Samsung‘s Galaxy A family has been a major success for the Korean giant in recent years. In fact, it now represents the largest portion of the company’s sales. That’s no coincidence either. There is only one way to pull off that level of success – and it’s by offering competitive features under high-profile branding for a reasonable amount. A daunting task that Samsung has been tackling like a true smartphone champ in nifty incremental steps throughout the last few Galaxy A generations.

 

 

 

 

The A family seems to constantly be growing as well. The lineup is sprawling, with new models seemingly popping up every few weeks. There is so much choice now, ranging from budget to nearly flagship-grade models, that Samsung could have easily spun it off into a sub-brand of its own. Not that we are suggesting they should.

 

 

 

 

the Galaxy A72 represents the highest-end model in the family. It is actually quite similar to the Galaxy A52, we recently reviewed. The vanilla version, that is, not the 5G one. Compared to the A52, the A72 offers a slightly bigger 6.7-inch, 90Hz display, an extra 8MP telephoto camera and a slightly bigger 5,000 mAh battery. Other than that, the vanilla A52 and the A72 are pretty much identical, including physically rocking a particular modern Samsung design.

Samsung Galaxy A72 specs at a glance:

• Body: 165.0×77.4×8.4mm, 203g; Glass front, plastic back; IP67 dust/water resistant (up to 1m for 30 mins).
• Display: 6.70″ Super AMOLED, 90Hz, 800 nits, 1080x2400px resolution, 20:9 aspect ratio, 394ppi.
• Chipset: Qualcomm SM7125 Snapdragon 720G (8 nm): Octa-core (2×2.3 GHz Kryo 465 Gold & 6×1.8 GHz Kryo 465 Silver); Adreno 618.
• Memory: 128GB 6GB RAM, 128GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 8GB RAM; microSDXC (uses shared SIM slot).
• OS/Software: Android 11, One UI 3.1.
• Rear camera: Wide (main): 64 MP, f/1.8, 26mm, 1/1.7X”, 0.8µm, PDAF, OIS; Telephoto: 8 MP, f/2.4, 1.0µm, PDAF, OIS, 3x optical zoom; Ultra wide angle: 12 MP, f/2.2, 123-degree, 1.12µm; Macro: 5 MP, f/2.4.
• Front camera: 32 MP, f/2.2, 26mm (wide), 1/2.8″, 0.8µm.
• Video capture: Rear camera: 4K@30fps, 1080p@30/60fps; gyro-EIS; Front camera: 4K@30fps, 1080p@30fps.
• Battery: 5000mAh; Fast charging 25W.
• Misc: Fingerprint reader (under display, optical); 3.5mm jack.

At the time of writing, the A52 starts at €350 for a 4GB/128GB unit, while the A72 costs €450 for its base 6GB/128GB tier. So the upgrades in the higher-tier model will set you back around €100 on top of the A52. Arguably, not quite as competitive on the value scale, but not bad either. Especially with features like the IP67 rating under its belt. Also, actual retail prices on both models have already come down a bit since their release, and the price difference should eventually shrink even further. Samsung is all too familiar with the kind of stiff mid-ranger competition it is facing in the space.

 

 

 

 

One more thing worth noting is that currently, there is no 5G variant of the A72 on offer. It is likely in the works, though, and has already been popping up in leaks. We can probably expect it to offer a 120Hz display, like the 5G variant of the A52 does. Potentially with a chipset swap from the Snapdragon 720G to the 750G 5G as well. That would make for yet another exciting model in the Galaxy A family. For now, however, we have a regular Galaxy A72 in for review in Awesome Blue, with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of expandable storage. Let’s dive in.

Unboxing

The Samsung Galaxy A72 ships in a fairly plain two-piece box. Nothing too fancy, no plastic, just paper. Thick and rigid, it gets the job done. You don’t get much in the way of accessories either – just a wall charger and a few leaflets, and that’s about it.

 

 

 

 

That being said, unlike the Galaxy A52, which ships with a simple 15W charger, the A72 comes with a proper 25W PD one, including a white USB Type-C to Type-C cable. This is great news since the phone can, in fact, charge at up to 25W, and you don’t need to go out and buy a compatible charger to make use of the higher speed charging with the A72 like with the A52.

Depending on how you look at this, a proper charger in the box can be deducted from the total price of owning the A72, or rather added to the potential math of getting the A52 instead and have you adjust the value calculation a bit.

Competition

Samsung really upped its value game with the latest batch of Galaxy A family devices. The new “Awesome is for everyone” slogan definitely goes beyond vague PR talk.

The Galaxy A52 is first on our list of alternatives to the Galaxy A72. If you can live without the telephoto camera and settle for a slightly smaller, but otherwise just as excellent, 6.5-inch AMOLED display and a slightly smaller 4,500 battery, then you can save up to EUR 100 and get the A52 instead of its bigger A72 sibling. You’d also be getting a faster 25W PD charger in the A72 box, whereas the A52 ships with a 15W unit. And with that, the differences between the pair are effectively exhausted, simplifying the decision-making.

 

 

Samsung Galaxy A52 • Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro • Motorola Edge

 

 

Tnen there is the Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 Pro. It comes with an even faster 120Hz AMOLED display, certified for HDR10 video. You get stereo speakers as well and a 3.5mm jack for a complete multimedia experience. The battery is a hefty 5,020 unit with 33W fast charging support and a comparable 118 hours of endurance rating, as per our review. You might be losing the telephoto, but the main 108MP snapper on the Redmi Note 10 Pro is plenty impressive. There is even an IP53 rating, which is something.

 

 

Realme 8 Pro • Xiaomi Poco F3 • Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite 5G

 

 

 

Speaking of trendy 108MP cameras, the Realme 8 Pro has been blowing up in popularity for a reason. Going for it would save you quite a few bucks, but also skips on certain niceties like high refresh rate, stereo speakers and IP rating and a telephoto cam, to name a few.

Naturally, we can’t ignore the allure of recent Poco phones either. Mainly the Poco F3, which also has a glorious 120Hz, HDR10+ AMOLED display, stereo speakers and a slightly smaller 4,500 mAh battery, though one with comparable endurance to the A72 in our testing.

Last, but not least, the shiny new Xiaomi Mi 11 Lite shouldn’t be ignored. Specifically, the 5G variant, if it is available where you live and you find yourself drawn to the trendy allure of 5G connectivity. You will, again, be missing out on a telephoto camera, compared to the Galaxy A72, though.

Verdict

Samsung has made the new Galaxy A-series phones hard to ignore. The A72 packs a feature set that brings it closer than ever to flagship territory.

The Galaxy A72 rocks an eye-catching and trendy design. It’s got a solid build with IP67 ingress protection. It might not be made of premium materials but still feels great to touch.

The 6.7-inch display has gorgeous colors and great brightness output thanks to modern AMOLED tech.

 

 

 

 

The impressive hybrid stereo speaker system with Dolby Atmos shapes the Galaxy A72 into a solid multimedia device. So does the inclusion of a 3.5mm audio jack.

The quad main camera setup is versatile, with both an ultrawide and a surprisingly good 3x telephoto camera.

You can get plenty of use out of the 5,000 mAh battery, and the inclusion of a fast 25W charger in the box is much appreciated.

Last but definitely not least, there is a reason why One UI has persistently been drawing in and retaining users for years now and the A72 not only comes with the latest One UI 3.1 and Android 11 combo but also a newfound promise for long term software support – 3 major OS updates and 4 years of security patches.

Now for some downsides, or at least deficiencies on the Galaxy A72: A display with a faster refresh rate and HDR video capabilities would have been great to see. Speaking of high display refresh rates, we can’t help but think of high fps gaming – a challenge for the Snapdragon 720G chipset. While it is not holding back the current feature set of the A72 in any way, faster silicon is now readily available in the mid-range space. A higher-grade chipset would have meant some trendy extras like Wi-Fi 6 or 6e and perhaps Bluetooth 5.1 but there are now missing.

 

 

 

 

So bottom line then – just like the Galaxy A52, the A72 is a truly unique package, even on the current over-saturated mid-ranger scene. That being said, its value relies on a very particular mix of features. If it just happens to be something that resonates with you, there really is no reason to look elsewhere.

Pros

• Standout, stylish design, IP67 rating, Gorilla Glass.
• Bright AMOLED display with 90Hz refresh rate.
• Solid battery life.
• Impressive hybrid stereo speaker setup for the price range.
• Latest One UI 3.1 and Android 11 setup, with a promise of 3 major OS updates and 4 years of security patches.
• Versatile quad camera setup, with OIS on the main 64MP snapper.
• 4K video recording with every camera and at every zoom level.
• Surprisingly good all-round performance from the 3x 8MP telephoto camera.

Cons

• Fingerprint reader is consistent, but a bit sluggish by modern standards.
• Display lacks HDR video capabilities.
• You can get much faster chipsets than the Snapdragon 720G at this price point.
• Lack of color consistency in color rendition across the three main cameras.
• No video stabilization in 4K.