Samsung has unveiled its 2021 A-Series smartphones, and if you’ve been waiting for affordable 5G then Android handsets like the A52 5G, A42 5G, and A32 5G might fit the bill. Launching across various US carriers from later this s week, the three new 5G devices – and two even cheaper 4G LTE A-Series phones, the A12 and A02s – significantly undercut the Galaxy S21 family, despite grabbing a fair few of their features.
Samsung Galaxy A52 5G
Headliner of the new 2021 A-Series is the Galaxy A52 5G. It has a 6.5-inch Super AMOLED Full HD+ display which, for the first time in its family, packs a 120Hz refresh rate. There’s also IP67 dust and water resistance, another A-Series first.
Inside there’s an octa-core processor with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, running Android 11. There’s also a 4,500 mAh battery with 25W fast-charging support, though no wireless charging. It’ll take a microSD card – up to 1TB in size – while on the wireless side there’s 5G Sub-6 GHZ (though not mmWave) together with WiFi 802.11ac and Bluetooth 5.0.
As for cameras, the primary sensor is 64-megapixels with OIS and an f/1.8 lens. It’s paired with a 12-megapixel (f/2.2) ultra-wide, a 5-megapixel (f/2.4) macro, and a 5-megapixel (f/2.4) depth camera. There’s up to 10x digital zoom, and a front 32-megapixel (f/2.2) selfie camera.
An optical fingerprint sensor, Dual Audio Bluetooth, and AKG stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos support round things out on the hardware side, while for software there’s the Pro Video mode familiar from the Galaxy S21 series. The Galaxy A52 5G will go on sale from April 9, priced from $499.99, across AT&T, T-Mobile and Metro by T-Mobile, and US Cellular, as well as unlocked from Samsung.
Samsung Galaxy A42 5G
Though it may be cheaper than the A52 5G, the A42 5G actually has two advantages. For a start, its 6.6-inch Super AMOLED HD+ display is slightly larger – albeit with a lower resolution and 60Hz refresh rate – while second, its 5G supports both Sub-6 GHz and mmWave networks.
Inside there’s an octa-core processor again, the Snapdragon 750G, this time with 4GB of memory and 128GB of storage. A microSD slot is still included, but the battery rises to 5,000 mAh while wired fast charging slips to 15W. It also runs Android 11, and has an in-screen fingerprint scanner.
There are three cameras. The main is a 48-megapixel (f/1.8) sensor, alongside an 8-megapixel (f/2.2) ultra-wide and a 2-megapixel (f/2.4) depth sensor. There’s a 13-megapixel (f/2.2) selfie camera and up to 10x digital zoom. It supports Galaxy S features like Super Steady Video, Single Take, and AI-powered Scene Optimizer which can distinguish between different subjects like food, night shots, people, text, and animals. The Galaxy A42 5G will go on sale April 8, priced from $399.99. It’ll be a Verizon exclusive.
Samsung Galaxy A32 5G
The Galaxy A32 5G has a 6.5-inch HD+ LCD screen with a 90Hz refresh rate, and runs Android 11 on an octa-core processor. There’s a 48-megapixel (f/1.8) main camera, 8-megapixel (f/2.2) ultra-wide, 5-megapixel (f/2.4) macro, and 2-megapixel (f/2.4) depth camera, plus a 13-megapixel (f/2.2) selfie camera. It can shoot 4K video.
There’s 5G Sub-6 GHz support – though no mmWave – and a 5,000 mAh battery with 15W wired fast charging. The Galaxy A32 5G will go on sale April 9, priced from $279.99. It’ll be offered on T-Mobile, Metro by T-Mobile, and Cricket.
Samsung Galaxy A12 and A02s
Cheapest of the range, the Galaxy A12 and A02s sacrifice 5G in favor of sub-$200 prices. Both have a 6.5-inch HD+ LCD screen with a 60Hz refresh rate, plus a 5,000 mAh battery with 15W wired fast charging. The A12 gets a slightly faster octa-core processor, along with 3GB of memory; the A02s makes do with 2GB. Both have 32GB of storage and a microSD slot.
The A12 has a 16-megapixel main camera, a 5-megapixel ultra-wide, a 2-megapixel macro camera, and a 2-megapixel depth camera, plus an 8-megapixel selfie camera. The A02s has a 13-megapixel main camera, 2-megapixel macro camera, and 2-megapixel depth camera, plus a 5-megapixel selfie camera. Both can shoot Full HD video, but not 4K.
The Galaxy A12 will go on sale April 9, priced from $179.99, on AT&T, Cricket, T-Mobile, and Metro by T-Mobile. As for the Galaxy A02s, that will start at $109.99 when it arrives in late April to early May, on Verizon, Boost, Charter, Metro by T-Mobile, US Cellular, and unlocked from Samsung direct.
