Samsung's Galaxy M series is known for offering long battery life and the new model Galaxy M52 promises to offer a similar experience and also come with a refreshing design language and also reliable Qualcomm chipset
It comes in two configurations-- 6GB RAM + 128GB storage and 8GB RAM + 128GB storage-- for Rs 29,999 and Rs 31,999, respectively. Is it worth investing on the Samsung's mid-range phone: Let's check it out.
Design, build quality and display
Most of the Galaxy S, A series launched this year maintained the premium design language of previous iterations,. However, the Galaxy M52 5G is completely different and doesn't come with anything similar to the Galaxy M50 series of the past.
It is really interesting how Samsung is able to incorporate a massive 5,000mAh battery and yet keep the phone's thickness to just 7.4mm. I was able to easily wrap my fingers around the device and also use it single-handedly to browse, launch apps and type words.
But, please take note that the shell is a bit too smooth and if you have sweaty fingers, it will be a tough task to carry around in hand. It's better to keep the phone in the pocket when not in use.
As far as the display is concerned, it is decent and I was able to view messages, watch multimedia content without any issues even in the outdoors. Also, browsing on the device is buttery smooth thanks to the 120Hz refresh rate.
Samsung phone features a 6.7-inch full HD+ (1080×2400p) super AMOLED Plus screen with Infinity-O Display design. The front camera in the top centre, doesn't take much space and never really obstructs the viewing.
Also, the device's screen is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5 shield and this takes care of the rigours of the day-to-day activities and prevents scratches.
It comes with a side-mounted fingerprint sensor, and a hybrid dual-SIM slot tray ( nano SIM-1 + nano SIM-2 or microSD card).
However, the slim design comes at a cost. The device comes with a hybrid dual-SIM tray and users have to choose between extra storage and the second SIM.
On the bright side, the side-mounted fingerprint sensor, which by the way doubles up as the power button, works wonderfully well. It faced very low false rejections during the review period.
Performance
Samsung Galaxy M52 is powered by a 6nm class Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G processor (2.4 GHz Kryo 670 x 4 cores + 1.8 GHz Kryo 670 x 4 cores), which comes paired with Adreno 642L GPU. It is said to deliver 55 per cent better CPU and 85 per cent improved GPU performance compared to the predecessor,
As mentioned earlier, the company offers the device in RAM options 6GB and 8GB (LPDDR4x) with 128GB UFS 2.1 (expandable up to 1TB).
As advertised, the new device works smoothly without any fuss. Even while playing Asphalt 9: Legends, it never showed any signs of fatigue as such. Also, while video recording too, it fared well.
It runs Android 11-based Samsung One UI 3.1 and is expected to get the latest Android 12 update in the coming months. Other notable aspects of the device include secured Samsung Pay (NFC) and Knox security system.
The new Galaxy M52 5G phone comes with a 5,000mAh cell, almost 29 per cent less compared to the M51 with a 7,000mAh cell.
The device consistently delivered one and a half days of battery life under normal usage, which includes browsing the internet, doom scrolling on social media platforms, a good session of gaming (maximum of 15-20 minutes), and also an episode (20 minutes) of TV series and other day-to-day activities.
With a 25W charger, the device can get fully charged from zero to 100 per cent in around two hours.
Another notable aspect of the Galaxy M52 is that it supports 11 5G bands. It is one of the very few handsets in the market to support such a wide range of the spectrum. Whenever the infrastructure gets ready in India, Samsung's mid-range phone owners will not have to worry much and enjoy fast wireless internet. There is very much the possibility of other branded phones not being able to offer such experience in near future, as they support less than a handful of bands.
Photography
Samsung Galaxy M52 5G sports a triple-camera module-- main 64MP (f/1.8) backed by 12MP (f/2.2) ultra-wide-angle 123-degree camera with 5MP (f/2.4) macro camera and LED flash on the back.
The phone takes pretty good photos particularly only in certain aspects. For instance, the first photo of the flower (above) looks stunningly good with a lot of details and accurate colours. Also, the shallow depth effect with the blurred background looks fantastic.
However, flowers with red or pink colours, look brighter than usual when taken during the sunny bright morning. The native photo app and the ISP (Image Signal Processor) of the chipset have to be optimised well, to perform to the max to render the image with accurate colours. This can be improved with a software update and I am sure the company will do in the coming days.
The night mode picture too looks fine. It retains the darkness, the essence of the night quite well in the photos. It also takes pretty good videos too. It can record 4K videos at 30 fps (frames per second) and full HD 1080p at 30 fps.
On the front, it also houses a 32MP (f/2.2) wide camera. It takes fantastic photos in the bright sunlight. Also, it is capable of covering large group selfie photos too.
The front camera too can record full HD videos at 30 fps.
Final thoughts
Samsung's 2020-series M51 was a thick brick-like phone with a 7,000mAh battery. But, for the successor M52, the company has made drastic changes with a primary focus on premium design and processing power.
The battery capacity is much smaller than the predecessor, but the device is still able to deliver more than a day under normal usage. It is more than good enough for most of the consumers. Overall, the Galaxy M52 5G is a decent phone worth the asking price.
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