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Quick question for those that already have an S10: I'm getting a new phone in the coming days. I'm debating Pixel 3 XL vs. S10(e). Both cost the same in my case. I don't care for specs to much. Camera is important but not priority one. A solid and fast system is more important.
I have had an S8 and several Nexus's. I now Samsung Software an don't mind it. I'm in Europe, so AOSP for the S10 might be an option. I don't mind the notch or holepunch on either phone. Solid battery life is a must. I'm now poweruser, but i'd like to 3-4 hours of SOT.
So i get the 3XL for guaranteed Android Q, better camera and faster updates, or the S10e for being overal newer and faster, with longer expected support and more development (assuming from past samsung phones i've had)?
This is my opinion
S10e:
One ui with far more functions
Better display
Better stereo speakers
High quality audio + very good earphones
HDR10 video recording
Camera not as good as in pixel in low light
True dark mode, not grey
Pixel:
Night camera
Stock android
Custom roms
Will probably get more update
I bought the 10e because of the form factor.
I am satisfied so far and it is a super good smartphone.
But if I'm honest, I'm actually waiting for the Pixel 4.
I'm a playful guy who likes to get fast updates and does not want to wait months for Samsung to do something
Yes, yes, it's possible to love a phone. Heck, you sleep next to it, don't you? Rate this thread to indicate your love for the Samsung Galaxy A70, all things considered. A higher rating indicates that the Samsung Galaxy A70 is an incredible phone that you enjoy tremendously. You love it.
Then, drop a comment if you have anything to add!
Half baked A70, coming from S7 edge
Half baked Samsung A70, coming from Samsung S7 edge.
Pluses
- enormous screen 6.7", while keeping the size of iPhone 6s Plus (car mount still works )
- some apps do use full screen - youtube being primary
- big battery and 2.5 days battery life (with disabled Samsung Max!)
- fast charger
- price, value ($350 USD from amazon for A705MN): mine came with case, preinstalled screen protector, and microSD 128GB
- CPU/GPU performance is very good even in battery saving mode
- more LTE bands support for me (North America, I have A705MN model)
- integrated Samsung Max data compression VPN, to save mobile data
- dual sim
- sdcard slot
- headphone jack
- Dolby Atmos and Adjust Sound equlizer and customization work well for headphones
- speaker sound and volume is very good, not sure where mainstream reviewers were coming from
- camera is pretty good with updated software, you can also use gCam. I like LiveView and Portrait modes for their fake bokeh effect
- face recognition works, unless you r wearing glasses or your skin is not white
- bootloader is unlockable, xda recovery released, root is available, custom ROMs here we come!
Minuses
- not all apps use full screen estate, leaving unused notch and navbar area
- some apps like Waze have navbar in white background (AMOLED burnout issue), despite theme being black
- I tried autohiding navbar (with swipe gestures for home, back, recent), but that was way too awkward, I reset it back to normal navbar
- dark or black OS-wide mode is desperately needed, I tried some themes, they do not customize all the screens in OS, let alone the apps, apps follow their own theming
- there is no notification led, but u can turn on "notification reminders", which will turn on the screen periodically
- "Samsung Max VPN" and "Cell Standby" are biggest battery drainers. Luckily Samsung Max can be disabled. That tremendously improves battery life.
- camera has no stabilization of any kind, so good luck getting unshaking videos, or trying to zoom in for photos, I tried both updated camera and gCam
- phone piece (on top of phone) is kinda weak sounding (not the bottom speaker)
- headphone jack sound quality is average even after applying Dolby Atmos and Adjust sound gimmicks. S7edge (with Exynos CPU and CS DAC) rules the king of HiFi headphone sound.
- fingerprint reader works at first, but then the reader area gets too smudged and it stops recognizing even after 5 long attempts. do not use.
Bottom line:
none of the minuses are killers.
full screen issue with the apps will be fixed by app developers, I'm hoping.
Black mode for OS either going to be released by Samsung, some good theme developer, or I will use CyanogenMod.
Shaking camera is a let down, but if u don't zoom - u will be perfectly fine. Pictures r good otherwise.
Notification led - there r ways around it. Vibration/screen/flash - pick your poison.
Alternatives - take a big long hard look at S9 Plus. It retails for $333 right now. Has smaller screen 6.2, smaller battery, better everything else. Or, wait til Note 9 falls in price, as of right now (refurbished!) Note9 is double the price of A70. Note9 does have 6.4" screen and big battery. Plus that S-Pen which nobody uses, but it is cool nevertheless. If u want save some money - consider A50 - while offering the cost savings, it also offers everything less. The phones and manufacturers who offer no sdcard and no headphone jack should reconsider (Apple, Xiaomi, Huawei, OnePlus, Oppo), if they want to have my attention.
I would not say I love my A70 pocket computer - I prefer to sleep with my wife
I find it very usefull for many reasons and I'll certainly keep it a long time but
- the finger unlock is poor,
- the camera is really... just a kind of bloc note but really not a camera, shame on Samsung for this,
- I hate the apps that are installed and I cannot remove.
@bravomail "- face recognition works, unless you r wearing glasses or your skin is not white"
You have the option to register your face with glasses and then without. Both options are registered.
Posted update to battery life: disable Samsung Max VPN and get 2.5 days of life vs 1.5
4 week of usage and currently on sg6 firmware with may security patch and every Samsung app updated to its latest version along with disabling/Uninstalling Samsung bloatware as much as i could, I still can't get over the fact that fingerprint scanner is not reliable and the camera is a let down.
Coming from Samsung note 4 snapdragon version, I feel like A70 is a step back rather than a step forward.
Yes the screen is amazing, the battery life is solid and sound quality is okayish ( for music using poweramp makes a huge difference) the cpu/gpu performance is better than my note 4 and the one UI and night mode is something I dearly missed.
But the optical fingerprint scanner works at times and that too slowly and then other times completely becomes a baboon.
The camera megapixels are sort off deception. They don't let you choose megapixels for your pictures. Rather it's all hidden under 1:1 3:4h and 9:16 with 3:4h using the full megapixels count.
The absence of ois is noticeable, the sharpness and focus is soft at times. Low light performance is meh. The camera2api is supported uptil level 3 not allowing for full manual control of every aspect.
Zoom in a little and see how the quality detoriates significantly with absence of OIS really messing with picture capturing.
The two biggest issues namely the fingerprint scanner and camera can be improved via software updates, only if Samsung stops messing with it. Just because this isn't note 10 doesn't mean it need to have its quality artificially messed up
I would love it, very bad software updates, only few setting in camera. Anyway for daily driver OK. It is on the border of regreting that i bought it, and satisfaction. For the money I should have chosen different brand.
samsung phones have the worst quality/price ratio. ?
worst camera, touch screen freezing all the time, fingerprint scanner not reading frequently. phone is awkward, fingerprint scanner needs both hands to be used.
Phone dead after 6 months of normal usage. Samsung denies guarantee and claims it "cannot order spare parts", because it was bought in wrong country (replacement for an S7 of which the battery died during travel). Phone repair shop says mainboard is defect.
Symptoms: bootloop first, then
great phone i kept a70 and got rid of my s10 duel sim brand new
So, according to the new store page, in comparison to the pixel 4/xl they cut
- Soli
- Faceunlock
- Pixel Neural Core (WHAT?! Why?!)
- Tele-Lens
- Highend Chipset
- Active Edge
- QHD+ Display (from 537 ppi down to 432 ppi )
- ip68 rating (ty u/kelderic, reddit)
And they 'gave' us
+ bigger battery
+ fingerprint (why not both?!)
+ 5G
+ wide (remember Google from last year? "We don't need wide, tele is good")
- Measly +2 GB Ram, still no storage available beyond 128 GB
What do you guys think 'bout that?
Compared to the Pixel 4/xl this just feels like a downgrade, even to the Pixel 3xl it's no real upgrade. Most people who think budget will not turn to this phone and the highend-spenders will not be pleased by this. I don't see googles angle hear, however they haven't shown any good angle recently anyway. And the heck did they remove the neural core? Plus getting a weaker soc.. just madnes.
Apparently neural core made face unlock work quicker so no loss there.
About the only thing I would prefer is higher ppi but I sure don't want to spend $1000 to get it.
My next phone will be 5G so pixel 4/xl aren't an option.
If it's not enough bang for the buck then just wait for black Friday and/or opt for the 4a 5G.
Google phones have never been the best phone for everyone.
Most likely the machine learning Ai stuff is included in the snapdragon 765 so no more dedicated chip is necessary. I would not worry too much
Benjamin_L said:
Most likely the machine learning Ai stuff is included in the snapdragon 765 so no more dedicated chip is necessary. I would not worry too much
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No it is not included. Where did you get that idea?
darkoroje said:
No it is not included. Where did you get that idea?
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https://www.androidauthority.com/qualcomm-snapdragon-765-specs-1059745/
"Finally, Qualcomm’s fifth-gen AI engine is ported over partially intact, with a Hexagon 696 DSP with a dedicated Tensor Accelerator. The setup sports 5.5TOPS of AI compute."
So still I don't know what Google are using but they wouldn't get rid of it if it impacts performance much. So I don't worry
The Samsung S20FE will be competition at the same MSRP, includes Snapdragon 865, 120hz display, 4500mah battery. Appears to be on sale for $599. Of course it isn't a clean google phone.
Benjamin_L said:
https://www.androidauthority.com/qualcomm-snapdragon-765-specs-1059745/
"Finally, Qualcomm’s fifth-gen AI engine is ported over partially intact, with a Hexagon 696 DSP with a dedicated Tensor Accelerator. The setup sports 5.5TOPS of AI compute."
So still I don't know what Google are using but they wouldn't get rid of it if it impacts performance much. So I don't worry
Click to expand...
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Seems to be the case https://m.gsmarena.com/the_new_pixe...nt_mean_they_lack_the_features-news-45589.php
The pro is the camera will be brilliant and it's running stock android.
Pretty much everything else about the pixel 5 sucks
force70 said:
The pro is the camera will be brilliant and it's running stock android.
Pretty much everything else about the pixel 5 sucks
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Click to collapse
Yeah, good battery life, more than enough processing power for non gamers really sucks
Benjamin_L said:
Yeah, good battery life, more than enough processing power for non gamers really sucks
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Click to collapse
Good battery life remains to be seen.
I stand by my original statement, however I suppose I could have made it more clear...for a mid ranger it's fine.
For a flagship (which it isnt). It sucks.
Better?
Pros:
A pure Google software experience
Fingerprint sensor is back( no more awful face unlock)
1080p screen
4080mAh battery
Aluminum back (well, mostly)
Cons:
That awful hole punch (that has me considering canceling my order)
Ultra wide camera replacing the telephoto
Too big
Slow processor
Active edge is gone
---------- Post added at 09:16 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:45 AM ----------
force70 said:
Good battery life remains to be seen.
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Click to collapse
Sure, we technically don't know what the battery life will be but just knowing a little bit about phone hardware and some common sense indicates that the battery life should be pretty good.
The biggest battery drain on any phone is the screen mainly due to the screen resolution. So take the Pixel 4 XL for example. The battery life wasn't too bad but not great either. Now increase the size of the battery 10%, decrease the number of pixels by 42%(that alone is huge), decrease the overall screen area by 11%, add in a slightly more power efficient processor, remove Soli and remove face unlock and you basically have the Pixel 5. The only thing really working against the Pixel 5 in terms of battery life is the 5G which I'm going to turn off anyways. I have no concerns about the battery life of the Pixel 5.
The more interesting comparison is to the 4a. A significant price difference but both are a similar size and real world performance would be similar too.
This just leaves wireless charging, IP and maybe 90hz as the tangible differences you would notice day to day. Maybe it will feel more premium in hand too but that is hard to know right now.
I got the 4a with the intention of giving it to one of my parents with the 5 landed, I am now hesitating though as the 4a is terrific and I am not sure the 5 is £250 better.
great battery life great phone.
I have only had my pixel 5 for a week and i am super impressed with the battery life. I have been getting 3 days out of it . At the moment it has 25 % left and it's used 8 hours and 26 minutes of screen use , that's using google to simply surf the net and as I am a distribution driver i use Google Maps daily, I also make multiple calls daily and use Bluetooth all day for my vans multi media unit and my zenwatch 3 all day I am 61 years old so I have had tons of phones and I have to say i think this phone stacks up with the best including the Asus rog 3
Pros: Battery, form factor/weight, software.
Con: Price for what is being offered. The speakers are just OK. The gap issue from production quality. Luckily I was able to get my P5 for net cost of about 461 including tax after stacking a bunch of promos, etc. Also no gap issue on mine.
I'm not an iPhone fanatic so I have nothing to say about the iPhone 12. The only phone that I currently have and would recommend is the S20FE, but not at MSRP AND if it doesn't have these touch screen issues that people are talking about. Only thing with Samsung phones is that you have to spend additional time to customize to your liking and reducing bloat. I was also pleasantly surprised with the camera qualify after making settings adjustments to reduce saturation and softening in photos.
After using mine for about a week, I am kind of regretting trading in my 4XL for one reason....the ear speaker quality. It is literally the worst sounding earpiece and is extremely quiet relative to my 4XL. I was driving on the highway yesterday and could barely hear my client on the other end. Had to plug in my wired headset. Unacceptable. I will probably send in for a new unit to see if its any better, but everyone seems to have the same comment as I.
I can settle with almost every concession Google took, and I do think the fingerprint is a big welcome back feature. I hate face unlock especially with having to wear masks. Never made sense to me. The hole punch doesnt both me.
As far as Active edge is concerned. I guess, apparently the feature isn't 'official' on the Pixel 5.
Check the apps,mods section here on xda.
Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk
https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink/to...7&share_fid=3793&share_type=t&link_source=app
toneneuewin said:
Pros: Battery, form factor/weight, software.
Con: Price for what is being offered. The speakers are just OK. The gap issue from production quality. Luckily I was able to get my P5 for net cost of about 461 including tax after stacking a bunch of promos, etc. Also no gap issue on mine.
I'm not an iPhone fanatic so I have nothing to say about the iPhone 12. The only phone that I currently have and would recommend is the S20FE, but not at MSRP AND if it doesn't have these touch screen issues that people are talking about. Only thing with Samsung phones is that you have to spend additional time to customize to your liking and reducing bloat. I was also pleasantly surprised with the camera qualify after making settings adjustments to reduce saturation and softening in photos.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've sold my FE for the Pixel. The screen issues are annoying albeit the last update seems to have sorted it, but I just cannot live with the Samsung nonsense like cannot delete Samsung photos app and playing a dance to get to Google Photos
It's a great phone the FE but not when you are Googled up for home and work and can't be bothered working around 2 of everything
Sent from my SM-G780F using Tapatalk
Davey Dual Sim said:
I've sold my FE for the Pixel. The screen issues are annoying albeit the last update seems to have sorted it, but I just cannot live with the Samsung nonsense like cannot delete Samsung photos app and playing a dance to get to Google Photos
It's a great phone the FE but not when you are Googled up for home and work and can't be bothered working around 2 of everything
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Click to collapse
The Pixel 5 is great. It just works out of the box. I'm enjoying mine and it has been a couple of weeks. You can debloat Samsung, but obviously that's additional steps. It's not hard, but quite frankly I just don't want to invest time with custom ROMs, adb commands, etc. Those days are long gone lol.
No me neither, I don't even want to root phones anymore can't be bothered
The FE would be a winner of Samsung ran stock Android
Sent from my SM-G780F using Tapatalk
Davey Dual Sim said:
No me neither, I don't even want to root phones anymore can't be bothered
The FE would be a winner of Samsung ran stock Android
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A bit true..but this would never happen. Htc had 1 model with 2 versions ...one with htc software and one with google only ...
Hi guys. I bought an A52 4G for myself a few weeks ago and here is my brutally honest review. As you will see, there are some things I wasn't satisfied with but I needed a phone quickly and for my budget and availability, I thought I'd give Samsung a chance.
Pros
1. Lots of QoL services by Samsung like always on display and apps like Gallery by Samsung can be more useful than Photos by Google. I also mapped the double tap power button to start the flashlight.
2. The 720G chipset along with a 90hz display feels plenty powerful especially for those coming from an older midrange device. However, it's not as fast and instantaneous as stock Android or OxygenOS. Also, you will face lots of stutters and bugs if you enable animation to .5x. At default 1x, animations are too damn slow.
3. Stereo speakers. Sound quality is average though. I don't use it much so I don't care.
4. Water resistance. It's nice of Samsung to bring this feature to a midrange device.
5. The macro camera can be useful for taking pictures of very small items like coins. The selfie camera seems alright.
6. The display, despite having kind of inaccurate colors is actually a lot better looking than most Chinese brand (OnePlus, Oppo, Vivo, Xiaomi, Realme, etc) phone displays. Most Chinese brand displays tend to have a washed out, pale look to them despite having high refresh rates.
7. Battery life is pretty decent. If you don't use it much, it'll last a couple days easily. Of course, battery will degrade over time so a few years later, you might need to change the battery or the phone itself.
Cons
1. Sound quality output through the 3.5mm jack is very bad. My previous phone (Moto G5s Plus) had a much better built-in DAC. But at least the jack is there so I guess it's better than nothing but I'd suggest you get a good type-c to 3.5mm converter and use that instead if you're looking for decent audio.
2. The display isn't bad (the 90hz is definitely an upgrade over 60hz) but the color calibration out of the box by Samsung is very inaccurate and kind of pale. You can switch to "vibrant" mode but it over saturates everything. The saturation is so off the charts that you have no choice but to go back to the pale "natural" mode. Also, the amoled screen can be fatiguing to your eyes. Not everyone faces this but personally I have this problem.
3. The charger provided is really weak. Sometimes I like to use my phone while it's charging. Sadly this charger is too weak to do that and can't keep up. I did have a faster charger from my previous budget moto phone and it does a much better job charging the A52. It would be better if Samsung didn't provide this crappy 15 watt charger and made the phone cheaper so I could buy a 25 watt charger myself. I don't see the logic in this. The phone supports 25 watt charging but Samsung includes a 15 watt charger in the box.
4. The lightly colored matte plastic back looks awesome in the beginning but with some mild use, the colors are already starting to fade and become yellowish. So put a case or skin on it if you wanna preserve that awesome color.
5. The colors and details of the main camera are not very good for an upper midrange device in 2021. I saw some reviews on YouTube with review units provided by Samsung that showed much better camera quality than what I'm getting with my retail unit. Especially after you take a picture, if you zoom in on a person's face for example, the details are just not there. Also, the colors are inaccurate and not life like. Hopefully, someone can make a good GCAM for this phone. Otherwise, expect to live with an average camera.
6. Random spammy apps like Dailyhunt get automatically installed every few days. I set all settings to not update anything automatically but it still does that. I even contacted customer care about this and they couldn't provide any solutions. EDIT: Luckily, it stopped doing this.
7. If the bezels were a bit narrower especially the sides and top, it would have quite a flagship killer look. Even the A51 has narrower bezels on the side. But I know Samsung did this on purpose so their more expensive S series phones would look more special than the A series.
8. It's a bit on the heavier side if you compare it to the A51. Putting a case and tempered glass on it will only increase the weight further. I find myself having to put the phone down on a table or bed to use it. I can't hold it in the air for long due to its weight.
Bugs1. "Force dark mode" option in developer settings automatically turns itself off whenever you restart your device.
2. If you set animation to .5x instead of the default 1x, and cycle through your recent apps, there's a weird stutter.
Conclusion
If you can live with Samsung's annoying OneUI stutters or slow animations, this isn't a bad phone especially if you can get it for around $300 USD. I'd call this a good phone for moms/dads and grandmas/grandpas. If you're a young millennial trying to live on the cutting edge, I'd pass on this one and get something that's a little faster, maybe the new Nord CE (it has a more washed out display than the A52 though).
Well! My phone have just arrived. I'm switching from an S7 edge that I've been using for the last 4 years. So far I find that the screen is pretty good! Better than the S7E. The speed is excellent and of course, the ONE UI 3.1 is superb. I've already uninstalled some unwanted apps. As regards the camera, haven't tested it yet. But obviously, the GCAM will make it better.
LanguageSoez said:
Well! My phone have just arrived. I'm switching from an S7 edge that I've been using for the last 4 years. So far I find that the screen is pretty good! Better than the S7E. The speed is excellent and of course, the ONE UI 3.1 is superb. I've already uninstalled some unwanted apps. As regards the camera, haven't tested it yet. But obviously, the GCAM will make it better.
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Click to collapse
Of course it'll be better than a 4 year old phone lol. If you think one UI is superb, try using stock android or oxygenos, you will be blown away.
I got A72 and the picture quality coming out from the stabilized Sony IMX 686 sensor with pixel binned 16 MP pictures is superior to Samsung HM2 108 MP giving just 12MP images ... So is A52, I don't believe your "honest review" ....
neoxcool said:
I got A72 and the picture quality coming out from the stabilized Sony IMX 686 sensor with pixel binned 16 MP pictures is superior to Samsung HM2 108 MP giving just 12MP images ... So is A52, I don't believe your "honest review" ....
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Click to collapse
A72 is not A52. Specs are one thing, software is another. You don't have to believe anything. As I said in my review, you should experience the phones in person preferably from friends who bought it and then make a decision.
The OP is obviously a satisfied customer
Griping about it being water resistant is really picking at nits. It adds little cost and help to seal out dust, extending the usable service life of the device.
Charging a phone while using isn't a good idea and it should charge slow whilst using regardless of the wattage capacity of the charger brick being used.
NiceGuyIncel said:
Hi guys. I bought an A52 4G for myself a few weeks ago and here is my brutally honest review. As you will see, there are a lot of things I wasn't satisfied with but for my budget and availability, this was one of the better ones.
Pros:
1. Lots of QoL services by Samsung like always on display and apps like Gallery by Samsung can be more useful than Photos by Google. I also mapped the double tap power button to start the flashlight.
2. The 720G chipset along with a 90hz display feels plenty smooth especially for those coming from an older midrange device. It's not as fast and instantaneous as stock android or oxygenos but this is probably the fastest that Samsung OneUI has ever been.
3. Stereo speakers. Quality is average though. I don't use it much so I don't care.
4. Water resistance. It can be useful if you like to take your phone to the bathroom or live in a rainy area but I feel this feature is more suitable for flagship phones. The 4G version of the A52 really don't need this feature and it would be better if the device was slightly cheaper instead.
Cons:
1. Sound quality output through the 3.5mm jack is very bland. My previous phone (Moto G5s Plus) had a much better built-in DAC. But at least the jack is there so I guess it's better than nothing but I'd suggest you get a good type-c to 3.5mm converter and use that instead if you're looking for quality audio.
2. The display isn't bad (the 90hz is definitely an upgrade over 60hz) but the color calibration out of the box by Samsung is very boring and washed out. You can switch to "vibrant" mode but it over saturates everything. The saturation is so off the charts that you have no choice but to go back to the pale "natural" mode. Hopefully, the xda community will do something about this, maybe a graphics engine or some app that can tinker with the display settings more finely.
3. The charger provided is really weak. Sometimes I like to use my phone while it's charging. Sadly this charger is too weak to do that and can't keep up. I did have a faster charger from my previous budget moto phone and it does a much better job charging the A52. So I really don't know why Samsung pulled an Apple with the charger.
4. The lightly colored matte plastic back looks awesome in the beginning but with some mild use, the colors are already starting to fade and become yellowish. So put a case or skin on it if you wanna preserve that awesome color.
5. The colors and details of the main camera really sucks for an upper midrange device in 2021. I saw some reviews on YouTube with review units provided by Samsung that showed much better camera quality than what I'm getting with my retail unit. Luckily, some people have already started working on gcam for this device and from what I've heard the results are much better than Samsung's default camera app.
6. Random spammy apps like Dailyhunt get automatically installed every few days. I set all settings to not update anything automatically but it still does that. I even contacted customer care about this and they couldn't provide any solutions.
7. If the bezels were a bit narrower especially the sides and top, it would have quite a flagship killer look. But I know Samsung did this on purpose so their more expensive S series phones would look more special than the A series.
8. It's a bit on the heavier side if you compare it to the A51. Putting a case and tempered glass on it will only increase the weight further.
9. The amoled screen can be fatiguing to your eyes. Not everyone faces this but personally I have this problem.
Conclusion: That wraps up my brutally honest review of the A52 4G. I hope you enjoyed the fact that I didn't jump up and down and say this is the best phone ever like most YouTube "reviewers". They say that whenever a new phone comes out. Of course the people who are gonna upgrade from a 5 year old phone will also say this is the best phone they ever used. From their perspective, it makes sense but I believe you should thoroughly research the market and only buy what YOU like the most. I was moving to another country where phones are quite expensive so I just grabbed this cause I was in a hurry. If you have the time, research other phones and try to use them in person. That way you will know for sure what you're getting because specs can be misleading. I'd suggest you look into Poco F3, OnePlus Nord, Moto G100, Moto G60 and other similarly priced devices before going for the A52. Don't assume that just because it's a Samsung, it's gonna be a great phone. Samsung intentionally nerfed this phone so there is more incentive for people to go for the more expensive S series phones.
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I appreciate your feedback. I'm certain most of those who are still undecided will as well.
To be frank, this device has received overwhelming amounts of good press, which, as a consumer, is a good thing.
That said, constructive criticism is a key component towards improving upon future A series models and/or polishing the current user experience.
AHE_XDA said:
I appreciate your feedback. I'm certain most of those who are still undecided will as well.
To be frank, this device has received overwhelming amounts of good press, which, as a consumer, is a good thing.
That said, constructive criticism is a key component towards improving upon future A series models and/or polishing the current user experience.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Paid press is always good press...
The Samsung Fold series always get rave reviews but they're expensive, fragile and limited devices. Worse I'm being kind in my criticism.
6. Random spammy apps like Dailyhunt get automatically installed every few days. I set all settings to not update anything automatically but it still does that. I even contacted customer care about this and they couldn't provide any solutions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Weird, I have never encountered this.
3. The charger provided is really weak. Sometimes I like to use my phone while it's charging. Sadly this charger is too weak to do that and can't keep up. I did have a faster charger from my previous budget moto phone and it does a much better job charging the A52. So I really don't know why Samsung pulled an Apple with the charger
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Click to collapse
I don't mind this at all since it's already proven that fast charging does hurt your battery longevity.
2. The display isn't bad (the 90hz is definitely an upgrade over 60hz) but the color calibration out of the box by Samsung is very boring and washed out. You can switch to "vibrant" mode but it over saturates everything. The saturation is so off the charts that you have no choice but to go back to the pale "natural" mode. Hopefully, the xda community will do something about this, maybe a graphics engine or some app that can tinker with the display settings more finely.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with this, although I prefer it for the occasional media consumption. For general usage, it might lead to some eye strain for some people which includes me.
The build despite plastic is decent enough considering the trade-offs with its other specs at this price point and an IP6X is always welcome. The camera is nothing spectacular but not bad, given that it's harder to quantify the expected degrees of quality per $ at this price range. Performance is fine for the majority of the time but there are occasional stutters or lag you will encounter. Overall, I'm very satisfied with my purchase. It's also worth noting that warranty and software support tend to get overlooked when looking at the price.
I was considering Poco F3 as an alternative before getting my A52 however, I didn't go through with the Poco F3 because of various issues and concerns that I can't be arsed to list.
This phone is on my list to upgrade from my Essential PH-1. Keeping an eye on ROM development and Gcam development. I can get it for around $354 depending on the COP to USD conversion rate in Colombia. Anyone know better deals out in the wild?
NiceGuyIncel said:
Hi guys. I bought an A52 4G for myself a few weeks ago and here is my brutally honest review. As you will see, there are some things I wasn't satisfied with but I needed a phone quickly and for my budget and availability, I thought I'd give Samsung a chance.
Pros
1. Lots of QoL services by Samsung like always on display and apps like Gallery by Samsung can be more useful than Photos by Google. I also mapped the double tap power button to start the flashlight.
2. The 720G chipset along with a 90hz display feels plenty powerful especially for those coming from an older midrange device. However, it's not as fast and instantaneous as stock Android or OxygenOS. Also, you will face lots of stutters and bugs if you enable animation to .5x. At default 1x, animations are too damn slow.
3. Stereo speakers. Sound quality is average though. I don't use it much so I don't care.
4. Water resistance. It's nice of Samsung to bring this feature to a midrange device.
5. The macro camera can be useful for taking pictures of very small items like coins. The selfie camera seems alright.
6. The display, despite having kind of inaccurate colors is actually a lot better looking than most Chinese brand (OnePlus, Oppo, Vivo, Xiaomi, Realme, etc) phone displays. Most Chinese brand displays tend to have a washed out, pale look to them despite having high refresh rates.
7. Battery life is pretty decent. If you don't use it much, it'll last a couple days easily. Of course, battery will degrade over time so a few years later, you might need to change the battery or the phone itself.
Cons
1. Sound quality output through the 3.5mm jack is very bad. My previous phone (Moto G5s Plus) had a much better built-in DAC. But at least the jack is there so I guess it's better than nothing but I'd suggest you get a good type-c to 3.5mm converter and use that instead if you're looking for decent audio.
2. The display isn't bad (the 90hz is definitely an upgrade over 60hz) but the color calibration out of the box by Samsung is very inaccurate and kind of pale. You can switch to "vibrant" mode but it over saturates everything. The saturation is so off the charts that you have no choice but to go back to the pale "natural" mode. Also, the amoled screen can be fatiguing to your eyes. Not everyone faces this but personally I have this problem.
3. The charger provided is really weak. Sometimes I like to use my phone while it's charging. Sadly this charger is too weak to do that and can't keep up. I did have a faster charger from my previous budget moto phone and it does a much better job charging the A52. It would be better if Samsung didn't provide this crappy 15 watt charger and made the phone cheaper so I could buy a 25 watt charger myself. I don't see the logic in this. The phone supports 25 watt charging but Samsung includes a 15 watt charger in the box.
4. The lightly colored matte plastic back looks awesome in the beginning but with some mild use, the colors are already starting to fade and become yellowish. So put a case or skin on it if you wanna preserve that awesome color.
5. The colors and details of the main camera are not very good for an upper midrange device in 2021. I saw some reviews on YouTube with review units provided by Samsung that showed much better camera quality than what I'm getting with my retail unit. Especially after you take a picture, if you zoom in on a person's face for example, the details are just not there. Also, the colors are inaccurate and not life like. Hopefully, someone can make a good GCAM for this phone. Otherwise, expect to live with an average camera.
6. Random spammy apps like Dailyhunt get automatically installed every few days. I set all settings to not update anything automatically but it still does that. I even contacted customer care about this and they couldn't provide any solutions. EDIT: Luckily, it stopped doing this.
7. If the bezels were a bit narrower especially the sides and top, it would have quite a flagship killer look. Even the A51 has narrower bezels on the side. But I know Samsung did this on purpose so their more expensive S series phones would look more special than the A series.
8. It's a bit on the heavier side if you compare it to the A51. Putting a case and tempered glass on it will only increase the weight further. I find myself having to put the phone down on a table or bed to use it. I can't hold it in the air for long due to its weight.
Bugs1. "Force dark mode" option in developer settings automatically turns itself off whenever you restart your device.
2. If you set animation to .5x instead of the default 1x, and cycle through your recent apps, there's a weird stutter.
Conclusion
If you can live with Samsung's annoying OneUI stutters or slow animations, this isn't a bad phone especially if you can get it for around $300 USD. I'd call this a good phone for moms/dads and grandmas/grandpas. If you're a young millennial trying to live on the cutting edge, I'd pass on this one and get something that's a little faster, maybe the new Nord CE (it has a more washed out display than the A52 though).
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Well, I will answer this from the perspective of an Indian Millenial coming from Mi A2 (and having only used crappy Micromax and Redmi phones in the past, this is something which I think most Indian youth can relate to). Let's go point by point :
1. UI
Having used stock android and MIUI, I can confidently say that OneUI is definitely a bit clumsy, but it is easy to get used to compared to FuncTouch and MIUI. Also, *there is no Google dialer*, meaning you can safely do call recording. Also OneUI has "Link to Windows" baked right into it, which is a huge boon in my opinion as it kinda compensates for the lack of DeX support, I think this is one of the most underrated feature of Samsung phones.
2. Ads and Bloatware scene
Now this maybe specific to India only. I set the device up using GeekyRanjit's guide on "How to setup Samssung devices" on YT, and so far (1 month later) I have got no ads except wallpaper services message when I swipe from right on lock screen. Also, all bloatware can be either disabled or uninstalled (unlike MIUI and ColourOS), so no problem there. Overall it is much much better than Redmi, Poco and Realme offerings. Though here Oneplus NORD maybe better.
3. Camera
TBH I bought this phone for the camera, and consider the competition it did not let me down, sure there is a bit of over sharpening going on in most images and indoor/low light photos and videos have a ton of noise but considering the competition in 15k-25k INR, it is definitely better. I use Gcam 7.3.018 by Urynx05, and it does improve video stabilisation a lot thanks to OIS (only Oneplus NORD has OIS in this price). For night mode, stock night mode is better than night sight (much brighter and well balanced). Daylight pics, it is a mixed bag, macro camera is good but could have been better,but considering how rarely it is used, it is fine.
4. Display
Most Indian milllenials like me are currently upgrading from LCD to Amoled. I having never used an Amoled, am satisfied with the display. But yeah you are right Amoled displays do cause more eye fatigue than LCD.
5. Availability and Customer support
This is where this phone shines! Here in India, this phone is available like everywhere, in most mobile shop in any market no matter, how small or rural the area, this unfortunately is not the case for OnePlus and Redmi, POCO (infamous for flash sales and black-marketing)etc., thus Galaxy A52's actual competitors are phones from Vivo and Oppo, which are usually more pricey. Also, Samsung customer services is next to Apple.
Set your priorities before buying a phone and you won't be disappointed, my suggestion, if you want good camera hardware and reliable phone go for it, but if you want to do gaming I would suggest you to look elsewhere say iQOO Z3 for 20k INR.
I am trying to get either this phone or s10? I was leaning more towards a52 since it could get up to android 14 opposed to 12 on s10.
Which one should i get?
Hello
I'm interested in buying this phone. I plan to import it from china but have many questions if anyone is kind enough to help:
1. How will network connectivity be in the UK? I'm on EE & only really use 3g & 4g. I don't use 5g. Is signal strength strong? Data speeds fast?
2. How is the overall camera experience? YouTube & online reviews are giving mixed opinions. Some are saying the colour is off, some are saying it's perfect & the best camera phone atm.
3. Is the front camera really bad? I know it doesn't have 4k which is actually ridiculous considering this is a high end device, but, how's the overall performance of the front camera?
4. How is the battery life? Especially when compared to the likes of s22 ultra, mi11 ultra, vivo x80 Pro etc?
5. Have Xiaomi released any significant updates for the 12s Ultra? Any updates that have made the experience better, whether it's for battery life, performance or camera?
6. As the 12s ultra is a china only device, does Google services work properly? Do notifications work properly? Banking apps? I don't use Android auto so not fussed about that. Are there any services/apps that won't work in the UK on this phone? Or does Google services run perfectly?
7. Are you happy with your 12s ultra? If you could swap your 12s ultra for any other phone of the same value, would you do it or would you say that for the price range, the 12s ultra is the best in it's class?
Finally, am I better off getting the 11 ultra or waiting for the Xiaomi 13 or just going for the 12s ultra? I heard that the 11 ultra has horrible battery life, is this true or have recent updates made the 11 ultra battery life better ?
I'll try to give you a complete answer as I can I have this phone since last month, I live in Israel and I use 5G but 5G here is awful in my area (same speed as 4G) even though I have a 5G plan but that is a different conversation,
I have the Verdant Green 12/512 Version I bought it for $1225 from Aliexpress:
1). I don't live in the UK so I cannot say, here the signal is good, even on 4g and 3g (there is no 2g in my carrier so I can't test that), I do have an issue of calls suddenly dropping for no reason (bug in software I assume)
2). The main camera is awesome, the camera experience is super fast and launches very very quickly and snaps shots very fast, also the camera is very detailed, the ultrawide and telephoto are of a lesser sensor and quality is lower obviously, if you don't mind the quality difference between all 3 then it is great camera, front camera is decent too
3), The camera is decent, does the job, yeah it's max 1080p30fs but it's enough for video calls and still selfie (most use of selfie camera), unless you are a phone vlogger you won't mind the resolution and quality
4). Battery life is great for android flagship type phone, why I write android flagship type phone? since there are tiers in phones with different battery life between all of them, iPhone 13 pro max for example is killing with battery life compared to android flagships, only android Midrangers can compete with iPhone 13 pro max, if you come from android flagships you will be satisfied, if you come from recent android Midranger or lower tier, the battery life is worse, to be expected since this chipset is very powerful but also power hungry, I have the mi 11 ultra before this phone, it was decent with battery life and not too good, the reason is the 120hz screen was very power hungry and 888 chipset not efficient,
5). As of writing, I am using latest stable version 13.0.7 and it has issues, camera sometimes laggs a tiny bit when opening, caller id doesn't always work, and even saved contacts show up as numbers, keyboard gets reset to chinese keyboard with every reboot, developer settings get reset with reboot, wireless charging is limited to around ~20w and doesn't work with 50w wireless car charger pro (I have official 80w, 100w desktop chargers and 50w wireless car charger and all don't work well with this phone and they work perfect with mi 11 ultra)
6). Google is available but there are location issues in GPS sometimes, Google Pay doesn't work at all for me personally some had it work, I couldn't, google location history is not working sometimes, issues here and there
7). I am currently okay and a bit happy with the phone due to the above issues, is it perfect? no, is any phone perfect? also no, this is a china import and you need to know what you are doing in order to use it, I plan to unlock bootloader and flash Xiaomi EU rom to fix all these issues above, it should all be fixed with a custom rom that adjusts the OS to locations outside of china and with full google support, I would not swap the phone since it is very good, just needs more fixing of the above.
The Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra can be bought for less but you have many more issues with it, the phone drains faster and overheats allot, it has proximity sensor issues so taking calls using earpiece and listening to voice messages is a pain, the 888 chipsets is a mess of overheating and battery draining, you will lose battery fast even with basic use, and video calls for long make the phone lag and very hot, I would totally not recommend the mi 11 ultra over the 12s ultra since they fixed all these issues with the 12s ultra,
Basically if you don't like messing around with phones don't get this phone since you will have to do tinkering with it to fix the issues, if you don't mind tinkering like I do it's a great phone and very good competition wise, it has great cameras too, and battery life is wonderful,
I would give it a 9/10, and I only lower its score due to the software issues stated above, after flashing a custom rom and fixing the issues above the rom will be better and it will be a 10/10 in my opinion,
this phone is an ultra phone it focuses on camera, chipset, screen and overall quality and it nails all those points great! I would totally recommend it to phone tinkerers
Mitoraf said:
I'll try to give you a complete answer as I can I have this phone since last month, I live in Israel and I use 5G but 5G here is awful in my area (same speed as 4G) even though I have a 5G plan but that is a different conversation,
I have the Verdant Green 12/512 Version I bought it for $1225 from Aliexpress:
1). I don't live in the UK so I cannot say, here the signal is good, even on 4g and 3g (there is no 2g in my carrier so I can't test that), I do have an issue of calls suddenly dropping for no reason (bug in software I assume)
2). The main camera is awesome, the camera experience is super fast and launches very very quickly and snaps shots very fast, also the camera is very detailed, the ultrawide and telephoto are of a lesser sensor and quality is lower obviously, if you don't mind the quality difference between all 3 then it is great camera, front camera is decent too
3), The camera is decent, does the job, yeah it's max 1080p30fs but it's enough for video calls and still selfie (most use of selfie camera), unless you are a phone vlogger you won't mind the resolution and quality
4). Battery life is great for android flagship type phone, why I write android flagship type phone? since there are tiers in phones with different battery life between all of them, iPhone 13 pro max for example is killing with battery life compared to android flagships, only android Midrangers can compete with iPhone 13 pro max, if you come from android flagships you will be satisfied, if you come from recent android Midranger or lower tier, the battery life is worse, to be expected since this chipset is very powerful but also power hungry, I have the mi 11 ultra before this phone, it was decent with battery life and not too good, the reason is the 120hz screen was very power hungry and 888 chipset not efficient,
5). As of writing, I am using latest stable version 13.0.7 and it has issues, camera sometimes laggs a tiny bit when opening, caller id doesn't always work, and even saved contacts show up as numbers, keyboard gets reset to chinese keyboard with every reboot, developer settings get reset with reboot, wireless charging is limited to around ~20w and doesn't work with 50w wireless car charger pro (I have official 80w, 100w desktop chargers and 50w wireless car charger and all don't work well with this phone and they work perfect with mi 11 ultra)
6). Google is available but there are location issues in GPS sometimes, Google Pay doesn't work at all for me personally some had it work, I couldn't, google location history is not working sometimes, issues here and there
7). I am currently okay and a bit happy with the phone due to the above issues, is it perfect? no, is any phone perfect? also no, this is a china import and you need to know what you are doing in order to use it, I plan to unlock bootloader and flash Xiaomi EU rom to fix all these issues above, it should all be fixed with a custom rom that adjusts the OS to locations outside of china and with full google support, I would not swap the phone since it is very good, just needs more fixing of the above.
The Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra can be bought for less but you have many more issues with it, the phone drains faster and overheats allot, it has proximity sensor issues so taking calls using earpiece and listening to voice messages is a pain, the 888 chipsets is a mess of overheating and battery draining, you will lose battery fast even with basic use, and video calls for long make the phone lag and very hot, I would totally not recommend the mi 11 ultra over the 12s ultra since they fixed all these issues with the 12s ultra,
Basically if you don't like messing around with phones don't get this phone since you will have to do tinkering with it to fix the issues, if you don't mind tinkering like I do it's a great phone and very good competition wise, it has great cameras too, and battery life is wonderful,
I would give it a 9/10, and I only lower its score due to the software issues stated above, after flashing a custom rom and fixing the issues above the rom will be better and it will be a 10/10 in my opinion,
this phone is an ultra phone it focuses on camera, chipset, screen and overall quality and it nails all those points great! I would totally recommend it to phone tinkerers
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Thank you very much for this detailed reply. I will hold off from buying it until the eu ROM is out. Can you please update your experience on here once you've flashed the EU ROM?
My opinion. I did cleared cache and data of System launcher and after restart developer mode still stays with 13.0.7 MIUI. Need to clear AOD cache and data to have notification on AOD and lock screen.
I had before Samsung S8 Active, Gsmarena says 111hours of battery juice, no way. Ultra 12s is two times more efficent with everything on performance and max.
Thanos88 said:
Thank you very much for this detailed reply. I will hold off from buying it until the eu ROM is out. Can you please update your experience on here once you've flashed the EU ROM?
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Click to collapse
hi, sorry for late reply, sure I can update, currently on 13.0.8 (latest stable as of writing) phone is working great for the most part, but only xiaomi eu rom will fix all these issues
Hi, I have both the 12s Ultra and Mi 11 Ultra.
Color balance is better on 12S Ultra but to my dissappointment the Mi 11 Ultra has a better camera. Big surprise to me but how much I WANT the 12S to take better pictures that is not the case.
Having a hard time deciding if I shall sell it or if I shall keep it and hope that they will fix it in future SW releases.
It should win hands down when they bring their c2 chip online. Let's hope it's not too long.