Preview: Samsung unveils Galaxy A32, A52 and A72 A-series mid-range phone
Samsung has unveiled three gorgeous mid-range phones with plenty of features and attractive price tags.
Samsung has unveiled three gorgeous mid-range phones with plenty of features and attractive price tags.
Phone makers continue to produce expensive handsets costing more than $2000, but these days they realise that even $1000 phones are beyond many people’s budgets.
Fortunately several manufacturers are zeroing in on the $500 to $1000 mid-range phone market and competition this year will be intense to produce great quality at affordable prices.
Samsung, Oppo, RealMe, Xiaomi, Motorola and TCL are among brands targeting this market. That should greatly benefit consumers.
Samsung’s A32, A52 and A72 have big bright screens, four lens camera systems, support for a microSD card with up to 1 Terabyte of storage, and a 3.5mm audio port for headphones.
You even get a charger in the box – something not to be sneezed at, given Apple and Samsung didn’t provide them with iPhone 12 and Galaxy S21 models.
The phones are thin and sleek and come in blue, black and an attractive light violet colour. 5G versions are available for the cheaper A32 and A52.
The A72 and A52 models support 25 watt fast charging, have dual 2.4G and 5GHz Wi-Fi (but not the latest Wi-Fi 6) and a USB-C port.
They support Bluetooth 5, face and fingerprint recognition, have stereo speakers offering surround sound with Dolby ATMOS technology, NFC payments, and an impressive 32MP selfie front facing camera.
They come with Android 11 and are rated IP67, which means they’ll survive for 30 minutes in one metre of freshwater. The A72 and A52 support optical image stabilisation.
4G models support two SIMs while 5G models support one SIM.
With these features, you may wonder why you need a more costly phone. That’s a good question.
Samsung Galaxy A72 – $749
The A72 is the most expensive of the three and is available only with 4G; there’s no 5G variant.
The screen specs are excellent: a big 6.7-inch full HD AMOLED display and a four lens camera system at rear: a 64MP main shooter, a 12MP ultra wide lens, a 5MP macro lens for close-ups, and a 3X telephoto lens with up to 30X digital zoom.
The A72 has an 8-core processor, 8GB of RAM, 256GB of internal storage, and a big 5000 milliampere hour battery.
While the cameras are very good, they lack some high end features found on the S21.
Samsung Galaxy A52 – $599 4G, $649 and $749 5G.
There are three variants and their price depends on the amount of RAM memory (6 or 8GB), storage (128 or 256GB) and whether the phone supports 5G. At 6.5 inches, the screen is slightly smaller than on the A72, but the same full HD resolution.
The 5G variant has a fast 120Hz refresh rate which will aid gaming. It’s faster than the 90Hz refresh rate on the other A52 and A72 models.
The rear camera system is almost the same as the A72, except you have a 5MP time-of-flight depth sensor rather than telephoto lens.
That means there’s no optical zoom magnification, but you gain a depth sensor that offers better Bokeh (soft background) images than on the more expensive A72.
Samsung has broken the rule that features linearly improve on phones as the price heads north. It has turned the world on its head.
If you want a 5G phone with the most A-series features, this is the option for you.
Samsung Galaxy A32 – $499 4G and $499 5G
Samsung is proud to offer a 5G-capable phone for under $500. That’s what the A32 delivers. It might look strange that the 4G and 5G model are the same price, but it’s a case of robbing Peter to pay Paul. The 5G model has less RAM (4GB) while the 4G model has more RAM (6GB).
The same applies to the main shooter lens. It’s 64MP on the 4G model but 48MP on the 5G model.
You still get four camera lenses: a main, ultrawide, macro and depth sensor, but don’t expect the same resolution as on the A72 and A52.
The camera lenses are not raised on the back as they are with the A72 and A52.
The 4G model has a 6.4-inch AMOLED screen, the 5G model has a marginally bigger 6.5-inch infinity V-display.
The A32 isn’t water resistant, which is a bit of a drawback, and you don’t get face recognition login, but fingerprint recognition remains.
Conclusion
You’re certainly spoiled for choice with these mid-range Samsung A-series phones.
They’ll be launching on April 9 and Samsung says it will throw in a free pair of Buds Live earbuds during the first two weeks of sales. Their recommended price is $319 so you are getting an amazing deal on phones costing no more than $799.
We think this year’s A series will be popular, so we will review one or two of these models when units become available. Watch this space.
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