The Galaxy A52 5G was officially released a few weeks ago and the new mid-range hero has certainly met and even exceeded our expectations. The Galaxy A52 5G is one of Samsung's best smartphones of the year so far and it shines next to any other budget-oriented mid-range phone, Galaxy-branded or otherwise.
Samsung is now looking to expand availability for the Galaxy A52 5G in additional markets, and India might be next in line. The Galaxy A52 5G will face strong opposition in India where mid-range phones thrive in popularity, and that's equally true for Samsung's own portfolio. The Galaxy F-branded series is exclusive to India and it was conceived precisely to offer good value for money, not to mention that Samsung is now releasing its Galaxy M-branded phones in more markets than ever before, including in Europe.
Can the Galaxy A52 5G compete with its own siblings given this landscape? We think so, and we believe that there are many reasons why prospective mid-range phone buyers should pick the Galaxy A52 5G over any other mid-range phone. Here are the top few:
Fantastic firmware support with monthly security patches
The Galaxy A52 5G Samsung's only non-enterprise mid-range phone to take advantage of monthly security patches. The majority of mid-range devices benefit from quarterly security updates instead, so this is one of the ways in which the Galaxy A52 5G is standing apart from other phones in its category.
This stands true even when pricier mid-range Galaxy phones are involved. The Galaxy A72 was unveiled alongside the Galaxy A52 earlier this year, yet despite the fact that it's available for a higher price, it's limited to quarterly security updates.
In addition to great security support, the Galaxy A52 5G will also take advantage of three major Android OS updates up to Android 14. It's one of the very few non-flagship phones to have this privilege.
A great high-refresh rate (120Hz) Super AMOLED display
The age of high-refresh rate displays is upon us and we've seen Samsung using this technology even for low-cost devices such as the Galaxy M12, which is the company's cheapest device to date to boast a high-refresh rate screen. However, the Galaxy A52 5G's display ticks all the right boxes, and once again, it even outperforms more expensive phones such as the Galaxy A72.
The Galaxy A52 5G has a 6.5-inch Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 2400 by 1080, a 20:9 aspect ratio, 800 nits of brightness, and of course, a 120Hz refresh rate as opposed to 60Hz or 90Hz.
India's Galaxy F62 is priced lower than the Galaxy A52 4G but not by much, and the Galaxy M62 is also expected to hit the international market as a cost-effective phone. But neither can offer the level of display quality provided by the Galaxy A52 5G.
OIS-enabled main camera and and an IP67 rating
The main camera and the phone's construction are just a couple of other areas in which the Galaxy A52 5G is blurring the lines between the mid-range and high-end segments like no other phone does.
Starting with the main camera system, the Galaxy A52 5G boasts a 64MP main camera with an f/1.8 aperture, PDAF, and more importantly, OIS (Optical Image Stabilization). This contributes to higher quality photos and videos, especially when in motion and / or in low-light conditions.
As for the phone's construction, well, the Galaxy A52 5G is once again one of Samsung's very few mid-range phones to boast an IP67 rating for dust and water resistance. The rating indicates that the phone is completely protected from dust and can prevent water from seeping through when the phone is submerged in up to 1 meter of water for up to 30 minutes.
Qualcomm chipsets for everybody!
Everyone's probably familiar with the whole Exynos fiasco that reached its peak last year with the launch of the Exynos 990 chipset. Long story short, the Exynos 990 was outperformed by Qualcomm's Snapdragon 865 chipset by a large-enough margin to get customers and shareholders alike worried. Some customers vowed to never support the Exynos platform, and Samsung made a promise to never let its customers down again.
As for Galaxy A52 5G buyers, they don't have to worry about any of that. Unlike most other Galaxy phones that are split between Exynos and Qualcomm markets, the Galaxy A52 5G employs the 8nm-based Snapdragon 750G solution everywhere, no matter the continent. And it's a great chip at that!
The Snapdragon 750G SoC comprises two Kryo 570 high-performance cores clocked at 2.2GHz, and six Kryo 570 high-efficiency cores operating at a frequency of 1.8GHz. The CPU is paired with an Adreno 619 graphics chip.
It all boils down to the Galaxy A52 5G offering incredible value for money
The Galaxy A52 5G is obviously not the best smartphone money can buy, but the final reason why we recommend it over any other mid-range device is because it offers fantastic value for money.
It's not just the fact that the Galaxy A52 5G has a 120Hz display, an IP67 rating, an OIS-enabled camera, great software support, and a Qualcomm chipset everywhere. You can find some of these features in other mid-range devices but rarely do they converge to offer a complete package. The Galaxy A52 5G seemingly has it all, and for a decent mid-range price.
The Galaxy A52 5G is available for $499, but the price can be lowered to $375 with trade-in. You can learn more about the Galaxy A52 by reading our review, though keep in mind that it covers the 4G model which has a lower refresh rate, a slower chipset, and a lower price tag to boot.
Feel free to leave a comment below if you happen to agree with our reasons why we believe that the Galaxy A52 5G is the best mid-range phone money can buy right now, or if you perhaps disagree and have other reasons / devices in mind.
