Samsung Galaxy A52 5G review

The competition

The Samsung Galaxy A52 5G is a phone with many cool traits and it does make sense over the Galaxy A52 if you appreciate the smoother 120Hz UI and 5G connectivity. But you'd be paying dearly for those.

The Galaxy A52 5G costs about €460 in Europe, which is €120 over the regular Galaxy A52. That's a lot of money for a smoother UI and 5G, particularly in the current state of 5G networks.

The Galaxy A42 5G runs on the same Snapdragon 750 5G but offers a more basic Super AMOLED screen of 720p resolution and 60Hz refresh rate. Its main camera isn't as impressive either, but it does excel in gaming and offers jaw-dropping battery life. Plus, the A42 5G is about €160 cheaper than the A52 5G. If gaming and 5G are important to you, maybe you should consider this one instead.

Finally, the 5G-enabled Samsung Galaxy S20 FE is just €60 more expensive than the A52 5G and it has a lot to justify this kind of premium. It has a similar 120Hz AMOLED but offers much better performance thanks to the flagship-grade Snapdragon 865 5G chip. The S20 FE has a better camera on the back, too - there is a 12MP primary with OIS, a dedicated 8MP tele camera with OIS and 3x optical zoom, while the 12MP ultrawide shooter is a match to the A52's. And if these aren't good enough reasons to spend more, then there is fast wireless and reverse wireless charging, too.

Samsung Galaxy A52 • Samsung Galaxy A42 5G • Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G

Outside the Galaxy world, things aren't looking good for the Galaxy A52 5G either. The recently launched OnePlus Nord 2 5G costs €399 or €60 cheaper than the Galaxy and it offers much snappier performance thanks to its Dimensity 1200 SoC. Its 50MP main camera also features OIS, so mobile photographers should be happy with that. The Fluid AMOLED is "just" 90Hz, but these are 90Hz you can fully utilize given the proper content thanks to the potent hardware. Oh, and the 65W bundled charger brings the battery from 0% to 100% in 30 minutes, which is amazing!

There is also the €200 Poco X3 Pro and the €300 Poco F3. Both phones feature 120Hz displays and powerful Snapdragon 860 4G and Snapdragon 870 5G flagship-grade chips. Their cameras aren't as impressive and the Pocos are only splash-resistant, but they sure outdo the A52 5G when it comes to performance and fast charging.

Last, but not least important - you should explore the Realme GT, which costs €499. With a 120Hz AMOLED screen and a Snapdragon 888 chip, and it can recharge its 4,500mAh blazingly-fast with the bundled 65W SuperDart charger. The Realme has no ingress protection and its ultrawide camera isn't as impressive, but for everything else - it is better than the A52 5G.

OnePlus Nord 2 5G • Xiaomi Poco X3 Pro • Xiaomi Poco F3

Our verdict

The Samsung Galaxy A52 5G is a good smartphone with a thoughtful pick of features - few mid-range phones can offer an attractive design, a 120Hz AMOLED, a decent chipset, and such a capable bunch of cameras. We also liked the battery life and speaker performance, as well as how smooth One UI was.

Indeed, the Galaxy A52 5G is a solid 5G phone and nobody can take that from it.

Unfortunately, the Galaxy A52 5G is just priced unfavorably. There are many better or faster 5G phones at a similar or even cheaper price out there and while the promises of very long software support may be boosting the A52 5G's value proposition it still feels your are not getting the best bang for your buck. Not least because the regular A52 with the same kind of support and largely the same feature set is that much cheaper.

Samsung can make the Galaxy A52 5G an attractive offer by applying a price cut as it has done in some markets. In most places, however, you are better off spending your money elsewhere.

Pros

• Beautiful design, IP67-rated body.
• Great AMOLED screen of 120Hz refresh rate.
• Impressive battery life.
• Balanced stereo speakers, loud enough.
• Great all-round camera experience, photo and video.
• 5G, microSD, 3.5mm jack, Android 11, One UI 3.5.

Cons

• Priced too close to phones with flagship-grade chipsets
• 15W bundled charger not maximizing charging potential.
• The GPU performance is uninspiring.
• The selfie experience could have been better.