Samsung Galaxy A32 5G review

A slightly-downgraded quad-camera setup

The main camera setup on the Galaxy A32 5G unfortunately also follows the persistent "downgrade" trend. That is to say, compared to its vanilla A32 sibling. 5G on a slim budget takes its toll again. To be fair, though, the downgrade isn't too harsh, with the main change being the main camera on the back. The selfie cam is also a bit cut-down.

At the helm of the Galaxy A32 5G we find a 48MP, f/1.8 camera. It is based on the Samsung S5KGM2 sensor, also known as the ISOCELL Bright GM. It's a Tetrapixel design (used to be called Tetracell in Samsung speak, Sony calls them Quad Bayer), with 0.8µm individual pixels and a total sensor size of 1/2.0". It works in the traditional Quad-Bayer manner, using 4-to-1 binning to produce brighter 12MP photos, by default. Alternatively, it can use remosaicing algorithms to shoot in the full 48MP resolution for more detail. The S5KGM2 has phase detection autofocus. In particular, it uses something Samsung calls "Super-PD" which is a high-performance variant of the phase. There is no OIS. The GM2, as it is colloquially known, is actually a popular sensor, found in many other Samsung devices, as well as Xiaomi ones, and we feel pretty confident in its abilities.

Moving on to the ultrawide camera, the Galaxy A32 5G appears to borrow it straight from the vanilla A32. At 8MP, it's 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 covering a 123-degree field of view. The OS features a "sr846d" model identifier for the particular sensor, which yields no search results in Google. There's no software distortion correction on this one, just like there wasn't on the A12 - the A52 does have it, though.

Moving on to the two "supplementary" cameras on the back, so to say, we first have a 5MP dedicated macro snapper. It uses a GalaxyCore GC5035 sensor, with fixed focus and an f/2.4 aperture lens up front.

Last and probably least - a 2MP, f/2.4 depth sensor. As per the reported hardware identifier, this is another GalaxyCore module - the GC02M1B. It is a monochrome 1/5" sensor, with 1.75µm pixels. We've seen this unit as well in devices like the OnePlus 8T and the Poco M3 Pro 5G.

Finally, on the selfie side of things, the Galaxy A32 5G downgrades from the 20MP snapper on its vanilla sibling to a 13MP, f/2.2 one. It uses a Samsung ISOCELL S5K3L6 sensor, which the official specs page claims to support PDAF, but is definitely fixed-focus on the Galaxy A32 5G.

The camera app on the A32 5G is the latest one you get with One UI 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-One UI 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.

Camera app and settings

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. The Galaxy A52 and A72 have more Pro controls at their disposal.

Pro photo mode

Speaking of missing things, Pro video also didn't make the cut. What is present, however, is Samsung's new integration with Snapchat, called FUN MODE. It is basically a collaboration with Snapchat that puts some of the app's fun AR filters in the native Samsung camera app. It's just a bit of extra trendy "flare" to have around.

Samsung FUN MODE

FUN MODE works for both photos and videos (captured by long-pressing the shutter key). The filter selection consists of 7 "basic" lenses, one of which gets changed out daily, as well as an additional menu of 9 more effects that also get "changed regularly".

Additional FUN MODE filters

FUN MODE requires an active network connection to work, which makes sense, considering all the "swapping" that's going on. Seeing how the filter selection is constantly subject to change, you can't exactly pick your favorites and use them regularly. Hence, the whole feature is more of a promotional one than anything else, meant to ultimately grab your attention and direct you to the Snapchat app for the full experience. We don't particularly mind that, even if the lack of a static filter selection is a bit annoying.

Daylight image quality

Still shots from the main camera are very good overall. Like we said, the Samsung GM2 sensor has proven its worth time and time again, and it definitely does not disappoint when paired with Samsung's solid processing. Detail in the 12MP shots is plenty, and everything looks nice and sharp. Well, perhaps with the exception of the very extreme corners of the frame, which can be slightly softer on occasion.

Samsung Galaxy A32 5G: 12MP main camera samples

Colors are nice and vibrant, without being oversaturated. Samsung has been known to crank the saturation way more in the past, making this kind of processing a bit more mature. There are no weird color casts. Dynamic range, too, is respectable, though not quite as wide as on higher-end models. We should point out that these shots were taken in the default camera mode, with Scene optimizer and Auto HDR enabled. Both kick in reliably and consistently, and we see no reason to disable either.

In fact, you can easily see how much of a difference these additional computational systems make when shooting in 48MP mode. Neither is available in this mode, and it shows, especially in scenes with more complicated lighting. You can clearly see highlights and shadows look a lot better in the default 12MP auto mode in general.

Samsung Galaxy A32 5G main camera samples: 12MP • 48MP

48MP shots, however, definitely offer more resolved detail. If that is a priority for you and individual files of over 20MB in size are not a problem, then go for it. You do have to live with a bit more noise, as well.

There is no dedicated zoom camera on the Galaxy A32 5G. What you get are crops from the main 64MP sensor. You can pinch to zoom at any level you want up to 10x, with convenient buttons for 2x, 4x and 10x available in the camera UI. At 2x level, you'll get good enough images for social sharing, with the same global properties as 1x. Upon 1:1 examination, you'll see some sharpening halos along contrasting edges and aliasing for diagonal lines, as well as reduced per-pixel detail.

Samsung Galaxy A32 5G: 12MP 2x zoom main camera samples

Sharpening artifacts are much more noticeable with higher zoom levels. The max 10x one is not what we would consider usable. Still, we've seen a lot worse out of digital zoom.

Samsung Galaxy A32 5G: 12MP main camera samples: 4x • 10x

Before we move past the main camera, we need to also look at portrait mode shots. These pretty great for a budget device. The background bokeh effect is particularly nice. You can adjust its intensity via a slider in the camera UI.

Samsung Galaxy A32 5G: 12MP main camera portrait samples

Subject detection and separation are good but could be better. Stray hairs and busier backgrounds can trip it up. That being said, the dedicated 2MP depth sensor seems to be pulling its own weight here, so we can't complain too much. Auto HDR is available in portrait mode.

The algorithm also works well on non-human subjects, which is nifty.

Samsung Galaxy A32 5G: 12MP main camera portrait samples: non-human subjects

Before we move past the main camera, here are our standardized posted shots from it in both its default 12MP and full-res 48MP modes.

Samsung Galaxy A32 5G against the Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 and the Xiaomi Poco X3 Pro in our Photo compare tool

64MP: Samsung Galaxy A32 5G against the Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 and the Xiaomi Poco X3 Pro in our Photo compare tool

The modest 8MP ultrawide shooter delivers decent images. The level of detail is okay for the hardware. Dynamic range, too, isn't half bad for a mid-range ultrawide. Colors are not particularly consistent across the ultrawide and main cameras. Colors are not particularly consistent across the ultrawide and main cameras.

Samsung Galaxy A32 5G: 8MP ultrawide camera samples

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.

Here is a set of shots of the same scene at various zoom levels, as well as from the ultrawide for easier comparison purposes.

Samsung Galaxy A32 5G camera samples: 0.5x • 1x • 2x *4x • 10x

The 5MP 'macro' camera of the Galaxy A32 5G 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 reasonably tight range due to the lack of autofocus.

Samsung Galaxy A32 5G: 5MP macro camera samples

The 13MP selfie camera captures very decent photos, especially for a budget phone. There is no autofocus available, but the fixed focus plane is decently wide, so most selfies end up fine. The resolved detail is great, and we quite like the warm color rendition for skin tones.

Samsung Galaxy A32 5G: 13MP selfie camera samples

The Scene optimizer is not available for the selfie cam, but auto HDR is helping deliver a nicely wide dynamic range for these shots.

In typical Samsung fashion, the selfie cam has a narrow and a wide mode. The latter shoots at the full 13MP of the selfie camera, while the former produces 9MP, or so, stills.

Samsung Galaxy A32 5G: 9MP selfie camera samples

We appreciate that the option is there, but would still prefer if Samsung made 13MP selfies the default, out of the box. At least you can set the camera app to remember your last selection and restore it when opening the camera app, which is something.

The Galaxy A32 5G produces surprisingly-competent selfie portraits. The background bokeh continues to look natural and convincing, just like on the main cam.

Samsung Galaxy A32 5G: selfie camera portrait samples

Subject separation is not half bad either, especially since there is not additional depth sensor on this side. Of course, stray hairs and things like glasses will almost definitely trip it up. But, that's all expected.

Video recording

All things considered, the Galaxy A32 5G has been as good as or a bit worse in the camera department compared to the vanilla Galaxy A32. Pretty justifiable, given the hardware downgrade. All, of course, for the sake of fitting 5G connectivity without breaking the bank.

An interesting consequence of squeezing in the MediaTek Dimensity 720 5G chipset into the Galaxy A32 5G is, however, the availability of 4K video capture. A feature that the vanilla Galaxy A32 notably lacks, topping off at FullHD. It's a bit counterintuitive to think about, for sure, yet here we are.

The Galaxy A32 5G can record 4K@30fps from its main camera in either h.264 of h.265 (HEVC) format. Going for the former for its lower compression rate results in MP4 files with a solid AVC video stream of around 50 Mbps and stereo, 48kHz AAC audio. Not too shabby at all.

The video itself is naturally a lot better than the 1080p on the regular Galaxy A32. In fact, even in more absolute terms, 4K clips from the A32 5G look surprisingly competent. Detail is plenty, and the colors look good, even if a bit on the saturated side. Dynamic range isn't ideal, with highlights in particular often getting clipped. There is a bit more noise in finer patterns, like grass, than we would have preferred. Nothing major, though and overall a great all-around showing.

You can do zoomed videos, with 2x, 4x and 10x presets available in the UI, just like for stills. The footage quickly becomes soft as the zoom level goes up, though. We would say that 2x is usable, but anything past that is more "artist rendition", courtesy of the algorithm than actual footage.

Videos from the ultrawide camera look very rough. Especially in comparison. The maximum resolution here is 1080p@30fps, as is typical of ultrawides. Even for FullHD, though, the level of detail here is low. Plus, there is a general softness all around the frame. Dynamic range is quite visibly limited, with shadows suffering in particular, since the A32 5G tends to underexpose its ultrawide videos and produce dark clips.

At least colors aren't all that bad. Though, definitely different from those on the main cam. And noise is kept at bay reasonably well. But that's about all of the positives we can see. We would shy away from using the ultrawide for any sort of video.

Electronic stabilization is available at 1080p for both the main and the ultrawide camera. You can check both in the following playlist.

It has notable issues in both cases, though. For the ultrawide, it tends to leave a lot of the motion and jitters behind. The main camera seems to be doing a bit better in this department, but for some reason, EIS often introduces nasty focus-hunting, which looks just as bad as the other camera jitter, if not worse. Overall, we are underwhelmed by the available stabilization.

Here is how the Galaxy A32 5G stacks up against competitors in our extensive video compare database. You can pixel-peep away.

Samsung Galaxy A32 5G against the Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 and the Xiaomi Poco X3 Pro in our Video compare tool

Low-light camera quality

In low-light conditions, the main camera on the Galaxy A32 5G offers largely unimpressive performance, though still perfectly decent for a budget device. Shots are generally soft and noisy, and dynamic range is narrow. Detail in shadows gets crushed more often than not, and light sources are often clipped.

Samsung Galaxy A32 5G: 12MP main camera low-light samples

To be fair, we've seen worse, even from other Samsung devices. You can get plenty of resolved detail, especially if you are patient and persistent enough and get a few shots in.

Speaking of detail, the traditional reasoning for using 48MP mode to get more detail kind of falls apart in low-light conditions. Even with the extra resolution, shots still come out looking similarly soft. Not much benefit in our opinion.

Samsung Galaxy A32 5G: 48MP main camera low-light samples

Zooming with the main camera quickly degrades overall sharpness and level of detail. We would say that past 2x, shots are more of a painting, courtesy of the sharpening and noise suppression systems than anything else.

Samsung Galaxy A32 5G zoom samples: 2x • 4x • 10x

Predictably, the ultrawide cam does not perform at its best after dark. 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.

Samsung Galaxy A32 5G: 8MP ultrawide camera low-light samples

The Galaxy A32 5G has Night mode for both its main and ultrawide cameras. Starting with the main cam, the effects of night mode are on the subtle side, but definitely noticeable and beneficial. Mostly for dynamic range and handling highlights in particular. Light sources are handles consistently better, and most highlights are no longer clipped.

Samsung Galaxy A32 5G: 12MP main camera night mode samples

Shadows get a bit of a boost as well, but not nearly as much. The really encouraging bit is that Night mode works much better on the Galaxy A32 5G, compared to the vanilla A32, back when we reviewed it. In its earlier state, the algorithm had plenty of issues, including crashing and just boosting exposure all around the frame instead of selectively. This is not the case here. Night mode is working as intended.

The ultrawide cam benefits from night mode in a very similar and subtle way as the main cam. That is to say - the overall exposure remains mostly unchanged, shadows and details within just get a slight boost, and it's the highlights and light sources that really benefit.

Samsung Galaxy A32 5G: 8MP ultrawide camera night mode samples

Given that night mode on the A32 5G is not terribly slow, as well, and never actually managed to make a shot worse for us, we can't ask much more of it.

The selfie cam holds up reasonably well in low-light conditions, though shots are quite soft and noisy overall.

Samsung Galaxy A32 5G selfie low-light samples: 13MP • 9MP

Night mode is just as subtle and consistent on the selfie cam as on the main ones. It tends to just come in and fix highlights and light sources a bit.

Samsung Galaxy A32 5G selfie night mode samples: 13MP • 9MP

Finally, we took a few low-light videos with the Galaxy A32 5G. The main cam actually holds up very well. It can capture 4K@30fps, with plenty of detail and noise kept well at bay. Of course, dynamic range is far from ideal, and both shadows and highlights suffer. All low-light samples are in the following playlist.

We are also including ultrawide and zoom video samples in the low-light playlist. All of these clips are not what we would consider usable, due to insufficient details and excessive softness. One noteworthy detail regarding zoomed low-light video capture is that the Galaxy A32 5G limits resolution to 1080p for some reason. Or at least we didn't manage to get 4K zoomed, low-light clips. Not that the extra resolution would have likely made much of a difference.