If you are looking for a 5G Android phone and want to spend as little as possible, you can stop here. At $279, the Samsung Galaxy A32 5G is your best bet right now, especially if you’re in the US where such options are scarce. It has good 5G support (including the all-important C-band!), a huge battery, and four years of security updates. That’s an attractive package for under $300.
That doesn’t mean it’s perfect. The A32 5G’s screen isn’t great, the performance is a little slow, and while the camera is capable, it’s limited. If you can spend just a little more, you can get a phone that does better in at least one of these areas. And if you can wait a few more months to buy your phone, we should see many more highly affordable 5G phones on the market to choose from, such as the OnePlus N200. But if you don’t have the time to wait and can’t save the extra cash, I can’t think of a good reason to talk you out of the Samsung Galaxy A32 5G.
OUR REVIEW OF SAMSUNG GALAXY A32 5G
Samsung Galaxy A32 5G Screen, Performance and Design Review
The A32 5G has a large 6.5-inch 720p LCD screen that can best be described as nothing special. The colors look a bit flat and faded, and while it does get bright enough to see in direct sunlight, the reflective plastic shield of the display makes it challenging. It’s also a low resolution stretched over such a large screen that if you look closer you’ll see a little bit of pixelation.
The phone uses a MediaTek Dimensity 720 5G processor that compares well with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 690 5G chipset for budget 5G phones used by the OnePlus Nord N10 5G. The Galaxy A32 5G combines the MediaTek processor with 4GB of RAM (decent) and 64GB of storage (sleek but just enough to get by and you can insert a microSD card to expand it) and it performs well for its class. If you would like to get protective case for this Samsung Galaxy A32 5G, feel free to visit evcase to read review of the best Samsung Galaxy A32 5G cases.
Samsung Galaxy A32 5G Specs Review – The A32 5G has a large 6.5-inch 720p LCD display that can best be described as nothing special
There are noticeable stutters on media-heavy pages, brief pauses when dipping into a demanding task like starting Google Maps navigation, and a noticeable camera shutter lag. Most of the time, though, I didn’t notice any slowdowns when jumping between apps, scrolling through Instagram, and generally using the phone normally. That’s all I’d ask for from a phone under $300.
The phone’s headline feature, 5G, is still not something we would buy a new phone for. But the A32 5G has a few features that will make your time worthwhile, even when you consider that good 5G in the US is still a year or two away. Crucially, the Samsung Galaxy A32 5G has been approved by the Federal Communications Commission to use C-band frequencies, which Verizon and AT&T, in particular, will use for 5G in the coming years. Not all 5G phones can use C-band, so that’s a big tick in favor of the A32 5G. There’s no mmWave support here, which is the fastest and rarest variant of 5G, but that’s not a huge loss.
The second factor here is that you can reasonably assume that you will be using this phone for enough years to actually see 5G, which is significantly better than LTE as Samsung will be offering security updates for four years. Many budget devices only get support for security updates for about two years, but the longevity of the A32 5G should reach the true 5G era in a few years.
Samsung Galaxy A32 5G Battery Review – The long life of the A32 5g should reach its true 5g age in a few years
Battery life is one of the strengths of the Samsung Galaxy A32 5G. The 5,000 mAh battery is indeed large and I had no problem using it moderately for two full days. My usage was more battery-friendly than anyone else’s, with battery optimization turned on and spending most of my time on Wi-Fi, but even the most power-hungry user would spend an entire day—if not more—on the A32 5G.
With a 6.5-inch screen, the Samsung Galaxy A32 5G is definitely a great phone. It’s a bit too bulky and uncomfortable in my hand. What I like even more is that it feels slippery to me – the plastic of the back panel feels hard to get a good hold of. One time I put the phone on a softcover book and it slid a bit on the cover and off a side table when I wasn’t looking. (There’s a happy ending, though: It only fell about 12 inches (30 cm) into a box of baby clothes waiting to be put away, so there’s good reason to keep your house cluttered.)
Samsung Galaxy A32 5g camera review
Two cameras are important on the back of the Samsung Galaxy A32 5G: a 48-megapixel standard wide-angle lens and an 8-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera. There’s a 5-megapixel macro camera that isn’t very good and a 2-megapixel depth sensor that may or may not help with portrait shots. There is also a 13-megapixel selfie camera on the front.
Considering the price of the phone, the Samsung Galaxy A32 5G’s main camera is good enough. Like most other phones, it takes very nice pictures in good lighting. This is no surprise, even for a budget phone. However, in less favorable lighting conditions, such as indoors, it quickly reaches its limits. Optical stabilization or more advanced image processing, which the A32 5G does not offer, would be useful here. Instead, you’ll find that some of your indoor shots are a bit blurry, and you’ll have a major challenge getting a sharp shot of a moving subject in less than bright daylight.
The ultra-wide camera shows its weaknesses if you look closely – there’s some annoying flickering in direct sunlight and some noise visible in the shadows of high-contrast scenes. There’s no telephoto here, with shortcuts in the camera app to jump to 2x (acceptable), 4x (eh), and 10x (don’t use) digital zoom.
The Samsung Galaxy A32 5G’s generous security support scheme makes it a phone to use for years to come.
It’s hard to say how the Galaxy A32 5G will compare to the competition, as it doesn’t have much yet. It’s one of the cheapest 5G phones you’ll find anywhere. Its biggest competitor right now is the OnePlus Nord N10 5G, which is slightly more expensive at $299 but has some worthwhile hardware upgrades, such as a nicer display, slightly better camera performance, and faster charging. It’s a nicer phone in many ways, but it’s only slated for two years with security updates.
GOOD STUFF
- 5G, including C-band frequencies
- Four years of security updates
- Excellent battery life
BAD THINGS
- The screen is low definition
- Clumsy, bulky design
- Overloaded software with many apps pre-installed
Samsung Galaxy A32 5G Price
Finding the best price for Samsung Galaxy A32 5G is not an easy task. Go to Amazon, Aliexpress, or Jumia in Nigeria to buy the Samsung Galaxy A32 5G at the best price. The price of the Samsung Galaxy A32 5G ranges from $279 to $300. Prices are continuously monitored in more than 140 stores, so you can find a reputable dealer with the best price.
Samsung Galaxy A32 5G – SPECIFICATIONS
General
- Model
Samsung Galaxy A32 5G
- Released
January, 2021
- Status
Available
Design
- Type
Bar
- Dimensions
164.2 x 76.1 x 9.1 mm
- Weight
205 Grams
- Waterproof
No
Display
- Display Type
IPS LCD
- Size
6.5 inches
- Resolution
720 x 1600 pixels
- Display Colors
16M
- Pixel Density
270 PPI (pixels per inch)
- Touch Screen
Yes
Hardware
- CPU
Octa-core (2×2.0 GHz Cortex-A76 + 6×2.0 GHz Cortex-A55)
- GPU
Mali-G57 MC3
- RAM (Memory)
4 GB, 6 GB, 8 GB
- Internal Storage
64 GB, 128 GB
- Memory Card Slot
microSDXC (dedicated slot)
- Sensors
Fingerprint (side-mounted), accelerometer, proximity, compass
Software
- Operating System
Android 11 + One UI 3.0
- User Interface
Yes
Camera
- Rear Camera
48 MP (wide) + 8 (ultrawide) + 5 MP (macro) + 5 MP (depth)
- Image
1080p
- Video
1080p@30fps
- Flash
LED flash, panorama, HDR
- Front Camera
13 MP (wide)
Network
- SIM
Nano SIM
- Dual SIM
Single SIM (Nano-SIM) or Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by)
Connectivity
- Wi-fi
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot
- USB
USB Type-C 2.0, USB On-The-Go
- GPS
Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, BDS
- NFC
Yes (market dependent)
- Wireless Charging
No
- Headphone Jack
Yes
Battery
- Capacity
Li-Ion 5000 mAh + Fast charging 15W
- Placement
Non-removable
Media
- Video Playback
Yes
- Video Out
Yes
- FM Radio
Unspecified
- Ring Tones
Yes
- Loudspeaker
Yes
- Handsfree
Yes
Data
- 4G LTE
LTE (unspecified)
- 5G NR Bands
SA/NSA (unspecified)
- Speed
HSPA 42.2/5.76 Mbps, LTE-A, 5G
Verdict – If you want a future-proof and budget-friendly choice, the Samsung Galaxy A32 5G does the trick
Of course, if you only want to keep your phone for a few years, the N10 5G is worth considering. Then 5G will also become a less important feature. If there’s room in your budget, consider the $349 Google Pixel 4A, which will give you a much better camera, cleaner software, and timely updates for years to come, albeit without support for 5G. However, it is a much smaller device. So if a big screen is part of the Samsung Galaxy A32 5G’s appeal, consider something like the $279 Motorola Moto G Stylus.
If you want to get rid of that annoying phone purchase in two years and if you want a future-proof and budget-friendly choice, then the Samsung Galaxy A32 5G is exactly what you’re looking for.
