Samsung Galaxy A42 5G review

Competition

The Galaxy A42 5G was announced as the cheapest 5G smartphone back in September. But its specs were kept hush-hush for a month, and when it was finally launched in November, the mid-range 5G revolution was already in full swing.

The €300 Galaxy A42 5G is no longer the cheapest 5G smartphone, but it is still a very decent one. With such a powerful chipset under its HD screen, the A42 5G is easily the best gaming phone in this price bracket.

The first smartphone that comes to mind when thinking in mid-range 5G terms is the €280 Xiaomi Mi 10T Lite 5G as it is powered by the same Snapdragon 750G chipset. This one impresses with a 120Hz 1080p LCD screen, loud stereo speakers, and 33W fast charging. While it doesn't offer a Super AMOLED, the HRR LCD screen is a nice thing to have, and if gaming performance is what you want the most - just lower the gaming resolution, and you'll match the Galaxy's.

Then there is the Realme 7 5G, also priced at €280, which also tempts with a 120Hz 1080p LCD screen. It has a similarly powerful Dimensity 800U 5G chip; as for gaming at 720p is concerned, its 5,000mAh battery recharges much faster. The quad-camera on the back is a match for the Galaxy A42's.

The €349 OnePlus Nord N10 5G is powered by the Snapdragon 690 5G chip - quite similar to the SD750, but with a less powerful GPU. The Nord beats the Galaxy with a 90Hz 1080p screen, stereo speakers, and faster charging, but its gaming performance isn't a good match. And since this Nord is €50 more expensive than the A42, we'd go for the latter.

Finally, let's mention the €380 Galaxy A51. It's pretty much the Galaxy A42 but with a higher-res screen. If the screen resolution bothers you, but you want a Super AMOLED screen, this is an excellent alternative.

Xiaomi Mi 10T Lite 5G • Realme 7 5G • OnePlus Nord N10 5G • Samsung Galaxy A51 5G

Our verdict

The Galaxy A42 5G is a cheap 5G mid-ranger, which excels in everything it does - gaming, browsing, multimedia, office apps, and whatnot. It has a large AMOLED screen and a beefy battery to keep whatever you are doing for quite some time. So, yes, the Galaxy A42 5G seems like a great chap.

It's not the cheapest or the best offer in this class, though. Xiaomi and Realme sell similar phones but with high-res and high-refresh screens, priced less at that. They can't offer an OLED panel, and the only way to match the Galaxy A42 in games is to manually lower, if possible, the games' resolution.

In fact, that's the most important question you should answer for yourself if you are getting a €300 5G phone for gaming - do you want to tinker with settings for every single game, or will you be alright with a great performance on this natively 720p screen, an OLED at that?

Pros

• Bright Super AMOLED screen, small notch
• Eye-catchy design
• Outstanding battery life
• Flagship-grade performance
• Very good photo quality, day and night
• Impressive 4K clips from the main cam
• Android 10 and OneUI 2.5 are snappy and easy to use

Cons

• 720p screen
• No stereo speakers
• Slow to charge
• The macro photos aren't that good