Samsung Galaxy A32 Review

The Galaxy A32 sat on my desk for a while, before I got around to using it. And I’ve liked my experience with it. In this article, I will quickly go over the things I liked, the things I didn’t like, and more. The ‘more part’ will be me sharing my thoughts on Samsung’s pricing mainly. So let’s dive in…

With the 2021 Galaxy A-series, Samsung decided on a sort of uniform design and pastel-like colours. This year’s series sort of looks the same, and even I get confused at times. I have, in many instances, confused the Galaxy A32 and the Galaxy A52.

Anyway, that’s not taking away on the fact that these devices, look really good. The choice of these faded-like flat colours was a good one. And I quite like those blunt colour names; Awesome White, Awesome Blue etc.

Design and Build Quality:

Like I’ve said above, the devices look good. The Galaxy A32 is also thin and light and feel very nice on the hand. However, I dislike the fear I have that the phone will in a few months of use have lots of scratches and look quite old. This is because Samsung is using this light plastic. I especially feel so because my unit is light grey and from a small scratch, I can already tell it will lose this premium look fast.

I think if you’re getting the phone, pick up the white model. I feel like that one won’t show scratches. The only problem is it may change colour as it gets dirty. Which makes me really wish Samsung included plastic cases and covers in the box. Every other Android manufacturer includes one!

If you don’t want your phone to look old in a few months of use, then invest in a cover for the phone once you buy it.

By the way, the purple one (Called Awesome Violet) is a total beauty! From the renders to my actual interaction with one in-store. It’s so nice! I wish more phone manufacturers copy this colour.

Display:

The one thing I don’t like about this display is that notch. For real. It doesn’t affect anything about the device, but it just looks dated. I wish Samsung went with a punch hole. But maybe it’s just me.

The rest of the display is great. It’s a 90Hz Super AMOLED panel so what do you expect? Punchy colours, true blacks. Super bright! Actually, this is one of the few devices at this price point that reaches 800nits. So your outdoor use won’t be a pain. And if you watch stuff on your phone, you will love the experience here. (As with many devices at this price point, the speakers aren’t that good).

For those who hate huge devices, this is a good middle ground. At 6.4-inches you may imagine it’s very big. It’s not. The weight, the reduced bezels, and the fact that it’s quite thin makes it feel like a compact phone. It will fit well on most hands. (Perhaps the fact I’ve been using huge devices is what’s making me think it’s a compact phone. Walk into a Samsung shop to test it out if you can.)

Cameras:

These are good cameras. That’s the most I can say really. There’s nothing outstanding – apart from the Megapixel count really. In real-life use, you will still face challenges like poor quality in low light, blurred photos when you or the subject moves fast, and grainy videos.

The main camera takes respectable photos. I like that Samsung toned down on saturation. So colours look real. The dynamic range is also good, and you will be able to capture good landscape shots when it’s bright outdoors.

Night mode is there, but it is annoying. It sometimes takes forever to process, and the phone can sometimes force stop the camera. However, when you’re successful, the result can be quite good. But you need to be very patient with a shot.

I didn’t like the wide-angle camera though. Samsung hasn’t done anything to avoid distortion, and you can see a huge colour shift between the main sensor and the wide-angle sensor. You won’t take lots of pictures, if any, with this sensor.

Similarly, the remaining two sensors are just there for show. These are the 5MP depth sensor and the 2MP macro sensor.

The selfie camera is good. You can rely on it in different conditions and still get a respectable image.

Photos taken by the Galaxy A32:

(These have been compressed for easier uploading here)

Software and Performance:

I really like ONE UI. I like everything Samsung has done to achieve a unique interface that feels home for everyone despite their previous phone, but also remains the typical Samsung interface.

I like the decision to have the Google Cards section accessible from the Home Page. I like the notifications shade, I like the quick settings panel and the way you just learn your way around quite quickly. The buttons are large enough, and the colour choices make you know what’s on, what’s off, what to slide, what to touch etc. quite easily.

All that said, the main issue with the Galaxy A32 is the processor. While yes the Helio G80 is a respectable chipset, it isn’t supposed to be on a device like this. We’ve seen it on 15k phones, so it was a weird choice by Samsung.

You will experience a couple of lags, and annoying delays when using this phone. As we’ve seen above, you even feel it when processing Night Mode shots. Remember, I am using the 6GB RAM, 128GB Storage model.

I wish Samsung went even with the Helio G95. That would change the whole experience I believe.

Battery:

Okay, the 5000mAh battery is great. Like really, really, really good for this phone. You will get incredibly long hours of use thanks to the Super AMOLED panel, the not-so-demanding processor, and Samsung’s own customisations. If you want long battery life, there you go; this is a device to consider.

However, the 15W charger is my main gripe. It will take over 2hrs 15mins charging this phone from 0% to 100%. That’s a crazy amount of time! For real. We are in a world where at this price we have 33W fast charging, and even more with other devices. So why didn’t Samsung even try to at least include a 25W charger?

The positive takeaway though is this (though not guaranteed): Your phone’s battery will last longer as it will degrade less thanks to the slow charger.

Value for money:

Samsung’s decision to price this phone at 28k felt like quite the ask for me. Like, the RAM is sort of okay, the storage is very okay, but the processor…. I would have given it a price of around 25k. Given it’s a Samsung.

And with a Samsung, there are a couple of things you’re assured of. Things the likes of Transsion can’t assure you just yet. For example, you’re assured of Software Updates. You know your phone will get the monthly security patch, and that it will get the next version of Android.

You’re also sure that when you unbox the phone, you will not find the annoying bloatware included with these other devices.

So paying a little more for the initial cost is somewhat justifiable. However, that’s not to say don’t get a more powerful phone just because of bloatware or assured updates.

Anyways, right now, I am seeing some vendors online (can’t really vouch for them though) having the Galaxy A32 for as low as 25k for the same 6/128GB model. So if you can get it at that price point, you’ll be getting a good smartphone.

What are your thoughts on the device? Let me know down below.

Unboxing Galaxy:

@techishkenya

Samsung #GalaxyA32

♬ Myself – Bazzi

Galaxy A32 Specifications:

PRICE	KES. 28,000
Display	6.4-inch Super AMOLED, 90Hz, 800 nits  Resolution 1080 x 2400 pixels, 20:9 ratio (~411 ppi density)
Rear Camera	Quad Setup: 64 MP, f/1.8, 26mm (wide), PDAF 8 MP, f/2.2, 123˚, (ultrawide), 1/4.0″, 1.12µm 5 MP, f/2.4, (macro) 5 MP, f/2.4, (depth)
Front Camera	Single: 20 MP, f/2.2, (wide)
Chipset	Mediatek Helio G80 (12 nm)
GPU	Mali-G52 MC2
RAM	4/6/8GB RAM
Storage	64/128GB  microSDXC (dedicated slot)
Operating System	Android 11, One UI 3.1
Battery	Non-removable Li-Ion 5000 mAh battery 15W Charging
Network	2G, 3G, 4G
Connectivity	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band,  Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot  Bluetooth 5.0, A2DP, LE  GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS, GALILEO  NFC Yes (market/region dependent)  FM radio, RDS, recording  USB USB Type-C 2.0, USB On-The-Go
Extra
Security	Fingerprint (under display, optical)
Colour options	Awesome Black, Awesome White, Awesome Blue, Awesome Violet