Hey what’s up guys, hope you’re doing well. So, Samsung recently announced its latest Galaxy A-series phones – the Galaxy A52 and A72. And here, I am going to talk about my early impressions of the Samsung Galaxy A72, which is a premium mid-range phone. The phone price starts at Rs. 51,999 in Nepal and is currently available for sale.
Samsung Galaxy A72 Specifications:
- Body: 77.4 x 165.0 x 8.4mm, 203 gm, IP67 dust/water resistant
- Display: 6.7-inches “Infinity-O” Super AMOLED panel, 90Hz refresh rate, 394 PPI
- Resolution: Full-HD+ (2400 x 1080 pixels), 20:9 aspect ratio
- Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G (8nm)
- CPU: Octa-core (2×2.3 GHz Kryo 465 Gold & 6×1.8 GHz Kryo 465 Silver)
- GPU: Adreno 618
- Memory: 6/8GB LPDDR4X RAM, 128/256GB storage (expandable)
- Software & UI: Android 11 with Samsung’s One UI 3.1 on top
- Rear Camera: Quad-camera;
– 64MP f/1.8 primary lens, AF, OIS
– 12MP f/2.2 ultra-wide lens, 123º FOV
– 8MP f/2.4 telephoto lens, OIS, 3x optical zoom
– 5MP f/2.4 macro sensor - Front Camera: 32MP f/2.2 sensor (punch-hole cutout)
- Audio: Stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos audio, 3.5mm headphone jack
- Security: Optical in-display fingerprint scanner, Face unlock
- Connectivity: Dual-SIM (Nano), WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (Dual-band), Bluetooth 5.0, GPS / AGPS / Glonass / Galileo / Beidou, NFC, USB Type-C, 4G LTE
- Battery: 5000mAh with 25W fast charging (25W adapter provided)
- Color options: Awesome – Black, Blue, White, Violet
- Price in Nepal: Rs. 51,999 (8/128GB) | Rs. 56,999 (8/256GB)
- Buy here (Samsung Plaza)
Samsung Galaxy A72 Impressions:
The first thing I like about this device is the design and color choices. I have this Blue variant with me that looks quite refreshing. While the Galaxy A32 had a glossy back, the A72 gets a matte finish. The camera module here merges with the rear panel and has this seamless finish that looks unique and I quite like it honestly!
Traditionally, Samsung’s A-series smartphones have never disappointed in terms of design, and the legacy continues with the Galaxy A72. The phone, despite carrying a big 5000mAh battery inside, looks and feels pretty sleek. And even though it occupies a large area in your hand, Samsung has managed to make the phone lightweight too.
IP67 dust/water resistance
Not to forget, it also comes with premium features like IP67 dust-and-water resistance. I even tried submerging it in water for about half an hour and the phone returned unharmed. and dual speakers. From my preliminary test, I like the audio quality from its stereo speakers too. Sounds really good.
Moving on, the display size remains the same as last time. However, its 6.67-inches Super AMOLED Plus screen now comes with a higher 90Hz refresh rate, replacing the 60Hz panel in its predecessor. Although this is definitely a significant upgrade, I was hoping Samsung would use a 120Hz screen here.
About the native display quality, well, as expected, it is an excellent panel with great colors and contrast levels. The screen responds to touch very well as well. Likewise, you get an optical in-display fingerprint sensor here which is not the fastest but gets the job done. Apart from that, you get the usual stuff like dark mode and Always on Display on the A72.
Performance could’ve been better
While the design and display are pretty impressive, one upgrade I was really looking forward to was in the performance department. For some reason, Samsung has decided to go with the Snapdragon 700 series chipset. More specifically, the Snapdragon 720G, which is not much of an upgrade to the 730 used on the Galaxy A71.
I admit that the 720G is a somewhat acceptable choice for the A52. But considering A72’s premium mid-range stature and how competing phones like the Realme X7 Pro has a superior Dimensity 1000+ chipset, and the Poco F3 equip Snapdragon 870, the 720G is definitely underpowered.
Still, it’s a decent chipset for handling everyday hustle and Samsung is well known for optimizing its hardware. Having said that, this chipset is particularly not an ideal choice from a gaming perspective. So, I think this is the one aspect where Samsung should have done better. Even going with a last-gen flagship silicon strategy like on the Galaxy F62 would’ve been more preferable. The Snapdragon 720G has been complemented by 8GB of RAM and either 128/256GB of storage.
Other than that, the A72 ships with Android 11 out of the box with the latest One UI 3.1 on top. As usual, Samsung’s UI is well optimized and feels great to use.
How are the cameras so far?
Finally, let’s talk about the cameras. Galaxy A72 has a quad-camera setup at the back with a 64MP primary camera, a 12MP ultra-wide lens, an 8MP telephoto lens capable of 3x optical zoom, and finally a 5MP macro lens. Furthermore, the A72 can also zoom up to 30x digitally.
I haven’t been able to click a lot of pictures from the phone yet, but looking at the few shots I managed to capture, I can say that its cameras look promising.
The primary images have really good colors and ample details. The ultra-wide images are equally pleasing with a wide field of view and even macro photos are not half bad either.
Although it doesn’t have a dedicated depth sensor, the portrait images look pretty good. Moving on, A72 features a 32MP selfie camera inside the tiny punch-hole cutout upfront. As far as the images are concerned, they look pleasing too.
In terms of videos, we have options for 4k and 1080p but only in 30 fps. So yeah, no 60-fps option still. Yet, Samsung has included OIS here and the videos come out quite stable. On top of the primary camera, even the telephoto lens can shoot Super Steady videos. You can also click nice stable videos from the selfie camera up to 4k 30 fps.
Is battery life going to be an issue?
Lastly, as I mentioned earlier, the phone has a 5,000mAh battery that supports 25-watt fast charging. Unlike Samsung’s eco-friendly choice to exclude a power adapter inside the box of its flagship phones, you do get one for the Galaxy A72.
Having used the phone for less than a day, I haven’t been able to judge its battery life yet. Therefore, stay tuned for the full review where I’ll be discussing it in detail.
So, those were my initial impressions of the Samsung Galaxy A72. I will come up with its full review after using it for some more time, so watch out for this space when that drops.
- Watch our video impressions of the Samsung Galaxy A72.
