Samsung Galaxy A32 review

Quad-camera system of the 2+2 variety

A rather classic 2+2 camera system is what you can find on the back of the Galaxy A32. We mean that there are two real cameras and two more just to get the number up to four. Okay, perhaps in the A32's case, we're being a bit too harsh. Yes, it does have a 'macro' and a 'depth' camera, but at least they are 5MP each as opposed to just 2MP.

The primary camera uses a Samsung GW3 64MP sensor (S5KGW3). It's a Tetrapixel design (used to be called Tetracell in Samsung speak, Sony calls them Quad Bayer), and it's one of the newer models with 0.7µm pixels - the same 1/1.97" imager is found in the Moto G30 we reviewed recently. It does the usual 4-to-1 binning and outputs 16MP images by default. The lens has a 25mm equivalent focal length and an f/1.8 aperture.

The 8MP ultrawide camera of the Galaxy A32 is the nearly perfect middle ground between the ones on the A12 (5MP) and the A52 (13MP). It uses a 1/4" sensor with 1.0µm pixels and an f/2.2 aperture lens that covers a 123-degree field of view. There's no software distortion correction on this one, just like there wasn't on the A12 - the A52 does have it, though.

For selfies, there's an 20MP camera in the notch of the display that uses an SK Hynix sensor with a Quad Bayer filter array and 1.0µm pixels. The lens here has a reported equivalent focal length of 25mm and an f/2.2 aperture.

The camera app on the A32 is the latest one you get with OneUI 3.1, the biggest improvement being the relocation of the video resolution to the viewfinder. Other than that, it's the same as on any other Samsung pre-OneUI 3.1, which is a good thing since it's straightforward and easy to use.

The basics are as usual - swiping left and right will switch between available modes, and there's an option to re-arrange, add or remove some of the modes from the viewfinder. Vertical swipes in either direction will switch between front and rear cameras.

The familiar tree designation for zoom control is here too, and with no telephoto on board, you get three trees for ultra-wide and two trees for the main cam. You could zoom in with a pinch gesture, at which point additional preset zoom levels appear at 2x, 4x, and 10x.

The viewfinder has the standard set of icons with the settings cog wheel located in the upper left corner of the screen. The usual stuff like grid lines, location data, etc., can be found in the menu.

There's a Pro mode, but it's the very basic implementation that only lets you pick ISO (100-800) and white balance (by light temperature with icons for common light sources), as well as dial in exposure compensation (-2EV to +2EV in 0.1EV increments). A metering mode selector also made the cut (center-weighted, matrix and spot). There's no manual focusing option, sadly.

Camera UI

Daylight image quality

Daylight photos from the Galaxy A32 are good overall. The 16MP resolution ensures ample detail, though it's not the sharpest rendition of that detail when viewed up close - particularly off-center. There's little to no noise in these shots, usually a characteristic trait of Samsung processing, but one we've seen a lot of recent Galaxies deviate from.

Colors are slightly more restrained than what is normally Samsung's way, but they're not dull by any means, and there are no weird color casts. Dynamic range, too, is respectable, though not quite as wide as on higher-end models.

Daylight samples, main cam (1x)

The tonal extremes will be lost in 64MP mode - HDR isn't available there. The benefits in resolved detail of this particular implementation of full-res capture on a Tetrapixel sensor are questionable - we're struggling to see more detail in real-world samples. On the flipside, noise is definitely a lot more pronounced when shooting this way. Ultimately, we'd say there's not much use in the A32's 64MP mode.

Daylight samples, main cam (1x), 64MP

That's not to say you shouldn't explore the digital zoom that comes out of that 64MP sensor. At 2x level, you'll get good enough images for social sharing, with the same global properties as 1x. If you insist on 1:1 examination, you'll see some sharpening halos along contrasting edges and aliasing for diagonal lines, as well as reduced per-pixel detail.

Daylight samples, main cam (2x)

The lack of software distortion correction on the ultrawide camera is two-fold - you get extra wide coverage, but with prominently warped corners and straight lines along the edges. That last bit could be of use for creative purposes, but we'd still prefer to have the option to enable correction in software.

That aside, the modest 8MP shooter delivers decent images. There's a fair bit of noise in these if you zoom in, but the level of detail is okay for the hardware. Dynamic range, too, isn't half bad for a mid-range ultrawide. Color saturation is lower than on the main camera, bordering on what we'd call muted.

Daylight samples, ultra wide cam

Galaxy A32 vs. Galaxy A52 camera comparison

We happened to have the Galaxy A52 at the same time, so we made a quick comparison. We see better sharpness in the A52's shots, hand in hand with more noise than on the A32's (to prove the point in the opening paragraph). The A52 has overall more vibrant colors and warmer yellows and greens.

Comparison, main cam (1x): Galaxy A32 • Galaxy A52

Zooming in, the differences remain the same - not a surprise since these are crops from the same cameras.

Comparison, main cam (2x): Galaxy A32 • Galaxy A52

In full-res mode, a more significant gap opens up in exposure handling and dynamic range or at least its allocation. The Galaxy A52 exposes darker, so it salvages a lot more of the highlights, which are lost in the A32's images. At the same time, we wouldn't say its shadows are too dark.

Comparison, main cam, 64MP: Galaxy A32 • Galaxy A52

Comparing the ultra wides, the A32 loses hands-down. The A52 has the advantage in resolution and detail, plus the software distortion correction.

Comparison, ultrawide cam: Galaxy A32 • Galaxy A52

Low-light image quality

Low-light photos are unimpressive coming out of the Galaxy A32's main camera. They are generally soft and noisy, while the dynamic range is relatively narrow, and you'll end up with dark shadows missing detail. The A32 does do a remarkable job with white balance in warmly lit scenes where a lot of phones are prone to failure into an orange cast.

Low-light samples, main cam

Night mode on the Galaxy A32, in the state that we reviewed it in, turned out problematic. More often than not, the camera app would freeze after taking a night mode shot. Restarting the app brings it back to life (you don't need to reboot the phone, which we've also encountered in the past), while going into the gallery, you could see that an image has been captured, only it's not the image you expect from a Night mode. These are very noisy and actually, have a more narrow dynamic range than the regular Photo mode ones - clearly, something went wrong in the process.

However, if the stars align and the app doesn't crash, you'd be looking at improved sharpness throughout the image. You'd also get better development of shadow detail, though that's at the expense of highlight rendition - effectively, the A32's night mode exposes brighter, but does so for the entire frame, as opposed to selectively. It's not quite like Night modes is supposed to work, the way we see it. Perhaps a firmware update will address these oddities.

Low-light samples, main cam, Night mode

Predictably, the ultrawide cam doesn't enjoy the darkness. At dusk, it will take barely usable shots, with noise evident even at fit to screen magnification. At night, it can't expose bright enough to develop any shadows and has a narrow dynamic range so your highlights will be clipped as well.

Low-light samples, ultra wide cam

On a positive note, Night mode worked without any hiccups here and delivered much more logical and, by extension, likeable results than what the main cam was capable of. On the ultrawide, we're getting the improved tonal development at both ends of the spectrum (lifted shadows, contained highlights), complete with extra detail in the dark.

Low-light samples, ultra wide cam, Night mode

Once you're done with the real world samples, head over to our Photo compare tool to see how the Samsung Galaxy A32 stacks up against the competition.

Samsung Galaxy A32 against the Redmi Note 10 Pro and the vivo V20 in our Photo compare tool

Portrait mode

Portrait mode on the Galaxy A32 works okay for the most part, without doing blunders like clipped ears or jawlines, though messy hair is the usual suspect behind iffy subject detection. However, the really problematic bit is the lack of HDR in Portrait mode.

Live focus (Portrait mode) samples

Close-ups

The 5MP 'macro' camera of the Galaxy A32 takes some of the better close-ups in the budget segment, in no small part thanks to the resolution advantage against the bulk of 2MP units. You still need to get the subject distance within a fairly tight range due to the lack of autofocus.

Close-up samples

Selfies

The 20MP front-facing camera of the Galaxy A32 takes okay selfies. It saves them in 12MP by default, so it's doing some unorthodox demosaicking of that Quad Bayer sensor. Detail isn't quite 12MP-grade on account of that, but it's still easily good enough.

We're liking the selfie colors - saturation is on point and skin tones are unusually warm and natural for a Samsung selfie cam. Dynamic range is really wide thanks to the HDR, though that can result in some false color as the algorithms try to restore highlights in backlit scenes - a fairly minor issue.

Selfie samples

There's no HDR in the full-res 20MP mode, and we'd prefer the occasional blue cloud over that. In ideal conditions, you stand to gain some extra detail shooting in 20MP mode, but even a minor drop in light will result in a drop in quality.

Selfie samples, 20MP

Portrait mode for selfies does retain the HDR advantage, a welcome if unexpected development given that rear-cam portrait mode doesn't get it. Expect the usual mishaps around untidy hairlines and a slightly irritating thin strip of sharpness where clothes in the foreground meet the background.

Selfie samples, Portrait mode

Video recording

Lower-end Galaxies don't support 4K video capture, and that's that - if you're looking for high-res recording capability, it starts at the Galaxy A52 level (or last year's A42 5G). Here things max out at 1080p 30fps (not even 1080p 60fps), but at least there's EIS unlike on the A12.

Video quality from the main cam in 1080p is virtually identical to that of the Galaxy A12, and that's not overly flattering for the roughly twice as expensive A32. We're talking some heavy-handed sharpening and below average detail, but also little to no noise. Dynamic range is reasonably wide, however, and colors are on point, perhaps a fraction more saturated than on the A12.

The ultrawide camera of the Galaxy A32 captures video with a different look than the A12's, though not strictly better quality. It appears slightly sharper and more detailed, but it's notably more 'processed', and that's where the perception for sharpness comes from. Again, it might have been acceptable on the A12, but on a phone that costs just under €300, it's more of a letdown.

EIS is present, and that's a good thing, but it's not the best of implementations. It does stay planted if you point the phone in a single direction and pans are done without abrupt shift. However, walking still introduces a noticeable shake, which triggers focus hunting to a combined annoying effect.

As for the ultrawide, stabilization is technically available - the toggle in settings is active, and the field of view has a noticeable crop compared to the one with EIS turned off. But in practice, it's as good as non-existent.

Here's a glimpse of how the Samsung Galaxy A32 compares to rivals in our Video compare tool. Head over there for the complete picture.

Samsung Galaxy A32 against the Redmi Note 10 Pro and the vivo V20 in our Video compare tool