Everything is Awesome. We’re not just talking about the first Lego movie theme song here but Samsung’s definition of its new A series smartphones that come in four funky colours, all with the Awesome prefix. While the flagship S series is clearly the pinnacle of Samsung’s smartphone matrix, it’s the A series that might well be brand’s bestselling line. Especially in a post-pandemic world where most consumers are seeking devices with a strong value proposition. It’s why Samsung unleashed the new A52, A52 5G (that is not likely to debut in India) and the A72 at a special Galaxy unpacked event a week ago. A clear indication that the A series is a big deal for the company.
We like the design direction Samsung has taken with the A series; our tryst with this aesthetic began first with the Galaxy A32 that debuted a few weeks ago. Almost a decade ago (that’s ages in the smartphone world), Nokia’s flagship Lumia line stood out from the crowd with its Scandinavian minimalist design and bright colour palette. The new A series devices have broken the clutter in the Rs 20,000 – 35,000 segment with a whole new design approach. The A52 is crafted with a polycarbonate back. While many users might have preferred glass, this looks premium and also makes the device lighter in your hand. It’s under 190 gm and the device doesn’t attract smudges or fingerprints. Our review unit came in Awesome Blue, it’s also our pick from the colours on offer.
We loved the minimal camera housing in the A32 where the rear cam lenses merge almost seamlessly with the surface. Samsung opts to raise the camera module slightly with the A52, it’s still almost flat; no camera bump here. The rear cam combines four lenses including a 64MP primary lens with OIS. The addition of OIS (optical image stabilisation) is a clever move at this price and made a significant difference in our lowlight tests. The other feature that we found handy is the Super steady mode (you can activate it in the camera menu) while shooting videos. A 12MP Ultra-wide lens, a 5MP depth sensor and a 5MP macro lens complete the set up. We wish Samsung had swapped the Macro lens for a telephoto lens. The 32MP selfie cam is quite solid too; the fun mode with (Snapchat filters baked in) should keep selfie fiends busy.
Samsung is betting big on the 6.5-inch Super AMOLED display (1080 x 2400 pixels / 405 PPI) that peaks at 800 nits. This display maxes out at 90Hz and its buttery smooth; you can set it to 60Hz if you want to conserve battery, but it’s not something most users are likely to do. A 4500 mAh battery is quite robust. We didn’t reach for the charger even after a day of heavy usage that included about 7 hours of screen time. We would have liked to see a 25W charger (the device is geared for 25W charging but is bundled with a 15W charger) in the box. Colours are vibrant and Samsung’s decision to pack this device with stereo speakers adds to its binge watching and gaming potential.
A Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G processor is at the heart of the A52. This is certainly not the most powerful chipset in devices at this price point but Samsung has clearly chosen an overall user experience over just raw power. There’s a choice of 6GB/128GB and 8GB/128GB hardware options. The device held its own in our Geekbench benchmark test with a score of 1574. The Samsung Galaxy A52 is a serious contender for anyone looking for a device under Rs 30,000. While it may not boast of the best processing power in the segment, it is an all-round device with a gorgeous build, vibrant display and a versatile camera that gets a boost with OIS. You also get other flagship level features like an IP67 rating (you can dunk it in up to 1 metre water for 30 minutes) that sweeten the deal.
The Samsung Galaxy A32 comes in two variants – 6GB/128GB – Rs 26,499 or 8GB/128GB – Rs 27,999 and a choice of four colours (Awesome Blue, Awesome Violet, Awesome Black and Awesome White)
