The Galaxy A52 (and the Galaxy A52 5G) is an amazing mid-range phone that makes its predecessors seem extremely outdated in comparison. It's got some excellent features we could only dream of seeing on Samsung's mid-range phones earlier, such as a high refresh rate display, stereo speakers, and water and dust resistance (though the latter was already present on older A series phones a few years ago). It's a pretty neat package, in short, and the A52 is one of many other mid-range Galaxies that are promised three generations of Android OS updates, making it a dependable long-term investment.
I've recently been using the Galaxy A52 as my daily driver to see how the phone holds up a few months after launch, and it has once again managed to impress me with just how good it is. In fact, it's so good that I do not feel like switching back to one of the flagship Galaxy phones at my disposal. The 90Hz refresh rate and the Snapdragon 720G processor make performance very smooth. The display size is just perfect. Battery life is crazy long, and charging is fast. The stereo speakers sound good, even if the volume doesn't go as high as I would like. Most of the software features that make One UI so good are at my disposal.
No zoom? No deal
But it is when I open the camera app that it dawns on me how I can't really keep using the Galaxy A52 forever, and that's thanks to the lack of any dedicated zoom lens. I like the main camera and the ultra-wide camera. They don't perform as well as Samsung's flagship phone cameras, yet they do a commendable job in most scenarios. But the lack of a telephoto lens drastically limits the photography experience in my opinion. I can zoom in with the main camera of course, but the quality suffers even at 2x magnification, and anything beyond that gets you extremely soft results that are not even worthy of quick social media posts.
It is understandable why the Galaxy A52 doesn't get a telephoto camera. Samsung cannot put all its eggs in one basket. The company has other devices to sell, and putting every feature imaginable into a single phone would mess with Samsung's agenda, which is to flood the market with as many smartphones as possible to fend off the stiff competition from Chinese manufacturers. Sadly, it's an agenda that stops one of the company's best mid-range phones ever from achieving perfection. Or at least from getting as close to perfection as possible for a device that isn't a flagship.
However, if zooming capabilities aren't important for you, the Galaxy A52 remains a great proposition if you're in the market for a mid-range phone. And if you really do want a zoom camera, the Galaxy A72 gives you one while keeping all of the other features of the Galaxy A52, although the extra price you have to pay may not feel like it's worth it as the two phones are a little too similar to each other.
Do you own a Galaxy A52? How do you like the phone? Do you think you're missing out on any important features or is the phone perfect for your needs? Let me know down in the comments!
