The Samsung Galaxy A52 5G ($499.99) has big shoes to fill: Samsung customers are expecting a lot of value from the successor to the Galaxy A51, one of the top-selling phones of 2020. For the most part, the Galaxy A52 5G delivers, with a gorgeous 120Hz AMOLED display, 5G connectivity, an ambitious camera array, and solid battery life. What’s missing, however, is performance. The A52 5G is a bit sluggish when compared with the Google Pixel 4a 5G ($499) or even the Moto G Stylus 5G ($399.99).
A Sleek Design With a Stunning Display
The Galaxy A52 5G flaunts a more refined design than its predecessor. The curvy and glossy look that graced the A51 has been replaced with a flatter, boxier aesthetic that’s reminiscent of the Galaxy S21. In the US, the Galaxy A52 5G is only available in a semi-matte black finish that looks good but quickly accumulates fingerprints and smudges. In other parts of the world, it comes in an array of fun color options.
At 6.3 by 3.0 by 0.3 inches (HWD) and 6.7 ounces, the Galaxy A52 5G is slightly larger than the Galaxy A51, but it’s still small and light enough to hold with one hand.
A bezel-less 6.5-inch AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate dominates the front of the phone. It’s a gorgeous display with vivid colors and deep, inky blacks. The resolution clocks in at 2,400 by 1,080, with a pixel density of 405ppi. Viewing angles are excellent and it’s bright enough to use in direct sunlight.
The under-display fingerprint sensor is disappointing. Unlike the ultrasonic sensor on the Galaxy S21, the Galaxy A52 5G’s optical sensor is slow and inaccurate. We prefer the side-mounted sensor on the less-expensive Galaxy A32 5G, though it’s not as elegant.
The semi-matte black backplate has a small Samsung logo, and even smaller regulatory information printed at the bottom. A large camera array occupies the top left corner.
The top of the Galaxy A52 5G is home to the SIM/microSD slot. On the bottom, you’ll find the USB-C port, the headphone jack, and stereo speakers. The left side of the phone is bare; on the right are the Bixby Button and the volume rocker. If you’re not a fan of Bixby, you can configure the button to open any app or work as a power button.
Compared with other phones in this price range, the Galaxy A52 wins on durability. It’s water resistant and has an IP67 rating—a feature that’s missing from the Google Pixel 4a 5G and even the $699.99 Motorola Moto Edge. Its plastic backplate should handle minor drops and dings without a problem. The Gorilla Glass 5 display can cope with some wear and tear, though a face-down drop will likely crack it.
Affordable 5G on Every Carrier
An unlocked version of the Galaxy A52 5G is available on the Samsung website. Locked versions are sold through all the US carriers. It supports LTE and sub-6GHz 5G on all the major networks.
We tested the Galaxy A52 5G in Chicago on AT&T’s “5GE” network, which is essentially rebranded LTE coverage, not true 5G. Throughout our tests in several different neighborhoods, the phone’s data speeds were terrible, averaging 2.67Mbps down and 0.84Mbps up. That’s almost certainly the network’s fault, not the phone’s: The Snapdragon X52 modem in the Galaxy A52 5G has 100MHz bandwidth and 4×4 MIMO support on sub-6GHz networks and is capable of much faster speeds.
Call quality is excellent. Earpiece volume maxes out at 86dB, which is loud enough for just about any environment. Our test calls were clear and noise cancellation worked perfectly on every call.
Audio quality is better on the Galaxy A52 5G than on the Google Pixel 4a 5G and most phones priced around $500. Its stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos tuning sound pretty good. With a maximum volume of 94dB, the speakers can easily fill a room. Mids are well represented and there’s a hint of bass, but you’ll want to grab a decent pair of headphones before opening Spotify for your morning commute.
The Galaxy A52 5G has dual-band Wi-Fi, but Wi-Fi 6 is missing. Bluetooth 5.0 is available for wearable and audio connectivity, as is NFC for mobile payments.
Familiar Cameras
The impressive-looking camera stack on the Galaxy A52 5G isn’t much different from the Galaxy A51’s. A 64MP primary sensor with an f/1.8 aperture, optical image stabilization, and auto focus replaces the 48MP sensor that shipped with the Galaxy A51. The remaining lenses on both phones have the same specs: a 12MP ultra-wide lens with f/2.2 aperture, 5MP depth and macro lenses with f/2.4 apertures, and a 32MP front-facing camera.
Our daylight test shots were crisp, with excellent depth of field. Colors were vivid and slightly oversaturated, as is common with Samsung phones. The ultra-wide sensor on the A52 5G appears to be the same one that’s on the older A51, but we didn’t notice any edge distortion in our test photos with good lighting.
The A52 5G performs admirably in low light as well. Test shots with the primary sensor looked great, even though there was some loss of background detail. There was also some loss of fine detail and minor edge distortion in our ultra-wide test photos.
The 32MP selfie camera performs well in just about any lighting scenario. Daylight test shots were crisp with excellent foreground detail. Low-light test shots told a similar story, though we noticed a small amount of noise around the edges.
Overall, the Galaxy A52 5G’s camera stack is good, it just doesn’t live up to the Pixel 4a 5G’s. Google’s midrange offering has one of the best camera modules we’ve seen on a smartphone, and it performs better in low light.
A Bit of Lag
The Galaxy A52 5G runs on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G mobile platform and 6GB of RAM. There’s 128GB of storage, of which 101GB is available out of the box. You can add up to 1TB of external storage with a microSD card.
Overall performance lags behind the Google Pixel 4a 5G and even the less-expensive Moto G Stylus 5G. There’s a slight but noticeable hesitation when opening apps and swiping between screens. Once an app is open, however, things work just fine.
Gameplay is acceptable, and the Advanced Game Booster makes a noticeable difference. Genshin Impact loaded slowly in our tests, but we were able to play the game for nearly an hour without any skipped frames or crashes. Alto’s Odyssey, a game that requires significantly fewer resources, loaded quickly and worked without a hitch.
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Benchmark tests are an excellent way to compare devices, but they’re not always accurate indicators of overall performance. On PCMark Work 3.0, a suite of tests that emulates typical smartphone tasks, the Galaxy A52 5G scored 10,801, on par with last year’s Samsung Galaxy S20+ and miles ahead of the Pixel 4a 5G and the Moto G Stylus 5G. On Geekbench 5, a benchmark that measures raw processor power, the Galaxy A52 5G earned scores of 645 (single-core) and 1,905 (multi-core), again outranking the Pixel 4a 5G and the Moto G Stylus 5G. However, all three of these phones surpass the Galaxy A52 5G’s performance in day-to-day-use.
We’re surprised by the difference between the Galaxy A52 5G’s benchmark scores and our experience of its performance, but we have a few theories about why other phones outperform it. First, the Qualcomm 750 5G chipset in the Galaxy A52 5G isn’t all that different from the Qualcomm 480 5G processor used in the Moto G Stylus 5G, and the Pixel 4a 5G ships with 8GB of RAM to the Galaxy A52 5G’s 6GB. Samsung’s software could be another contributor to the lag, since it requires more resources than the lightly customized stock Android that ships on the Moto G Stylus 5G and the Pixel 4a 5G. Finally, the Galaxy A52 uses the same Adreno 619 GPU found on the 480 5G mobile platform, and that GPU may not be up to the challenge of supporting the 120Hz screen.
The Galaxy A52’s 4,500mAh battery can easily get you through a day of moderate use. In our battery drain test, which streams HD video over Wi-Fi at full brightness, the phone lasted 11 hours and 51 minutes. It comes with a 15W charger in the box and supports 25W fast charging with an optional power adapter.
Three Years of Android Upgrades
The Galaxy A52 5G ships with Android 11 along with Samsung’s One UI 3.1. Samsung’s custom skin improves with each update, and One UI 3.1 includes integration with Microsoft Office as well as improved camera and customization features.
Samsung’s suite of productivity apps come preloaded on the unlocked version of the Galaxy A52 5G. Many of the apps seem superfluous, since similar ones are shipped with Android, but there are a few gems, including Samsung Note and an improved Calculator.
If you purchase the phone through a carrier, there’s a good chance you’ll see a lot of bloatware. Our AT&T model had nearly two dozen extra apps preloaded, including games such as Candy Crush and Game of Thrones Slots. Fortunately, you can uninstall most of these apps if you need additional storage.
The Galaxy A52 5G gets three years of OS upgrades, alongside three years of regular security patches and one additional year of security updates. That’s similar to what you’ll get on the Pixel 4a 5G, though Google phones generally get updates much faster than Samsung ones do.
A Good Phone Clobbered by Better Competition
From its attractive and durable design to its gorgeous AMOLED panel and 5G connectivity, there’s a lot to like about the Samsung Galaxy A52 5G. Unfortunately, its slouchy performance and frustrating fingerprint sensor are hard to ignore. If you’re willing to spend a little more money or wait for a sale, the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G is still our Editors’ Choice for unlocked midrange phones and is a much better value overall, but it costs $699.99. To stay under the $500 mark, we recommend the Google Pixel 4a 5G, which has one of the best camera stacks you’ll find on a smartphone. And if your budget is really tight, take a look at the $279.99 Samsung Galaxy A32 5G, our Editors’ Choice for budget 5G phones.
