OS, UI & Apps Samsung Galaxy A52 5G
The best implementation of Android 11
Samsung Galaxy A52 5G comes with Android 11 and One UI 3.1, providing 95% of the software experience of the series Galaxy S21. One UI remains focused on one-handed use and has the friendliest and most convenient interface applied on Android.
Video-review Samsung Galaxy A52 5G, section OS & UI & UX & APPS
You can navigate using the 3 buttons at the bottom or the swipes that have already become a habit. We also have Dark Mode, but also Always On Display with related options. One UI 3.1 also brings a difficult decision for Samsung: the icons on the lockscreen are monochrome, those for the camera and the dialer. Will it be cool? Who knows... The whole lockscreen brings up the Wellbeing widget, which shows you how much time you spend on Facebook, YouTube and other addictive applications.
Alwauys On Display has options for watch style, music info, fingerprint reader icon and more. Speaking of the reader, it is integrated into the screen, it is optical and quite fast and accurate when unlocking. In combination with the front camera, unlocking becomes even faster.
One UI 3.1 also brings the notification window that expands to the entire screen, with already known shortcuts. These toggles can be rearranged and edited. We now also have bubbles for chat, shortcuts for smart home gadgets in the Power area, a new media playback menu, but also a history for notifications and separate notifications for chat. Additionally, notifications are now less intrusive, and can be set to appear as oblong bubbles at the top.
Samsung Galaxy A52 5G screenshot gallery
Multitasking is done with Recents, split screen and a floating Pop Up window. Bixby is alive, and on the side we find the Edge menu with shortcuts. Google contributes in Android 11 with constant requests for permissions, each granted each time the app is opened or once and done (or not at all). The settings have been reorganized and if 1-2 years ago the stripes and delimitations were removed and everything was common, now there are separations again with stripes and dots between the subcategories. You can navigate Look through themes and layouts, and the phone also has SmartThings support, being able to control smart home gadgets, including TVs, speakers, soundbars and others.
There is also a Game Launcher, where you can find installed games, DND functions and other options related to accidental touches or resource allocation. We don't have DeX support here, but there's Link to Windows, so you can pick up phone-to-PC calls and notifications and transfer files more easily. Among the applications we find a Galaxy Store, Netflix, Spotify, Office, Facebook, Linkedin, Outlook, Samsung Members, Samsung Health, Galaxy Wearable. The widgets remain white and transparent, airy.
Samsung also promised 3 years of Android updates, but also 4 years of security patches, something rare on midrange phones, I would emphasize.
Samsung Galaxy A52 5G Pros and Cons
Pros
Cons
Samsung Galaxy A52 5G Conclusions
Samsung Galaxy A52 5G comes after a Galaxy A50 that was for some the phone of the year 2019 and after a Galaxy A51 that surprised with its 4K selfie recording and a fabulous Macro. I wouldn't be able to say that it was very close to the camera of an A51 already well rated in this chapter, the jump being a maximum of 20%. I feel a plus in the selfie, maybe also in the night capture. I like the design of the back, the screen is excellent for gaming and video consumption and although it has 120 Hz, it does not consume too much battery. It seems to me a complete multimedia phone, with which you can dive into vlogging, gaming, music and movie consumption.
However, pay attention to the price and how future proof the Snapdragon 750G 5G will be after One UI 4.0 arrives.