Samsung Galaxy A02s/M02s review

Design

The Galaxy A02s has its own distinct rear panel finish, combining geometric shapes and textured surfaces. An array of implied rhombuses, each with a fine stripe texture in a different direction, make sure that the back cover never looks the same depending on the angle you look at it from.

The panel is made of plastic, of course, and it's a unibody style of construction with no exposed frame - the rear flows over to the sides, top, and bottom. In principle, it is the same as the A12 in this respect. However, the A02s, thanks to the finer texture, feels a tiny bit posher.

Additionally, since it has 'only' three cameras, the A02s' camera island has had enough space to host the LED flash. That wasn't the case on the A12 with its pseudo-quad-cam arrangement.

What didn't leave us all that excited was the relatively mushy action of the buttons on the right. They have less of a defined click point than we'd like, both the power button and the volume rocker, with the volume rocker being ever so slightly better. It's not dealbreakingly bad, but it's not solid either.

And, having seen the back and the power button, you probably already realize what's missing on the Galaxy A02s - there's no fingerprint sensor of any kind. The Galaxy A12 will give you that, plus a bit more positive button response, for a small price premium.

Following the same component layout as the A12, the A02s has its card slot high up on the left side of the phone. It's the same triple slot, too - it will accept two nano SIMs and a microSD. That's all the more important on this handset, too, as it's not available with more than 64GB of storage, and you're more likely to end up needing to use the expansion slot.

The Galaxy A02s relies on USB-C for charging and data connection, making it the least expensive phone in the company's lineup to use the now-prevailing standard. The non-s A02 and M02 are still on microUSB, and we're happy that's not the case with the A02s.

There are no surprises around the port either. A classic arrangement of a 3.5mm headphone jack, a mic and a loudspeaker is what you'll find in this neighborhood.

Card slot on the left • Triple-card tray • Bottom stuff

The front of the phone has the Infinity-V display covered with an undisclosed type of protective glass. The LCD is surrounded by a black frame that's thicker than on more expensive phones but not out of place for a handset of the A02s stature.

Even so, the thicker chin could be an eyesore if you're coming from a premium phone. On the other hand, some will say that the more sizeable bottom bezel improves handling, and that will probably be true.

Right above the selfie camera's swooshing V-shaped notch, there's the earpiece behind what looks like a metal mesh. Predictably, it's not an extra speaker - stereo output is reserved for pricier Galaxies. There is, however, another mic up top - stereo recording and in-call noise cancellation are ubiquitous now.

The Galaxy A02s measures 164.2x75.9x9.1mm - virtually the same footprint as the A12 and slightly thicker. It's then a little surprising that Samsung managed to make it some 9g lighter, but at 196g, it's not exactly lightweight. We'd say it's entirely in line with expectations for a 6.5-inch phone with a 5,000mAh battery.