Samsung Galaxy A72 first impressions - Is it a OnePlus 9R competitor - Android

Since the beginning of 2021, we have witnessed the launch of several Samsung Galaxy A series smartphones in the country. Two of the recent devices launched under the series are the Galaxy A52 and the Galaxy A72. The Galaxy A52 starts at a price of Rs 26,499 for the base variant with 6GB of RAM […]

The post Samsung Galaxy A72 first impressions: Is it a OnePlus 9R competitor? appeared first on BGR India.

Since the beginning of 2021, we have witnessed the launch of several Samsung Galaxy A series smartphones in the country. Two of the recent devices launched under the series are the Galaxy A52 and the Galaxy A72.

The Galaxy A52 starts at a price of Rs 26,499 for the base variant with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. The Galaxy A72, on the other hand, starts at a price of Rs 34,999 for the base variant with 8GB RAM and 128GB of internal storage.

Looking at the pricing, it will not be wrong to say that with the Galaxy A52, Samsung clearly wants to take on the likes of smartphones such as the OnePlus Nord, the Realme X3 SuperZoom, and the Xiaomi Mi 10i.

With the Galaxy A72, the South Korean smartphone manufacturer is likely targeting the OnePlus 9R, which has been released in India at a price starting at Rs 39,999 alongside its elder siblings OnePlus 9 and the 9 Pro.

While we haven’t received the OnePlus 9R yet, what we have in for review is its competition, the Samsung Galaxy A72. I have spent a few hours with the Samsung device and here are my initial impressions of the Galaxy A72.

Samsung Galaxy A72: Design and build

The Samsung Galaxy A72 comes in four colour options including Awesome Black, Awesome Blue, Awesome Violet, and Awesome White. The one I’m using right now is the Awesome Violet colour option. It’s impressive that Samsung is taking a step ahead and playing with new colour schemes unlike some of the competition brands who are still stuck with boring black and blue phones.

What is impressive is that despite sporting a plastic rear panel, the Samsung Galaxy A72 looks pretty funky but only from a distance. The quad cameras paired with a LED flash are neatly placed inside a vertically aligned camera module. The back panel also includes the Samsung logo at the bottom, which is barely visible and the company should take notice of that.

The front design is also minimal and looks classy with a centre placed punch-hole camera and slim bezels on all sides. The edges of the smartphone are not finished well. They are sharp and can even scratch your hand if not used with care. So, I suggest you use the phone with a back cover, which doesn’t come with the retail box.

The build quality, however, I feel could have been better, especially, at the price the phone charges. The plastic back panel and frames make the design of the phone look cheaper when compared to other devices available at the similar price tag. At Rs 34,999, I expected the Galaxy A72 to at least offer a glass back and a premium feel, which is not the case in reality.

Features and specifications

While it is great to see Samsung exploring several price segments with its Galaxy A series, what is disappointing is the lack of 5G support in the A72. The Samsung Galaxy A72 is powered by 2.2GHz octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G 8nm chipset paired with up to 8GB RAM and 256GB of internal storage.

With the limited time I have spent with the Galaxy A72, it runs smoothly at all times. Be it moving from one app to the other or scrolling through the app drawer, the experience so far has been lag-free.

The phone runs on One UI 3.1 based on Android 11 OS and comes with several pre-installed third-party applications including Snapchat, Amazon, Prime Video, among others. Overall, the UI offers a very clean experience, which is great. I will have more to say about the overall performance in the full review in the weeks to come.

One of the best things about the Samsung Galaxy A72 is the screen. It features a 6.7-inch full-HD+ Super AMOLED Infinity-O Display with 90Hz refresh rate. I used the phone in bright sunlight and also indoors and in both scenarios the screen looks vibrant and shows punchy colours. An average brightness level worked well for me.

I also clicked some pictures with the Samsung Galaxy A72 and most of them so far look great. Some photos clicked with the Samsung phone in bright daylight show a decent amount of details but colours look washed out sometimes. Selfies clicked with the Samsung device look good overall but automatically add that extra filter layer even when clicked with beauty mode turned off. I will have more details to share about the camera performance in the full review of the Samsung phone.

The Samsung Galaxy A72 comes with a 5000mAh battery paired with up to 25W of super fast charging support. The company promises that the phone lasts one full day with ease. I will talk about the battery performance in detail in the full review of the phone later this month.

Samsung Galaxy A72 first impressions

Overall, the Samsung Galaxy A72 looks like a decent option to consider at this price range. It offers some great features such as a vibrant AMOLED screen, decent processor, and a clean UI. The cameras also look promising so far, but I will need to test them extensively to understand whether they are better than the competition or not. So, stay tuned to BGR India for the full review.

Besides the goods, one area that Samsung could have worked upon is the overall build quality. While the design looks unique and funky, the build hampers the hand feel. It is surely disappointing to see plastic rear panel and frames in a phone priced at Rs 35,000.