Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G Hands-on

The Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G launched in the Philippines last month, and it’s a premium mid-ranger that boasts a 6.5-inch sAMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate, a Snapdragon 778G chipset, quad-rear cameras, and 5G connectivity. Read our initial thoughts about it below.

Starting on the front, we have a 6.5-inch sAMOLED with Full HD+ resolution or equal to 405ppi. The screen is vibrant, sharp, with deep blacks and punchy colors. The screen has noticeable bezels but is not that thick to ruin the viewing experience. It also has a 120Hz refresh rate for smooth animations and transitions. Protecting the screen is Gorilla Glass 5.

Found at the top part of the screen is a hole punch for the 32MP selfie camera, then above it, at the bezel, is the slit for the earpiece and secondary speaker.

Found on the right are the power/lock and volume buttons. They’re clicky and firm and easy to reach despite the tall frame.

Up top, we have the secondary microphone and the card tray for two nano-sized SIM cards and a microSD card on the hybrid slot.

Down at the bottom is the 3.5mm audio jack, main microphone, USB-C, and loudspeaker.

Flip it on its back, and you will see the quad-rear cameras consisting of a 64MP main, 12MP ultra-wide, 5MP macro, and 5MP depth-sensing. The camera module is protruding, but Samsung made it blend with the back panel for an almost unibody look, making it look more sleek and seamless.

In the hands, the Galaxy A52s 5G is tall at 159.9mm due to the large screen. However, it’s also narrow at 75.1mm, so you can easily grip it. In addition, the matte finish provides a nice texture and can hide fingerprints and smudges.

We’re not sure about the materials used, but the frame is metallic while the back panel is plastic. It’s not as premium as glass, but the Galaxy A52s feels solid and well-made and even has IP67 dust and water resistance. It’s eye-catching as well, especially if you get the Awesome Violet, Awesome White, and Awesome Mint. Awesome Black is okay, too, if you prefer the more common black color.

Powering the Galaxy A52s 5G is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G 5G SoC with Adreno 642L GPU, 8GB RAM, and 128GB or 256GB of storage. For the software, it runs on One UI 3.1 based on Android 11. Unfortunately, we can’t benchmark this phone and do intensive testing for review as the unit we have is an engineering sample. However, we’re looking forward to testing a retail unit.

The Galaxy A52s 5G 8GB + 128GB is priced at PHP 22,990USD 392INR 33,211EUR 373CNY 2,853, while the 8GB + 256GB is at PHP 24,990USD 426INR 36,101EUR 406CNY 3,101. Both models are available in Samsung Experience stores. The Awesome White 256GB is an online exclusive model. Meanwhile, the 128GB variant is also available exclusively online in Awesome Violet and Awesome Mint.

Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G specs:
6.5-inch FHD+ (2400 x 1080) sAMOLED, 405ppi
120Hz refresh rate
Corning Gorilla Glass 5
Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G SoC
Adreno 642L GPU
8GB RAM
128GB, 256GB storage
Expandable up to 1TB via microSD
Quad rear cameras:
• 64MP (main)
• 12MP (ultra-wide)
• 5MP (macro)
• 5MP (depth)
32MP front camera
5G, 4G LTE
Dual-SIM (nano)
WiFi 6
Bluetooth 5.2
A-GPS, Glonass, Galileo, BDS
NFC
IP67 water resistance
Fingerprint scanner (in-display)
3.5mm audio jack
USB Type-C
One UI 3.1 (Android 11)
4,500mAh battery w/ 25W fast charge
159.9 x 75.1 x 8.4mm
189g
Awesome Black, Awesome White, Awesome Mint, Awesome Violet