Samsung’s Galaxy A12 budget smartphone is more than an upgrade over its predecessor, the Galaxy A11 — with larger battery, an additional camera, and a lot more. People who are looking for value will be pleased the fact that Samsung has managed to maintain its price under $200. What are the results of these new improvements perform? Find the answers with the Samsung Galaxy A12 review.
What you should be aware of regarding Samsung Galaxy A12 Samsung Galaxy A12
- Samsung Galaxy A12 (3GB, 32GB): $179.99
- Samsung Galaxy A12 (4GB, 64GB): $189.99 / PS169.99 / EUR179.99 / Rs. 13,999
- Samsung Galaxy A12 (6GB, 128GB): $195.99 / Rs. 16,499
Samsung launched their Galaxy A12 as a direct successor to the Galaxy A11 in November 2020 before bringing it to US on April 21, 2021. It was replaced with the Galaxy A13 series.
Samsung Galaxy A12 offers a total of six configurations beginning as low as the 2GB memory and 32GB capacity. But only three of them are accessible within the United States right now (listed above). Whichever method you choose you’ll also be able to be able to choose from four different colorsthat is blue, red black, white, and red.
We tested our Samsung Galaxy A12 arrived with Android 10 on board, however, it’s Android 11 update with Samsung’s One UI 3.1 is available through OTA. The phone also had the July 1st 2021 Android security patch at the time we tested. The Galaxy A12 should get two years of updates to software in addition to four years of security patches which will run with it Galaxy A12 through late 2024 or the beginning of 2025. The unit we tested hasn’t yet received Android 12.0 yet, however it’s likely to be on the soon.
After you’ve gotten past the software, you’ll be able to see the Helio P35 SoC from MediaTek working on Samsung’s entry-level model. The storage and RAM options start at 128GB and 6GB respectively and you can expand that by using microSD slots. A battery with a capacity of 5,000mAh and an 6.5-inch HD+ panel tie everything together. Additionally, the display is equipped with the Infinity-V top. In India the display is available in one variant that swaps to Helio P35 for Samsung’s own Exynos 850 chipset.
Samsung has removed its wired earbuds off of its packaging this time however, it does include an charging block and USB-C cable. The package includes the SIM remover tool, as well as an initial guide for starting up for those times when you require assistance in to get your phone up and running. Samsung’s Galaxy A12 is also available on Verizon, US Cellular, and AT&T.
What’s good?
The budget-friendly phones are almost certain to have mirrored backs and fingerprint magnet finishes to give the appearance of high-end. It’s good to know that Samsung’s Galaxy A12 bucks the trend and opts for a matte-finish that is soft in the hand. I like those raised diagonal lines since they add a more control to the look.
The massive 6.5-inch display indicates that a solid grip is essential for those who want to avoid an enclosure. Although the display is the HD+ resolution, it’s large and clear enough for you to catch the latest news on your favorite shows. We’ll always be awestruck by headphones as well as wired ones are the most effective method to listen to music on Samsung’s Galaxy A12 as opposed to the mono speaker that is down-firing.
Samsung has also decided to remove the back-mounted fingerprint reader in the past. Instead Samsung’s Galaxy A12 employs a side-mounted option that is user-friendly, fast, and simple to use, and clears up the overall design of the device.
The fingerprint reader on the side and matte finish gives this Galaxy A12 a clean look and a luxurious feel.
The back panel that is adorned with Samsung’s camera collection, which is capped with a main camera of 48MP which is good enough outdoors for a low-cost cameraphone (check at the end of this article for a few examples). There’s also the ultrawide and macro cameras to have more flexibility. Camera apps are easy to use however it may take a minute or two to locate the macro button, since it’s hidden under the More tab.
Samsung’s One UI is one of the top Android skins available currently and it’s as excellent as it has ever been with Samsung’s Galaxy A12. Particularly it’s the Samsung Free app is something similar to Google’s Discover feed, but with a punch. Instead of offering only information, Samsung Free brings Samsung TV Plus as well as Samsung Podcasts Taboola News, and Instant Plays into one spot. And the best part is, you don’t pay an extra penny to access all of it.
It’s a great phone. Galaxy A12 is also a battery wizard, at the very least in terms of being able to hold charges. I had no issues running through a couple of days of light gaming, responding to emails and checking social media.
What’s wrong?
Samsung Free Samsung Free app may be an excellent supplement to the overall experience however, Samsung did not stop there in deciding what to put in its own take on Android. However, there are plenty of other apps that are available that are available on Galaxy A12 that mostly take up space. It includes a complete set of Google apps, as well as Samsung apps that can cause lots of redundant. There are Microsoft alternatives such as Office, OneDrive, and Outlook. There’s also Shop Samsung, Galaxy Shop as well as Galaxy Store. Galaxy Store — how many people actually require two Samsung stores as well as an alternative to the Play Store option?
The good thing is that you can remove at the very least the Microsoft-based bloat. However, it’s not much to ease the Galaxy A12’s tendency be slow. Mediatek’s Helio P35 doesn’t always seem capable of running its 6.5-inch monitor, and switching between applications only slows the device even more. The small RAM and storage aren’t helping therefore, you might consider looking into the version with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage If you can locate it.
Three different apps suites Two different app stores, and two of Samsung shops is way too for me to take in.
While Samsung included a strong main lens in the Galaxy A12, the fun extra lens options aren’t always the best quality. The macro lens is only 2MP and took a lot of tries to create the decently sharp sample image you see below. There’s no specifically designed night-time mode for Samsung’s Galaxy A12 either, so you’ll likely have to go through some trials and errors after the hours of daylight.
Although all phones perform an extra touch of magic after pressing the shutter , however the final results of photos shot on Samsung’s Galaxy A12 were often notably better than the results the camera app displayed. In particular the image below in low light appeared to be significantly darker after I hit the shutter button. Also, neither of the images in the comparison was like the one you can see. In most cases it turned out to be a pleasant surprise but it makes an assessment of your photo a bit difficult. Portrait mode isn’t the best for edge detection as you will see in the image of my hair.
Samsung might have stuffed the most powerful battery in it’s Galaxy A12, but the 15W charging speeds are sadly underpowered even for a budget phone of this. I was able to increase the charge from 33 percent to 23% within 30 minutes, and charging for a full time of longer 2 hours.