Earlier this year, Samsung released a new batch of premium phones in the Galaxy S21 lineup, and now the company has returned to give its mid-range handsets a revamp.
Meet the new Galaxy A72, A52, and A52 5G. All three phones share similar specs, but there are subtle differences between the two A52 models and the A72. Both the A52 and A52 5G share the same 6.5-inch 2400 x 1080 AMOLED screen, however, in addition to support for 5G (sub-6 Ghz 0nly for now), the A52 5G also comes with a 120Hz refresh rate (but no VRR), while the standard A52 has to make do with only a 90Hz display. That said, considering high-refresh displays have largely been restricted to high-end flagship phones, it’s nice to see this tech trickle down to less expensive devices.
Aside from the refresh rate and 5G, the A52s are practically the same. Both feature a 32-MP selfie cam, quad rear cameras (64-MP main, 12-MP ultra-wide, 5-MP macro, and 5-MP depth), 4,500 mAh batteries, and configs with either 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, or 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. (The standard A52 may also be available with just 4GB of RAM, but it’s unclear if that model will be available in the U.S.)
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The A72, on the other hand, features a slightly larger 6.7-inch AMOLED screen with a 90Hz refresh rate, a larger 5,000 mAh battery, and a rear camera module that swaps out the depth camera for a telephoto cam with a 3x optical zoom. All three phones also feature IP67 water resistance.
Inside, Samsung’s new A-series phones will run Android 11 based on Samsung’s One UI 3.o, with the new mid-range handsets getting the same commitment to three years of software updates and four years of security patches that the flagship Galaxy S line enjoys, which might be the best long-term support outside of Apple’s iPhones.
Samsung has also included a handful of useful features like 4K Video Snap, which allows you to grab 8-MP snapshots from 4K video clips, a scene optimizer mode, which automatically tweaks photos to best suit your subject, and stereo speakers for better audio.
The new A-Series phones even get two things its more expensive siblings don’t: support for microSD expandability and an included power brick. Now you’ll still have to buy your microSD card separately, but for anyone who was annoyed by the lack of microSD support on Samsung’s latest flagships, it’s nice to see that Samsung hasn’t completely given up on expandable storage just yet.
Strangely, there doesn’t seem to be an A72 5G on the way, which is a bit disappointing for people who like bigger phones with telephoto cameras and 5G, but depending on their eventual pricing, the existence of an A72 5G may have cannibalized sales of the standard Galaxy S21. Additionally, while Samsung has only mentioned support for sub-6Ghz 5G on the A52 5G, I wouldn’t be surprised if U.S. carriers end up offering tweaked models with support for mmWave 5G as well.
Unfortunately, the lack of some specifics expected. Because today is just the global announcement, Samsung hasn’t released details regarding pricing, local availability, or even which processors will be used in U.S. models, though we’re expecting to find out more closer to their release later this spring.
Still, for people who don’t care about 5G or are just looking for more a new generation of mid-range devices with many of the fancier features available in the S21 lineup, Samsung’s new A-series phones have a solid foundation. We’ll have to wait to see how much they cost to determine how good of a deal they really are.
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