Samsung Galaxy A22 review: Samsung’s cheapest 5G phone is usable too

What is good?

Design, build, display: The Samsung Galaxy A22 5G has a standard design, but is available in a unique colour, which one won’t usually see in the mid-range segment as most of the phones are being offered in red, blue or black colour options. I received the minty green unit for review, which is similar to iPhone 11’s minty colour and is very attractive. Those who don’t prefer a loud colour will like this paint job.

The Samsung Galaxy A22 comes in a Minty green colour. (Image credit: Ankita Garg / Express image)

The back panel has a matte finish, which is pretty nice and the fingerprints are not very visible as the colour is very bright. Samsung is offering phones with a polycarbonate body to bring down the cost and the Galaxy A22 5G is no different.

The smartphone does not feel cheap and feels rigid. During my usage period, I didn’t notice flex when applying force to the rear panel. I used it for more than two weeks and didn’t notice any scratches on the back. The smartphone has a 3.5mm headphone jack, but there are no stereo speakers that you will find on other phones in the same price range.

On the front, you won’t see a centered punch-hole, which Samsung refers to as Infinity-O. Samsung has gone with a waterdrop-style notch, but a centered punch-hole for the front camera is a better placement than the ones that are placed towards the corners as they are less intrusive.

The Samsung Galaxy A22 has a FHD+ LCD display. (Image credit: Ankita Garg / Express image)

Samsung offers an AMOLED display with most of the budget phones, but the brand opted for an LCD panel for this one. An average user might not feel the need to have an AMOLED panel as the colours were punchy and bright, though the colour contrast is not that great. Nevertheless, the Samsung Galaxy A22 5G has a large 6.6-inch Full HD+ display, which is good enough for binge-watching and lite gaming.

Samsung has started offering higher refresh rate displays on a few phones and the Galaxy A22 is one of them. So, one will get a slightly better experience compared to the phones with a standard 60Hz display.

Performance: The mid-range phone offers good enough performance and can easily perform all the regular tasks. The multitasking experience was also smooth. However, the device struggled to deliver a pleasant gaming experience.

I played Genshin Impact and the default graphics setting was set to “lowest” and not even “low”. The game was playable, but I witnessed stutter and lag. You can definitely play popular games like Battlegrounds Mobile India or Call Of Duty, but don’t expect to get a great experience. The phone’s back panel did get quite warm after playing the game for around 30 minutes. The Galaxy A22 5G is not a device for gaming and will appeal to those who just want a phone for general usage.

As far as battery output is concerned, the device lasted for less than a day with heavy usage, involving photography, browsing, and binge-watching. The brightness level was mostly less than 50 percent.

The Samsung Galaxy A22 features a triple rear camera setup. (Image credit: Ankita Garg / Express image)

Camera: You will see three cameras at the back of the Samsung Galaxy A22. The setup includes a 48MP primary sensor, paired with a 5MP ultra-wide camera and a 2MP depth sensor. For selfies, there is an 8MP front camera.

The daylight photos captured using the Galaxy A22 5G turned out well but some of them didn’t have the best dynamic range and exposure. Some of the photos were also not as detailed when seen on a laptop. The camera app also tends to boost colours at times, so the images might look artificial or edited.

Click on the below album to access all the camera samples

While it is good to have an ultra-wide-angle camera, you don’t get a very detailed shot given the sensor used. The images did have lively colours. The good thing is there was no barrel distortion. For close-ups, I had to click a few photos of the same subject to get a proper image. But I did get presentable close-up shots for social media.

If there is good enough lighting condition, then the Samsung Galaxy A22 will give you good portrait shots and selfies. The device managed to offer proper edge detection as well as blur intensity. You also get to select the level of blur before taking the shot. The beautification feature is enabled by default, so if you want to avoid smoothening you can turn it off. The low-light images were strictly average, which is kind of expected.

The Samsung Galaxy A22 comes with a single speaker. (Image credit: Ankita Garg / Express image)

What is not good?

While the competition is offering a 30W charger, the Samsung Galaxy A22 5G comes with a 15W charger. So, you will have to deal with slow charging. If there is a one percent battery, then the charger will take around 1 hour and 35 minutes to fully charge the phone.

The Samsung Galaxy A22 ships with Android 11 out of the box. (Image credit: Ankita Garg / Express image)

The Samsung Galaxy A22 5G ships with Android 11, but the disappointing part is it is still running on the May security patch. Most of the smartphone brands promise to offer three years of updates, but they provide monthly security patches in a break of 4-5 months, which is disappointing. One will also witness a lot of bloatware on this phone, but thankfully you can remove most of the unnecessary apps.

Samsung Galaxy A22 5G review: Should you buy it?

While a few features are missing, the Samsung Galaxy A22 5G is still a good option under Rs 20,000 price segment. If you are someone who wants to buy a Samsung phone for general usage, then you can buy this mid-range phone and be prepared for the dawn of 4G.