I’m not going to buy an affordable 5G phone in mid-2021, but some of you do, and so do Samsung. Therefore, a phone like the 22 5G exists in the Galaxy: a phone that wants to bring 5G to more people without asking extra people (according to Samsung standards). Starting at Rs 19,999, it is not the most affordable among the lots, as Realme and Xiaomi are raining down many cheap 5G phones with similar specifications.
Samsung, however, maintains a premium for its Samsung experience and in the Galaxy A22 5G, you get the features that you get in many expensive Samsung phones. It’s also very nice to look at, especially in the mint color variant and it’s made like a tank. This phone is clearly targeting existing Samsung users as well as young buyers wanting to taste the 5G experience, which is still a concept in India while reading.
So, is it any good? After using the 22 5G on the Galaxy for about 10 days, here are my thoughts.
Design
The Galaxy A22 5G is a beautiful smartphone; There are no two thoughts about it. Like the Galaxy A52 and A72, the A22 5G gets that flashy design: matte finish, flat surface and an overall design that is trying to set its own trend in a sea of ​​similar phones. The mint color variant (light green) complements the design and includes a light-reflective gradient. The finished and dusty square camera design somehow adds elegance.
Like the most affordable Samsung phones, the Galaxy A22 has built a 5 5G plastic unibody. Designers, however, have used good quality plastics that mimic matte glass finishes. In fact, the build quality is comparable to that Nokia Lumia device of the past. The thicker profile allows Samsung to integrate a 3.5mm headphone jack as well as a power key-mounted fingerprint sensor. The back is able to keep away smoke and scratches.
Sadly, when you look at its front all the application stops: a front that is similar to the cheapest Android smartphone from 2019 onwards. A bulbous chin and a large droplet style groove for a phone starting at Rs 20,000 seem out of place. This makes the phone a giant, the actual display measures 6.6-inches. The reason it weighs 203 grams and it is by no means a comfortable phone.
The 5G-induced cost reduction on the Galaxy A22 5G is obvious but Samsung has been able to adjust everything well. I can even say that the Galaxy A22 5G is one of the most beautiful and well-built phones in the world with affordable 5G smartphones.
Display
Samsung has made a name for itself in the past with its AMOLED display but 5G-induced cost-cutting it avoids OLED panels in favor of an IPS LCD panel. Despite my best efforts not to spice up the Amoled vs. LCD debate on social media, an Amoled display appeals even more. And, this LCD display that Samsung uses is dull. It looks good when browsing social media or watching YouTube videos but next to the AMOLED display of a Galaxy M42 5G, it looks softer. Compared to Xiaomi’s Mi 10i LCD display, this A22 5G display is washed out.
I understand the effort to reduce costs and as long as you know it, you probably won’t complain. Samsung tries to pull the geeks with a 90Hz refresh rate and it helps a lot with smooth scrolling. Viewing angles are wide without significant loss of color but the clarity of sunlight is poor. The Samsung A22 5G doesn’t specify any kind of glass protection, so you should install a screen protector to protect it; My unit didn’t get any scratches.
Performance
MediaTek’s Dimension 700 is making it possible for the brand to bring affordable 5G phones worth Rs 20,000 to the market. I saw this chip on Poco M3 Pro 5G and Galaxy A22 5G, it provides the same user experience. With 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage in my base version, the 22 5G Samsung phone in the Galaxy can get you into this segment for the fastest money.
Despite running Samsung’s resource-intensive One UI 3.1 interface, the Galaxy A22 5G is running it all smooth and fast. I still haven’t seen unnaturally long app load times or random app crashes on this phone. If you initially browse social media, deal with emails, make video calls, watch videos and take pictures, then this Galaxy A22 5G has ample performance potential that keeps you happy.
Turn to mobile gaming and start showing the limitations of Dimension 700. Call of Duty: Mobile, Battlegrounds Mobile India and Asphalt Like: Legends stick to medium / low graphics settings, and sometimes the frame drops more. Light-on-resource games such as Shadow Fight 4: Arena and F1 Clash stick to low graphics, often missing frames. My phone is going to make a preliminary software, I am taking advantage of the 22 5G suspicion in the Galaxy. An update could iron out these bugs.
Where it fights gaming, it is built with the One UI user experience. On Android 11, Samsung’s One UI 1.1 is elegant, compared to Xiaomi’s complex MIUI 12 and Realm’s soft Realm UI 2. The interface elements, and all the bundles of Samsung extras nicely integrated with the system. The Edge panel is effective if you do multitasking frequently.
That said, Samsung relies on partnerships to keep prices low, and therefore, you get lots of pre-loaded apps and integrated ads. Here are a bunch of tic-tac-toe clones pre-installed, all of which can be removed. Samsung is pre-loading its own system app as well as a dozen Google and Microsoft apps. Occasionally Samsung ads will appear in notifications when you get ads in the weather app.
The overall user experience isn’t as clear as the stock Android experience near Motorola but you know what you’re doing when buying a Samsung phone these days. While I had the time and curiosity to dig deeper into my settings to turn off ads, Samsung needed to make it easier for casual users.
Samsung is promising a two-year Android OS upgrade and a three-year security patch. While this may sound good for a Rs 20,000 phone, given the A22 5G is future-proof at this stage, a three-year OS upgrade could be ideal, especially given the induction speed of 5G in India.
How’s the audio? In a single slim loudspeaker you can only expect so much. The volume level is not the same as the price of Realmi and Redmi smartphones. When taking calls over loudspeakers, the volume is depressing and it’s good to stick with a pair of earphones. On Reliance Jio’s network, I have not yet witnessed connection problems, and mobile data speeds have been on par with other phones, even in the basement.
However, the main reason you buy 22 5G in Galaxy A (Drum Roll) is 5G, which is only interested in negotiating with Juhi Chawla Court. There are 11 5G band offers here, which are more comfortable than just a cheap 5G phone with the A78 band and a few more. It sounds good but at the moment, it’s all uncertain.
The camera
Another area where Samsung has compromised in favor of 5G. The Galaxy A22 5G has three cameras on the back and an 8-megapixel camera on the front. Overall, the rear cameras are nowhere near as good as Xiaomi’s MI10i5G and Samsung’s own 4G smartphone.
The only one to use the main 48-megapixel camera. It is lost in OIS from the 4G variant but the performance of the core camera remains unchanged. Compared to the Poco M3 Pro 5G and Realme Narzo 30 5G, the Galaxy A22 5G’s main camera can make shutterbugs happier. In daylight, the camera maintains a natural intimate to white balance with cool amounts of detail. However, as it struggles with exposure and decreases light levels, it relies on artificial magnification to brighten photos as sharpness and detail value. Night mode is great for this priced phone.
The ultra-wide camera lacks dynamic range but works quite well in most bright conditions. The 5-megapixel sensor doesn’t worry about detail and sharpness, and in low light, it struggles. You get good portrait mode photos courtesy of dedicated depth sensors and Samsung’s algorithm works well in subject separation.
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The front camera until you get enough light on your face. The detail isn’t great but the dynamic range is just right and the algorithms like to enhance skin tones. Any picture against a light or bright background, and the Galaxy A22 5G makes you look like an anime cartoon. Samsung may fix this with future software updates.
Battery
As 4G networks run the show, the Galaxy A22 provides 5 5G maximum good battery life. A 5000 mAh battery can last up to a day and a half with moderate usage (with an average of 6.5 hours of screen-on time). For those who spend about 2-hours on social media, gossiping with friends for an hour over a call, taking lots of pictures and texting, this is a phone that will last all day and leave something for later.
Sadly, Samsung is integrating its endurance-testing slow 15W charger with the Galaxy A22 5G. It takes about two hours to top-up the battery from under 10 percent. There is support for 25W fast charging but you need to buy that adapter separately. For a phone built for the 5G generation, bundling a slow 15W charger in 2021 feels like zero, especially when it comes to a similarly priced Realme X7 50W charger capable of 0-100 percent in less than an hour.
Conclusion
5G is certainly the future but at the moment, there is no point in investing in an affordable 5G smartphone, especially for brands that compromise to keep prices low. The Galaxy A22 5G is no different from its siblings, as it runs the 5G Hype Wave with a lot of compromises for the 2021 phone. While 5G is declining in India, the Galaxy A22 5G may be nearing the end of its life, i.e., no more updates, unconventional performance, and so on.
That said, if you want to buy a Samsung phone for around Rs 20,000 now, the Galaxy A22 5G is an overall attractive package. After 32 4G in Galaxy A, it has got more raw power. Compared to the Galaxy M42 5G, you get a modern design and improved build quality, the promise of two years of OS upgrades and superior battery life.
On the other hand, competition from OnePlus, Realm, Xiaomi and IQO is strong this year. The choices of Realme X7 and iQOO Z3 make the Galaxy A22 5G look relatively pale. Compared to other Dimensity 700-powered phones from Realme, Redmi and Poco, the Galaxy A22 5G is expensive by a huge margin, which can drive money seekers away.
However, the overall smartphone experience is great for 5G phones, priced at Rs 20,000; We dig into chic looks, solid build quality, fast performance, a pleasant one UI experience, and battery life. It is expensive for what it has to offer and Samsung needs to lower the price to make it more competitive, but those who want to wear 5G tags without spending much will love it.
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