GadgetByte Nepal

Samsung has finally unveiled the Galaxy A22. Its price hasn’t been confirmed yet but A22’s cost is estimated to slot in between Galaxy M12 and M32. So my guess is that it will cost around INR 14,000. The phone shares a lot of similarities with the more expensive Galaxy M32 but Samsung has made some subtle changes to differentiate it from the company’s M-series of smartphones. Here are my early impressions of the Samsung Galaxy A22 after having used it for a couple of hours.

Samsung Galaxy A22 Specifications:

• Body: 73.6 x 159.3 x 8.4mm, 186 gm
• Display: 6.4-inches “Infinity-U” Super AMOLED, 90Hz Refresh Rate, 600 nits peak brightness (HDR)
• Resolution: HD+ (1600 x 720 pixels), 20:9 aspect ratio, 274 PPI
• Chipset: MediaTek Helio G80 4G (12nm Mobile Platform)
• CPU: Octa-core (2×2.0 GHz Cortex-A75 & 6×1.8 GHz Cortex-A55)
• GPU: Arm Mali-G52 MC2
• Memory: 4/6GB LPDDR4X RAM, 64/128GB eMMC 5.1 storage (expandable)
• Software & UI: Android 11 with Samsung’s One UI Core 3.1 on top
• Rear Camera: Quad-camera;
  – 48MP, f/1.8 primary sensor, PDAF, OIS
  – 8MP, f/2.2 ultra-wide camera, 123º FOV
  – 2MP, f/2.4 portrait lens
  – 2MP, f/2.4 macro lens
• Front Camera: 13MP f/2.2 sensor (notch)
• Audio: Loudspeaker, 3.5mm headphone jack
• Security: Side-mounted fingerprint sensor, Face unlock
• Sensors: Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Geomagnetic, Virtual Light, Virtual Proximity
• Connectivity: Dual-SIM (Nano), WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (Dual-band), Bluetooth 5.0, GPS / AGPS / Glonass / Galileo / Beidou, USB Type-C, 4G LTE
• Battery: 5000mAh with 15W fast charge (15W adapter inside the box)
• Color options: Black, White, Mint, Violet
• Price in Nepal: N/A (Launching soon)

Samsung Galaxy A22 Impressions:

Like I mentioned in the beginning, I have been using the Galaxy A22 for a couple of hours now. And the first distinction between the M32 and A22 can be noticed in the design front.

While Galaxy M-series of smartphones usually have this boring look, Samsung puts a little more effort into its relatively premium A-series devices. Here too, the A22 is reminiscent of the more expensive Galaxy A52 and A72. And personally, I love this design on a budget phone. The camera module here is more refined and modern-looking while the phone has a better hands-on feel as well.

Comparatively ergonomic design

Galaxy A22 is relatively light with a smaller 5,000 mAh battery whereas the M32 brings a bigger 6000mAh cell. Likewise, A22 also features a side-mounted fingerprint sensor and as expected, it performs like a champ. Just above it is the volume rockers.

The left side stays mostly clean except for the dual SIM + micro SD tray. Down below, you get a single speaker setup, a headphone jack, and the USB-C charging port. On top of the design, the biggest difference between these two phones lies in the display side of things.

Disappointingly, Galaxy A22 features an HD screen in contrast to the Full HD display on the M32. Although this difference in resolution is not that evident under regular usage, upon a closer inspection, I did notice that the texts appear sharper on M32. The panel type is still Super AMOLED, so colors and contrast look equally good on both phones.

90Hz… HD display?

Also, Samsung has retained the 90Hz refresh rate for a smoother scrolling experience on a cheaper device like this. As far as my experience goes, Samsung seems to have optimized it quite well. Plus, the display is Widevine L1 certified too so you will be able to stream Netflix and Amazon Prime content in HD resolution.

Overall, even though Galaxy A22 has a passable display for everyday use, I think Samsung has unnecessarily cut corners in terms of the screen’s sharpness as Full HD resolution should’ve been the obvious choice here.

And oh, I almost forgot about this U-shaped notch approach, which looks a little outdated on both M32 and A22. So, if you are someone who’s coming from a phone with a punch-hole implementation, this notch will definitely feel out of style.

Sub-par performance

Okay, over on the performance department, you get MediaTek’s Helio G80 here just like on the M32. Now, because Galaxy A22 is expected to launch at a comparatively cheaper price, this chipset somehow makes sense on this phone.

Normal usage hasn’t been a problem so far and games like PUBG Mobile run considerably smoothly at 40 fps under Smooth graphics and Ultra-frame rates. Still, Samsung could have given something like Helio G95 or Snapdragon 678 for even better performance.

Having said that, I guess the use of Helio G80 over and over by Samsung on its midrange phones has a lot to do with the ongoing global chipset shortage as well. Yes, I know the chipset shortage has hit other brands too, but unlike other companies,

Samsung launches its products globally—like on a large scale—meaning that Galaxy A22 will launch in relatively more markets compared to Realme or Xiaomi, whose products are don’t enjoy such worldwide release.

But excuses aside, performance has never been Samsung’s strongest suit in the budget and mid-range segment and I guess that is not the kind of audience the company is targeting with this phone, to begin with. I can say this because even with my limited time with the phone, I have been impressed with its cameras.

Impressive cameras

Spec-wise, you get a 48MP primary sensor and an 8MP ultra-wide lens followed by two 2MP depth and macro cameras. Additionally, A22 also features OIS which isn’t present on Galaxy M32.

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I did manage to go around and click a few pictures and found A22 doing a better job than M32 in terms of color optimization. Here, the M32 produces saturated output while the A22 tones it down making the images look more pleasing. Similarly, with Galaxy A22, I noticed no focus issues while the M32 did struggle to lock focus in some instances.

Portrait

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In terms of portraits too, as evident from these photos, A22 produces better skin tone and manages to process dark areas better than the M32. Same goes with the selfies where the A22 has slightly better processing capabilities.

Selfie

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During low lighting conditions as well, Galaxy A22 manages to stand out ever so slightly with its tad better details and sharpness—all thanks to OIS.

Nighttime

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Similarly, you get better video capabilities on the A22 as well, with stabilized 1080p 30 fps videos from both the front and back cameras.

However, do note that just like the M32, the videos are capped at 1080 30 fps only and you cannot shoot videos in 4K resolution or 60fps mode. This is basically due to the limitation with Helio G80, rather than the camera sensor.

Optimized UI/UX

Besides good camera capabilities, Samsung’s One UI is another show-stealer. This phone runs on One UI Core version 3.1 and feels quite well optimized.

However, I do wish that the phone features UFS 2.1 or 2.2 storage protocol over the aging eMMC standard, which has slower read and write speeds. And because of that, apps open slower, and installing them takes a bit of time. Then again, it’s a chipset limitation in the first place.

Alright, finally, let’s talk about the battery. As I mentioned earlier, in order to maintain a slimmer form factor, Samsung has trimmed the battery size to 5000mAh here—while most of its M-series of smartphones enjoy a larger 6000mAh battery.

Still, you can expect good, if not great endurance from Galaxy A22. Yet, the phone only supports 15W charging, unlike the M32 that supports 25W fast charging too.

Samsung Galaxy A22 Impressions: Conclusion

Wrapping up my early impressions, I think with the Galaxy A22 and M32, Samsung is providing different choices to the customers. What I mean is that while both phones yield similar performance, one has better looks and OIS-enabled cameras whereas the other hosts better screen and battery endurance.

But given the cheaper price tag of Galaxy A22, I believe it is better value than the M32 considering the only downside here is its HD screen, which isn’t that bad given it’s a Samsung-made AMOLED panel.

• Watch our video impressions of the Samsung Galaxy A22.

Today, I have the new Galaxy M32 with me. It is Samsung’s latest midrange phone and the successor of the popular Galaxy M31 from last year. Having used it for a little while, here are my early impressions of the new Samsung Galaxy M32.

Samsung Galaxy M32 Specifications:

• Body: 74 x 159.3 x 9.3mm, 196 gm
• Display: 6.4-inches “Infinity-U” Super AMOLED, 90Hz Refresh Rate, 800 nits peak brightness (HBM)
• Resolution: FHD+ (2400 x 1080 pixels), 20:9 aspect ratio, 411 PPI
• Chipset: MediaTek Helio G80 4G (12nm Mobile Platform)
• CPU: Octa-core (2×2.0 GHz Cortex-A75 & 6×1.8 GHz Cortex-A55)
• GPU: Arm Mali-G52 MC2
• Memory: 4/6GB LPDDR4X RAM, 64/128GB eMMC 5.1 storage (expandable)
• Software & UI: Android 11 with Samsung’s One UI Core 3.1 on top
• Rear Camera: Quad-camera;
  – 64MP, f/1.8 primary sensor, PDAF
  – 8MP, f/2.2 ultra-wide camera, 123º FOV
  – 2MP, f/2.4 portrait lens
  – 2MP, f/2.4 macro lens
• Front Camera: 20MP f/2.2 sensor (notch)
• Audio: Loudspeaker, 3.5mm headphone jack
• Security: Side-mounted fingerprint sensor, Face unlock
• Sensors: Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Geomagnetic, RGB Light, Virtual Proximity
• Connectivity: Dual-SIM (Nano), WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (Dual-band), Bluetooth 5.0, GPS / AGPS / Glonass / Galileo / Beidou, USB Type-C, 4G LTE
• Battery: 6000mAh with 25W fast charge (15W adapter inside the box)
• Color options: Light Blue, Black, Laser Green
• Price in Nepal: N/A (Launching soon)

Samsung Galaxy M32 Impressions:

As for the pricing, M32 starts at INR 15,000 for the 4/64GB variant while the 6/128GB model costs INR 17,000. This means it goes head-to-head against the likes of the Redmi Note 10S and the Realme 8 in India.

Anyway, here I will talk about my first impressions of the Samsung Galaxy M32. I have only used it for few hours and the first thing I’ve noticed is how its design has seen a healthy upgrade over its predecessor.

Compared to the boring look of M31, Samsung has introduced some good visual rework here. It feels more like a smaller and compact variant of the Galaxy M62. The back and frames are still polycarbonate, but I like what Samsung has done with these vertical lines at the back, this refreshing blue color option, and the relatively modern-looking camera layout too.

Surprisingly ergonomic to hold

Plus, despite featuring a big 6000mAh battery, it doesn’t feel that heavy or bulky to hold. Weighing less than 200 grams, its build quality is pretty ergonomic as well. Likewise, the rear-mounted fingerprint sensor from the M31 has been moved to the side. And as expected, it’s a reliable one. It sits just below the volume rockers and so far, I’ve had no issues here.

As for the buttons, they are plasticky but give good tactile feedback. On the left, you get a SIM tray that can fit dual 4G SIMs and a dedicated microSD card. Over on the bottom, there’s a 3.5mm headphone jack, a USB Type C port, and a speaker grill.

As always, Samsung has included a good DAC with the 3.5mm jack. Hence, the audio output on my AKG earphone was loud and clear. However, the speaker here is only mono, and seeing how companies like Xiaomi and Realme are offering stereo speakers at this price, I think this is a big miss for Samsung.

Classic Samsung display

Anyway, the display department is where Galaxy M32 has a bigger edge compared to the competition. Here, you get a 6.4-inch FullHD+ AMOLED screen with a 90Hz refresh rate, which none of the brands are offering at this price. In my brief time with the phone, I’ve liked the quality of the screen.

As you would expect from a Samsung OLED panel, it has excellent contrast with accurate colors. Plus, it can get plenty bright too. The one complaint I have with this display so far is that Samsung has implemented a notch for the selfie cam instead of a punch-hole cutout. Therefore, Galaxy M32 does feel a bit outdated in this regard.

Similarly, this 90Hz panel doesn’t feel as smooth as say, the OnePlus Nord CE and that’s probably because of the midrange Helio G80 chipset powering the phone. Although the UI transition is smooth and all, I have noticed micro lags here and there on the M32.

Sub-par performance

Additionally, you can expect the overall performance of this Helio G80-powered phone to be sub-par in contrast to the competition like Redmi Note 10S or the Realme 8 that boasts a much more powerful Helio G95 chipset.

Also, the phone has eMMC storage, which is relatively slower than the UFS 2.1 standard that you typically get on phones at this price bracket. With the eMMC storage, everything from installing apps to opening them is slower and time-taking here. However, this is a chipset limitation entirely so Samsung’s silicon choice is to blame here.

Moving on, I also played PUBG Mobile for an hour or so on the Galaxy M32 under Smooth graphics and Ultra-frame rates. Surprisingly enough, I was able to achieve a stable 40fps gameplay. However, the graphics side of things still doesn’t compare to the ones from SD 732G or Helio G95-powered phones.

How are the cameras?

Camera-wise, you get a quad rear camera setup on the M32 which includes a 64MP primary, an 8MP ultra-wide-angle, and a couple of 2MP sensors for depth and macro shots. After clicking some photos, I could easily notice how good Samsung’s optimization is.

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You get detailed yet slightly saturated photos with excellent focus and dynamic range. Images from the 8MP ultra-wide-angle sensor have a slightly inferior dynamic range and details, but it looks better than the competition.

Wideangle

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I also like the portraits taken from the M32. They are lively with good subject focus and background blur.

Portrait

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As for the selfie, you get a 20MP shooter, which seems like a downgrade from the M31 that had a 32MP lens instead. Like with the back camera, the selfies have good colors, skin tone, and dynamic range.

Selfie

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My only major complaint with M32’s camera so far is its videography abilities. While Galaxy M31 was capable of up shooting up to 4K 30fps videos, M32 is limited to recording 1080P and 720P videos at 30fps only. Plus, it doesn’t seem to have a good enough stabilization either.

Despite this, another highlight of this phone is its 6000mAh battery. But I feel like it won’t have as good endurance as the M31 because the 12nm Helio G80 isn’t as energy-efficient as the 10nm Exynos 9611 chipset that we saw on M31. Samsung has added 25W PD charging support here although you only get a 15W power adapter inside the box.

Samsung Galaxy M32 Impressions: Conclusion

Overall, just like the M31, the Galaxy M32 looks like another solid midrange phone. Having said that, performance isn’t its strongest suit and if you are an avid gamer, there are better alternatives to shop for. Still, if you prioritize multimedia consumption and camera performance above everything else, the Samsung Galaxy M32 might just be the right phone for you.

• Watch our video impressions of the Samsung Galaxy M32.