The Samsung Galaxy A22 5G is a dependable, reasonably priced phone with a potent main camera and exceptional endurance, but its performance and display may be improved.
Introduction
It’s risky to purchase a 5G phone for around £200, but Samsung should be able to inspire some trust just by name recognition. Does the Samsung Galaxy A22 5G reward this kind of faith then?
The phone was one of the more affordable 5G-ready phones available at the time of its launch in early June 2021, at just £209.
Although the Samsung Galaxy A23 5G has subsequently taken its place, you can still get a brand-new A22 5G from a reputable third party shop for far less than £200.
Design and display
The Samsung Galaxy A22 5G has a similar basic design to other A-series phones like the Galaxy A32 5G and the Galaxy A52 5G. Nonetheless, there are some minute variations to be detected.
The body is made of the same recognizable plastic with a curved metal-effect rim, but there are odd ridges close to the front and back borders. Like those other phones, this one has a plastic back with a glass-like appearance, although the finish is matte rather than shiny.
You can choose from Violet, White, or Grey finishes in terms of color. My model has the silky white finish, so at the very least those greasy fingerprints won’t be visible.
Strangely, the display on the Galaxy A22 5G is superior than that of the more expensive Galaxy A32 5G, despite the fact that it is still not a standout feature. You’re getting a 6.6-inch TFT LCD, so you can’t even take advantage of an IPS panel’s increased viewing angles or the colorful delights of a full AMOLED display. However, this resolution, known as FHD+, is a full 1080 x 2400.
Moreover, you receive a higher refresh rate of 90Hz by default rather than the bland 60Hz of the Galaxy A32 5G. Most inexpensive phones that provide you this will require you to manually activate it by navigating to the Settings menu.
But, it doesn’t become too brilliant. Even at maximum brightness, it is very comfortable to watch inside, but even moderately bright days make it difficult to watch outside.
Camera
The Galaxy A22 5G boasts a recognizable camera setup from Samsung that consists of three different sensors. There are three cameras: a 48MP wide camera, a 5MP ultra-wide camera, and an extra 2MP depth sensor.
This primary 48MP sensor, which appears to be the same as that found in the Galaxy A32 5G, is by far the most capable of the three. Similar to the slightly more expensive phone, its sensor takes clear, well-exposed photos in good daylight.
Samsung produces a strong camera for the money thanks to its clever algorithms and hard-earned photographic expertise. The main sensor’s ability to isolate subjects with clean edges and a pleasantly realistic degree of background bokeh delighted me.
The 8MP selfie camera on the Galaxy A22 5G produced some odd results for me as well, capturing oddly glowing skin tones and a peculiar ‘cardboard cutout’ look on backdrop surroundings. Although it’s convenient to be able to “zoom out” to a wider angle so you can fit more in your selfie, the overall quality of the pictures just seems a little odd.
Unknown display glass for the case
The Samsung Galaxy A22 5G’s cover is unquestionably well-made and somewhat evocative of recent iPhone models. a back side with a silky shimmer and matte finish in dark gray, white, or light violet, and sides with a somewhat more angular appearance. In the hand, the smartphone is comfortable.
It is challenging to determine the display’s resistance to breaking because Samsung employs plastic on the back yet there have been no reports regarding the display glass on the front. The construction appears to be of a high caliber, but when the smartphone is twisted, a loud cracking sound can be heard. Fingers pressed firmly against the front and back of the display cannot penetrate the liquid crystal.
Although the smartphone weighs 203 grams, it is not significantly heavier than comparable smartphones in this price category.
Software: Updates are not well understood.
The smartphone comes with Android 11 preloaded, and Samsung then layers its own OneUI 3.1 on top. At the time of testing, the security fixes were from May 2021, necessitating an update.
The number of software upgrades for the less expensive Galaxy A series, which also include the Galaxy A22 5G, has not been made public by Samsung. Nonetheless, based on our experience, at least an update to Android 12 is expected. The manufacturer maintains a page with information about Android updates.
On the smartphone, there are numerous Samsung apps as well as a few third-party apps, but not all of them may be completely removed.
With the completion of a DRM-L1 certification, streaming video can now be viewed in HD.
Conclusion
The Samsung Galaxy A22 5G is an impressive example of how the Koreans can create fantastic smartphones when they are not constrained by the restrictions of the in-house Exynos SoCs. The test device uses a MediaTek SoC, which enables it to offer a long battery life and respectable performance without overheating.
For the smartphone’s price range, the majority of its features rarely leave any room for criticism: In our test, the Wi-Fi signal was incredibly fast and reliable, the positioning was rather accurate, and 5G connectivity was accessible. Nevertheless, the smartphone also had to contend with a weak signal.
