Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G test available in the Free Mobile store – Freebox universe

Today, Univers Freebox offers you the test of the Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G smartphone. If the copy is perfectible, the arguments are not lacking.

Before going to the test, here are the main technical characteristics of the Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G costing 459 euros cash at Free Mobile for a 6 + 128 GB configuration. It can also be obtained for 13.99 euros per month as part of the ‘Free Flex offer.

Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G technical sheet:

Processor: octa-core up to 2.4 GHz (Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G chipset)

RAM: 6 GB

Screen: 6.5-inch AMOLED panel with a definition of 2,400 x 1,080 pixels
and 120Hz refresh rate

Audio: dual stereo speaker

Storage: 128 GB expandable by MicroSD (hybrid Nano-SIM / MicroSD slot)

SIM management: two Nano-SIM slots (Nano-SIM in the upper section)

4G compatibility: support B1 / B3 / B4 / B5 / B7 / B8 / B12 / B17 / bands
B20 / B26 / B28 / B32 / B38 / B40 / B41 / B66

5G compatibility: n1 / n3 / n5 / n7 / n8 / n20 / n28 / n38 / n40 / n41 / n66 / n78

Quadruple photo sensor on the back:
64 + 12 + 5 + 5 Megapixels (main + ultra wide-angle + macro + portrait)

Front photo sensor: 32 Megapixels in a centered punch

3.5 mm headphone jack: yes (lower edge)

Charging connection: USB-C (lower edge)

Wi-Fi support: Wi-Fi version 6

Bluetooth connectivity: version 5.0

NFC: yes

Battery: 4,500 mAh non-removable

Wired charging: 25 Watts charging support (15 Watts charger supplied)

Wireless charging: no

Operating system: Android 11 with One 3.1 interface

Unlock solutions: facial recognition
or fingerprint reader under the panel

Security patches installed during our test: October 2021

Dimensions: 159.9 x 75.1 x 8.4 mm

Weight: 189 grams

Head SAR: 0.878 W / kg

Trunk SAR: 0.842 W / kg

SAR limbs: 2.94 W / kg

A plastic design, but original and well finished

Like it or not (the editorial staff was rather divided), the Galaxy A52s stands out with its design. The smartphone has a fully plastic back (up to the photo block) and available in colorful tones. We also received the smartphone in lavender color. It is also available in white, black and mint tones.

In hand, the Galaxy A52s is pleasant with its rounded edges and soft-touch back. Despite the choice of plastic, no hazardous assembly. The Samsung smartphone benefits from a very good finish. Its weight is not excessive either, reaching only 189 grams and thus contributing to the good grip.

Something that we notice quite quickly: the rear photo unit well integrated. The integration is as successful visually, with the back fully united, as physically, with the protuberance contained. In any case, this photo block has never bothered us on a daily basis, including in landscape mode during the video or the game.

120Hz AMOLED display and dual stereo speaker

AMOLED panel for beautiful colors and deep blacks, Full HD + definition and 120 Hz refresh rate for fluidity in navigation and in games, the screen of the Galaxy A52s 5G ticks all the boxes. Only regret, perhaps, the central position of the punch of the front camera. Even if this punch is quite small, putting it on the top left would have made it easier to have it out of the field of vision in video or in game. Finally, note the good brightness, which makes use comfortable both indoors and in outside. From the device parameters, you can adjust the frequency and display mode.

On the sound side, the Galaxy A52s is rather well off. We have a double stereo speaker with a clear, dynamic and powerful rendering. No particularly unpleasant saturation, even at high volume. The icing on the cake for owners of headphones or wired headphones: the mini-jack is there, at the lower edge.

Five photo sensors

The Galaxy A52s 5G offers no less than five photo sensors. On the back, there is a 64 Megapixel main sensor accompanied by 12, 5 and 5 Megapixel modules for ultra wide-angle, macro and portrait mode. Up front, in a punch, sits a 32 Megapixel camera for selfies. Without being a cador in the field, the Galaxy A52s 5G does not fare too badly. On the other hand, we should not push the zoom too far and expect a lot from night mode (which causes us to lose part of the image by cropping, rarely giving anything satisfactory).

Below, a shot from ultra wide angle up to 10x zoom:

Two photos with macro mode (“Plus / Macro”):

Two photos with portrait mode (“Plus / Portrait”):

Two night photos, then their versions corrected by the dedicated mode (“More / Night”):

Two selfies with portrait mode:

A 5G and dual-SIM smartphone

For the mobile network part, the Samsung Galaxy A52s 5G offers 4G and 5G with operation on the 700 MHz band dear to Free Mobile subscribers. This smartphone also allows dual-SIM management, but sacrificing memory expansion, due to a hybrid Nano-SIM / MicroSD slot.

Below, flow rates obtained indoors:

And others, measured outdoors:

A good playmate

Without burning the asphalt, the Samsung Galaxy A52s is quite responsive when starting, installing applications, saving a photo and loading games with the graphics options pushed as much as possible. We did not notice any unpleasant heating even when a good solicitation.

For its part, the Disk Speed tool indicates 154 MB / s in writing and 470 MB / s in reading for the internal storage memory. It is not crazy, but acceptable in this price segment and sufficient in practice.

A filling that takes time

With a 4,500 mAh battery, the Galaxy A52s 5G goes through the day quietly and can offer an extra day without straining too much.

Below, a follow-up of use: departure at 2:00 p.m. with 100% and arrival the two following day at 10:58 a.m. with 4%

40 minutes of YouTube with smartphone sound
1 hour and 5 minutes of YouTube with Bluetooth headphones
5 minutes of audio streaming with smartphone sound
30 minutes of audio streaming with Bluetooth headphones
45 minutes of play with smartphone sound
Gmail / Twitter / LinkedIn consultation and alerts
Internet surfing
1 short call
SMS
4 app downloads, including 1 large
20 app updates
Pictures
A 400MB system update
1 hour and 15 minutes of 4G sharing
Flow tests

If the smartphone supports 25 Watts wired charging, the box only contains a 15 Watts charger. It will therefore be necessary to go again to the cash register to be entitled to a decent charge. Already the charging is not extremely fast, not having the right charger in the box is a real disappointment. Especially on a smartphone over 400 euros. Other brands are less stingy …

Below, a wired charge monitoring (with the charger supplied):

12:20 p.m .: 1%
12:25 p.m .: 5%
12:51: 34%
12:58 pm: 42%
1:15 p.m.: 60%
1:37 p.m.: 82%
13:44: 90%
1:48 p.m .: 94%
1:53 p.m .: 97%
2:00 p.m. 100%

Android 11 with One UI 3.1 interface

With the Galaxy A52s 5G, Samsung provides an Android-based One UI 3.1 interface.

It comes with a few preinstalled apps and games through commercial partnerships. Among them: Spotify, Netflix, TikTok, Office, OneDrive, LinkedIn and Outlook. Only OneDrive could not be uninstalled. We could only turn it off.

We also have a few handy functions, including:

Navigation with gestures or virtual buttons
The customizable side key
Advanced management of movements and gestures
The shortcut sidebar
The split screen
One-handed mode
Dark mode
Visual comfort mode (warmer tone)

Let’s finish with the security part, provided by the fingerprint reader under the panel or facial recognition with the front camera. Both solutions worked fine from start to finish. They were also very fast. Still on the security aspect, we went from the August 2021 patches to those of October 2021 thanks to a 400 MB update.

VERDICT

Outstanding design, good workmanship, excellent handling, fluid AMOLED screen, dual stereo speakers, good battery life, complete and up-to-date interface, the Samsung Galaxy A52s presents itself as a good smartphone. It even offers the mini-jack connector that the industry tends to oust and may remain practical for some users.

On the other hand, it disappoints on certain aspects such as the photo, especially with shots in low light conditions rarely satisfactory, and the charge, with a power already not enormous and a charger included not allowing to take advantage of it.

Jostled by strong competition from certain Chinese brands, Samsung is making efforts to heal its mid-range, but the copy can still be improved. Another point to emphasize: the South Korean firm is one of the good students when it comes to updates. An aspect clearly playing in favor of its smartphones.