Samsung Galaxy A02s/M02s review

GSMArena Team, 07 March 2021.

Android 10 and OneUI 2.5

Similarly to the A12 we had over recently, the Galaxy A02s review unit is running Android 10 with Samsung's One UI 2.5 on top. We can imagine these low-end Galaxies aren't top priority for new firmware development, but we're hopeful Android 11 is coming eventually. In any case, the A02s is on the list of phones that will be getting security updates for at least four years.

Samsung Galaxy A02s review

One UI has been very consistent from phone to phone and between releases, so there's not a whole lot missing on the A02s to begin with, v2.5 or otherwise. The lockscreen is a familiar sight with a couple of shortcuts in the bottom corners and notification icons under a clock. This being an LCD-equipped phone, it doesn't support Always-On Display.

There's no fingerprint sensor on the Galaxy A02s, not even a side-mounted one, like we saw on the A12. For unlocking authentication, you get the usual PIN, password pattern options, and a camera-based face unlock. It's not very secure, but it does score points for convenience. It worked quickly and reliably, even in very dim environments, and it requires at least one open eye to work.

Lockscreen - Samsung Galaxy A02s review Biometrics (just face recognition, really) - Samsung Galaxy A02s review Biometrics (just face recognition, really) - Samsung Galaxy A02s review Biometrics (just face recognition, really) - Samsung Galaxy A02s review Biometrics (just face recognition, really) - Samsung Galaxy A02s review
Lockscreen • Biometrics (just face recognition, really)

The UI fundamentals are the same as on virtually any other Samsung phone from the past couple of years.

Homescreen - Samsung Galaxy A02s review Folder view - Samsung Galaxy A02s review App drawer - Samsung Galaxy A02s review Notification shade - Samsung Galaxy A02s review Quick toggles - Samsung Galaxy A02s review Task switcher - Samsung Galaxy A02s review
Homescreen • Folder view • App drawer • Notification shade • Quick toggles • Task switcher

Gesture navigation is available, and you can choose that in the initial setup process or later on. A system-wide dark mode is par for the course, too.

Navigation options - Samsung Galaxy A02s review Navigation options - Samsung Galaxy A02s review Dark mode - Samsung Galaxy A02s review Dark mode - Samsung Galaxy A02s review Dark mode - Samsung Galaxy A02s review Dark mode - Samsung Galaxy A02s review
Navigation options • Navigation options • Dark mode

What is missing on the A02s, similarly to other lower-end Galaxies, is Edge panels. Otherwise, the software package is similar to other Samsung phones, with an in-house Gallery app, file manager, and Samsung browser.

An FM radio app is also included, though it does require plugging in headphones to serve as the antenna - some phones like the Redmi 9 have a built-in FM antenna.

Gallery - Samsung Galaxy A02s review Files - Samsung Galaxy A02s review Browser - Samsung Galaxy A02s review FM radio - Samsung Galaxy A02s review
Gallery • Files • Browser • FM radio

Synthetic benchmarks

The Galaxy A02s relies on the Snapdragon 450 chipset for doing math, a fairly unremarkable piece of silicon that's been in commercial devices since late 2017. It was a moderately big deal back then, offering a 14nm chip to the masses, though it's understandably a lot less impressive in 2021.

Samsung Galaxy A02s review

The CPU inside the SD450 uses eight Cortex-A53 cores, all of them capable of going up to 1.8GHz. The A12's Helio P35 could crank four of its A53s up to 2.35GHz, but that's not the case with the A02s and its Snapdragon. An Adreno 506 GPU is in charge of graphics.

Two RAM and storage configurations are available on the Galaxy A02s - 3GB/32GB and 4GB/64GB (our review unit).

Rather predictably, the A02s isn't competitive when it comes to raw processing power, with even the otherwise modest A12 scoring higher in the CPU-focused Geekbench and the compound Antutu alike.

GeekBench 5 (multi-core)

Higher is better

  • Realme 6
    1726
  • Infinix Zero 8
    1663
  • Motorola Moto G9 Play
    1402
  • Realme Narzo 20A
    1400
  • Poco M3
    1398
  • Motorola Moto G9 Power
    1374
  • Realme 6i
    1349
  • Realme Narzo 20
    1328
  • Xiaomi Redmi 9 (Prime)
    1325
  • Realme 7i
    1318
  • Infinix S5 Pro
    1039
  • Samsung Galaxy A12
    1034
  • Samsung Galaxy A02s
    495

GeekBench 5 (single-core)

Higher is better

  • Realme 6
    548
  • Infinix Zero 8
    532
  • Realme 6i
    388
  • Realme Narzo 20
    385
  • Xiaomi Redmi 9 (Prime)
    362
  • Motorola Moto G9 Power
    315
  • Motorola Moto G9 Play
    314
  • Realme Narzo 20A
    314
  • Realme 7i
    312
  • Poco M3
    308
  • Infinix S5 Pro
    187
  • Samsung Galaxy A12
    169
  • Samsung Galaxy A02s
    131

AnTuTu 8

Higher is better

  • Realme 6
    288931
  • Infinix Zero 8
    282348
  • Realme 6i
    202275
  • Xiaomi Redmi 9 (Prime)
    201829
  • Realme Narzo 20
    193912
  • Motorola Moto G9 Power
    182875
  • Poco M3
    177904
  • Realme 7i
    172933
  • Motorola Moto G9 Play
    170064
  • Realme Narzo 20A
    169543
  • Infinix S5 Pro
    117533
  • Samsung Galaxy A12
    107189
  • Samsung Galaxy A02s
    90811

The A02s is about on par with the A12 in graphics tests, but that's not really all that great seeing how the A12 is towards the bottom of the charts.

GFX Manhattan ES 3.1 (offscreen 1080p)

Higher is better

  • Realme 6
    31
  • Infinix Zero 8
    30
  • Realme Narzo 20
    16
  • Realme 6i
    16
  • Poco M3
    13
  • Motorola Moto G9 Play
    13
  • Realme 7i
    13
  • Motorola Moto G9 Power
    13
  • Realme Narzo 20A
    13
  • Infinix S5 Pro
    8.2
  • Samsung Galaxy A12
    7.7
  • Doogee Mix
    6.8
  • Samsung Galaxy A02s
    6.1

GFX Manhattan ES 3.1 (onscreen)

Higher is better

  • Realme Narzo 20
    32
  • Realme 6i
    31
  • Realme 6
    27
  • Infinix Zero 8
    26
  • Motorola Moto G9 Play
    26
  • Motorola Moto G9 Power
    26
  • Realme Narzo 20A
    26
  • Realme 7i
    25
  • Doogee Mix
    16
  • Samsung Galaxy A12
    13
  • Samsung Galaxy A02s
    12
  • Poco M3
    11
  • Infinix S5 Pro
    7.3

GFX Car Chase ES 3.1 (offscreen 1080p)

Higher is better

  • Infinix Zero 8
    18
  • Realme 6
    18
  • Realme Narzo 20
    16
  • Realme 6i
    9.4
  • Poco M3
    7.2
  • Motorola Moto G9 Power
    7.2
  • Realme Narzo 20A
    7.2
  • Motorola Moto G9 Play
    7
  • Realme 7i
    7
  • Doogee Mix
    4.1
  • Infinix S5 Pro
    3.7
  • Samsung Galaxy A02s
    3.4
  • Samsung Galaxy A12
    3.3

GFX Car Chase ES 3.1 (onscreen)

Higher is better

  • Realme Narzo 20
    18
  • Realme 6i
    17
  • Realme 6
    16
  • Infinix Zero 8
    15
  • Motorola Moto G9 Play
    13
  • Realme 7i
    13
  • Motorola Moto G9 Power
    13
  • Realme Narzo 20A
    13
  • Doogee Mix
    8.5
  • Samsung Galaxy A02s
    6.1
  • Poco M3
    5.9
  • Samsung Galaxy A12
    5
  • Infinix S5 Pro
    3.2

3DMark SSE ES 3.1 (offscreen 1440p)

Higher is better

  • Realme 6
    2570
  • Infinix Zero 8
    2537
  • Realme Narzo 20
    1400
  • Realme 6i
    1363
  • Motorola Moto G9 Power
    1186
  • Poco M3
    1175
  • Motorola Moto G9 Play
    1169
  • Realme Narzo 20A
    1065
  • Infinix S5 Pro
    449
  • Samsung Galaxy A02s
    438
  • Samsung Galaxy A12
    365

3DMark SSE Vulkan 1.0 (offscreen 1440p)

Higher is better

  • Realme 6
    2619
  • Infinix Zero 8
    2556
  • Realme Narzo 20
    1382
  • Realme 6i
    1347
  • Motorola Moto G9 Power
    1125
  • Realme Narzo 20A
    1111
  • Poco M3
    1106
  • Motorola Moto G9 Play
    1103
  • Infinix S5 Pro
    614
  • Samsung Galaxy A12
    612
  • Samsung Galaxy A02s
    489

The Snapdragon 450 inside the Galaxy A02s is no miracle worker, and the benchmark results prove that. Competitors are available with vastly more powerful chips for A02s money or a small premium. Having said that, for some odd reason, the A02s was less prone to stutters and hiccups than the A12 we had before it.

Reader comments

  • Anonymous
  • 01 Jan 2024
  • Nu6

It's literally the same phone with a02s just different names Samsung 🤦🤦

  • Irdin
  • 10 Dec 2023
  • YUU

This phone is very good for only 100$

  • alex
  • 24 Nov 2023
  • IWS

nice super phone