What’s the difference between the Samsung Galaxy A52 and A72?

The Samsung Galaxy series has brought us some of the best phones of the past decade, from the classic Galaxy S2 to the stylus-resurrecting Galaxy Note. Today, we’re more spoiled than ever with no less than five Samsung Galaxy phone families on the market, each with several models to choose from. The sheer number of options is enough to knock your flippers off, so we’ve taken a look at two of the most popular Samsung phone models of 2021 to help you choose the perfect model for your needs and budget.

SAMSUNG A52 VS SAMSUNG A72: A QUICK COMPARISON

The Samsung Galaxy A series focuses on mid-range smartphones that offer plenty of features for a lower price than flagships like the Galaxy S21, Galaxy Note and Galaxy Z Fold. As a general rule of thumb, Galaxy A phones are ranked by the number after the A: those with a higher number are more premium. The A72 is slightly better overall than the A52, but there’s not much to separate them at the finish line.

Specs

The Samsung A72 and A52 are alike on the spec sheet, with the main differences being the display size, battery and one of the rear camera lenses, which we’ll touch on further down.

Design

The A52 and A72 share a similar design, with the A72 coming in slightly bigger and heavier to account for a larger display and battery. Both phones have a selfie camera housed in a punch hole in the display and a similar rectangular camera bump on the rear, and carry an IP67 water and dust resistance rating. They also feature an under-display fingerprint reader, so the design alone won’t be enough to sway you one way or the other.

Camera

While there isn’t much to separate the camera setups on the A52 and A72, it does end up being one of the main points of differences. Both phones feature the same 32MP selfie camera and a quad camera on the rear. Three of these rear cameras are the same: a 64MP main shooter, a 12MP ultrawide lens and a 5MP macro lens for closeups. The A52’s fourth lens is a 5MP depth sensor which helps you control bokeh for portraits, while the A72 swaps this for an 8MP telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom. Even without the depth sensor, the A72 still achieves decent background blur to highlight your subject, making it an overall upgrade to the A52.

Display

Both phones boast a Super AMOLED Full HD+ display with a smooth 90Hz refresh rate for silky scrolling. Nice, right? They use Samsung’s Infinity-O display design, which keeps bezels ultra thin without curving over the edges. The only thing separating the A52 and A72 displays is the size, with the A52’s measuring in at 6.5 inches compared to the A72’s larger 6.7-inch display.

Battery

The Galaxy A52 has an impressive 4500mAh, while the A72 goes one step further with a 5000mAh battery. Even though the A72 has a bigger display to power, it still comes out on top with up to 23 hours of video playback – the A52 can manage up to 20 hours.

VERDICT

Thankfully, the differences between the Samsung A72 and A52 are pretty straightforward. If you want a slightly bigger display, longer-lasting battery and a telephoto lens, and you don’t mind paying a little extra, then the A72 is the perfect fit. If you aren’t fussed with those minor improvements but still want a great phone, the A52 won’t let you down.