Samsung Galaxy A12 review

Android 10 and OneUI 2.5

Our Galaxy A12 review unit is running Android 10 with Samsung's One UI 2.5 on top. It's a bit of a bummer that there's no Android 11 with One UI 3.0 on the A12 just yet, but we're hopeful it will get updated eventually.

One UI has been very consistent from phone to phone and between releases, so there's not a whole lot missing on the A12 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.

For unlocking, the side-mounted fingerprint sensor is the most obvious choice. It takes a reasonable number of taps to set up and works well for both left index finger and right thumb operation.

As with other such implementations, you run the risk of triggering the sensor by any skin contact by simply holding the phone in your pocket, resulting in a locked phone and an inoperable sensor once you do pull it out to use it. If you happen to suffer from that more often than you'd like, you can have the sensor only engage with a press on the button - otherwise, a click isn't required.

Alternatively, there's face recognition. It's just camera-based, no 3D face scanning, but it still offers a convenient (if not as secure) way to access your homescreen.

Lockscreen • Biometrics

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

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 • Navigation options • Dark mode

What is missing on the A12, in a similar fashion 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 have a built-in FM antenna.

Gallery • Files • Browser • FM radio

Synthetic benchmarks

Inside the Galaxy A12, there's an unassuming Mediatek Helio P35 chipset. Its octa-core CPU uses Cortex-A53 cores only, four of them clocked at up to 2.35GHz, the other four - capped at 1.8GHz. It's better than the Snapdragon 450-equipped lesser Galaxies like the A02s/M02s, which get a 1.8GHz cap across all 8 cores.

The PowerVR GE8320 GPU used in the Helio P35 can be found in other Helios - for example, the G25 and G35 - and consequently in quite a lot budget-focused devices.

The Galaxy A12 comes in several RAM/storage configurations, spanning a wide range - from 3GB/32GB, all the way to 6GB/128GB. Our review unit is in 4GB/128GB trim.

The modest nature of the Galaxy A12's chips reveals itself quickly in GeekBench, where it's trailing in the charts. We added a Nokia 2.4 for context to make the A12 look a little better. Potential competitors like the Realme 7 or Redmi 9/9T are vastly more powerful, and even the Realme 7i and Poco M3 are comfortably ahead.

GeekBench 5 (multi-core)

Higher is better

• Xiaomi Redmi Note 9T
  1775
• Motorola Moto G9 Plus
  1695
• Realme 7
  1681
• TECNO Camon 16 Premier
  1672
• Motorola Moto G9 Play
  1402
• Poco M3
  1398
• Motorola Moto G9 Power
  1374
• Xiaomi Redmi 9 (Prime)
  1325
• Huawei Y7a / P smart 2021
  1321
• Samsung Galaxy M21
  1319
• Realme 7i
  1318
• Redmi Note 9
  1292
• Fairphone 3+
  1240
• Infinix S5 Pro
  1039
• Samsung Galaxy A12
  1034
• Nokia 2.4
  468

GeekBench 5 (single-core)

Higher is better

• Xiaomi Redmi Note 9T
  595
• Realme 7
  536
• TECNO Camon 16 Premier
  532
• Motorola Moto G9 Plus
  525
• Xiaomi Redmi 9 (Prime)
  362
• Redmi Note 9
  361
• Samsung Galaxy M21
  346
• Motorola Moto G9 Power
  315
• Motorola Moto G9 Play
  314
• Realme 7i
  312
• Poco M3
  308
• Huawei Y7a / P smart 2021
  299
• Fairphone 3+
  272
• Infinix S5 Pro
  187
• Samsung Galaxy A12
  169
• Nokia 2.4
  132

That remains the case in Antutu, where the Poco M3 and the Realme 7i are posting numbers 70% higher than the A12's.

AnTuTu 8

Higher is better

• Realme 7
  292828
• Xiaomi Redmi Note 9T
  288732
• TECNO Camon 16 Premier
  283847
• Motorola Moto G9 Plus
  253105
• Xiaomi Redmi 9 (Prime)
  201829
• Redmi Note 9
  200414
• Motorola Moto G9 Power
  182875
• Samsung Galaxy M21
  180711
• Poco M3
  177904
• Realme 7i
  172933
• Motorola Moto G9 Play
  170064
• Huawei Y7a / P smart 2021
  161106
• Fairphone 3+
  143378
• Infinix S5 Pro
  117533
• Samsung Galaxy A12
  107189

The GPU makes for somewhat of a comeback, aided by the forgiving 720p resolution of the display. In on-screen tests in GFXBench, the Galaxy A12 manages to climb to the middle of the charts and even beat the Poco M3 for fps count - not the Realme 7i, though.

GFX Manhattan ES 3.0 (offscreen 1080p)

Higher is better

• Realme 7
  54
• TECNO Camon 16 Premier
  49
• Motorola Moto G9 Plus
  42
• Motorola Moto G9 Power
  33
• Samsung Galaxy M21
  26
• Huawei Y7a / P smart 2021
  21
• Motorola Moto G9 Play
  19
• Realme 7i
  19
• Poco M3
  19
• Infinix S5 Pro
  12
• Samsung Galaxy A12
  12
• Nokia 2.4
  11
• Realme 2
  9.3

GFX Manhattan ES 3.0 (onscreen)

Higher is better

• TECNO Camon 16 Premier
  42
• Realme 7
  42
• Motorola Moto G9 Plus
  37
• Motorola Moto G9 Play
  33
• Realme 7i
  32
• Samsung Galaxy M21
  24
• Samsung Galaxy A12
  19
• Motorola Moto G9 Power
  19
• Nokia 2.4
  19
• Huawei Y7a / P smart 2021
  18
• Poco M3
  17
• Realme 2
  16
• Infinix S5 Pro
  11

GFX Manhattan ES 3.1 (offscreen 1080p)

Higher is better

• Realme 7
  34
• TECNO Camon 16 Premier
  30
• Motorola Moto G9 Plus
  30
• Samsung Galaxy M21
  16
• Huawei Y7a / P smart 2021
  15
• Motorola Moto G9 Play
  13
• Motorola Moto G9 Power
  13
• Realme 7i
  13
• Poco M3
  13
• Infinix S5 Pro
  8.2
• Samsung Galaxy A12
  7.7
• Nokia 2.4
  7.1
• Fairphone 3+
  7
• Realme 2
  6.1

GFX Manhattan ES 3.1 (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Realme 7
  28
• TECNO Camon 16 Premier
  26
• Motorola Moto G9 Play
  26
• Motorola Moto G9 Power
  26
• Motorola Moto G9 Plus
  25
• Realme 7i
  25
• Samsung Galaxy M21
  14
• Samsung Galaxy A12
  13
• Huawei Y7a / P smart 2021
  13
• Nokia 2.4
  13
• Realme 2
  12
• Poco M3
  11
• Infinix S5 Pro
  7.3
• Fairphone 3+
  6.6

Looking at the Galaxy A12 specsheet, we knew not to expect much from it in benchmarks, so the lackluster results here are hardly surprising. It's not only benchmarks either. We experienced the occasional hiccup in regular use as well. Ultimately, if you're looking for high performance or better futureproofing, the Galaxy A12 may not be a great option.