo speakers, I was impressed, and felt that I’d never have an issue watching YouTube videos or playing music aloud when I forget my speaker. The speaker quality also comes in handy when gaming on the device, which is a pleasure as the phone also has an octa-core processor and 8GB of ram.

Overall, the phone is surprisingly feature-packed for the price.

Where Samsung seems to have made a compromise, to keep costs down, is the body of the phone. The colourful back-plate is made of a plasticky material which, although it looks and feels great, seems cheaper than what you get on a lot of devices.

Though I must admit, sometimes I think the upside of a plastic back (compared to premium phones that are often made from glass) is durability.

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The back of the phone is plastic which is great for durability. Picture: Supplied

I usually recommend these types of phones to parents for their kids or teens (or anyone who’s clumsy with their phone!) as you’ll often get better longevity out of the device. And maybe I’m on the right track here as the device is also I67 water and dust resistant, which you don’t always get with a budget smartphone.

Notably, the device came with a wall charger and a USB-C cable, at a time where the trend is not always to include this in the box. The device is compatible with fast charging too and even has a 4500mAh battery which allows for two-day battery life.

I’d happily use this as my main device but it seems like the perfect all-round phone for Gen Y or Gen Z teens and young adults.

At a price of $599 I’d say the device is well worth it.

Elly Awesome is an Aussie tech and lifestyle vlogger | @ellyawwesome | YouTube