Announced last January, the A32 5G currently held the official title of Samsung's most affordable smartphone offering the latest generation of mobile network. Handover at the start of summer, since this honor now falls to the Galaxy A22. Offered at a price of 259 euros with a unique configuration, 4 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage, will this new little prince be able to make a better impression on us than its predecessor? And above all, will it have enough tricks up its sleeve to eclipse its 4G version, which is more attractive on paper?

Summary

Clean in all circumstances

There is a difference between using a smartphone for 3 weeks for a test and using it daily for many months. Sometimes, small insignificant straws can, in the long run, become real beams. This is, in my opinion, the case of coatings that take fingerprints too quickly. At first, it's not embarrassing, we pamper our new mobile, we clean it regularly, we treat it with respect. Then, the more time passes, the more this ease of getting dirty quickly becomes unbearable. Rare enough to point out, the matte plastic back of this A22 is both soft and almost impervious to smudges, dust, tobacco crumbs and other goodies lying around in my pockets. It stayed clean as a whistle in all circumstances.

And it is indeed his greatest satisfaction in terms of design because for the rest, Samsung does not crowd too much. Wide edges with abrupt finishes, a notch in the shape of a drop of water that is not really discreet and a photo block with rounded contours, the most classic. Entry-level, pure and hard. A single speaker at the bottom, right next to the USB-C output and 3.5mm jack. On the left the SIM card slot and on the right the volume buttons, as well as the power button which also serves as a fingerprint sensor. An unlocking mode which does not turn out to be the most reactive.

The first day in hand, it seemed rather light to us. During the following days, we found it a little more borrowed. The explanation was all found, just before receiving it we had tested the imposing Wiko U30… After checks, this A22 is indeed not as slender as it seems: 76.4 x 167.2 x 9 mm for 203 grams. One-handed use is possible, but will be much rarer than two-handed use.

Performances, Doctor Jekyll and Mister Hyde

With its MediaTek Dimensity 700 processor, Mali-G57 MC2 graphics chip and 4 GB of RAM, the A22 5G is quite fast for its price range. For all daily tasks, it will fulfill its role without any problem (web browsing, social networks, video streaming, basic office automation, etc.). Especially since it offers a refresh rate of 90 Hz, which is not adaptive, but which is always pleasant. Even for more demanding tasks, such as light 3D gaming, it can do the trick. We say “light”, forget immediately the most greedy games of the Play Store, we did not even manage to install “Fortnite”, that is to say.

On the other hand, as soon as its battery drops below 20%, it's day and night. Navigation shows many slowdowns, switching from the camera to its image gallery literally takes 5 seconds and launching applications becomes a drag. Very surprising. That the performance of a smartphone slows down when the battery is close to nothing is understandable, but there, even with 18% battery, it really drags its feet.

As a result, its autonomy becomes almost crucial. Fortunately, its 5000 mAh battery does its job well. For a normal smartphone with moderate use, it would easily last a day and a half. For a smartphone like him, a bit schizophrenic, let's say he easily lasts a day. To understand that it remains in this period of time above 20% of battery. On the other hand, a real turtle when it comes to gaining strength. It takes about 57 minutes for 50% and 1h24 for 80%. We have often seen better, we have rarely seen worse.

Screen, take it or leave it

It's rather a big guy with its 6.6-inch screen, an LCD panel with Full HD + definition, or 2408 x 1080 pixels. The colorimetric rendering is faithful to what the South Korean manufacturer likes to offer, namely very pronounced bright colors, especially on red and blue. We like or not this little exaggerated side. And then at worst, Samsung almost always offers two display modes in the options such as “Normal”, with more natural colors and this famous “Saturated” mode. Except that, no…

No colorimetry customization option is available…

After several minutes in the settings, you have to admit defeat and settle for the calibration offered by default. It's a shame not to have a choice, especially since the contrast ratio is good and the maximum brightness is adequate. Afterwards, given the weather this month of July, we also didn't test it for hours and hours in direct sunlight...

Photo, great classic for this price

The photo configuration of the Galaxy A22 5G is unsurprising for a smartphone at this price, namely:

From the outset, thank Samsung who had the excellent idea of ​​not integrating a macro lens, a sensor often useless for ordinary mortals. In good light conditions, unsurprisingly, it is quite comfortable. The rendering is full of details, the colors are accurate, although sometimes a little saturated and the management of contrasts is acceptable.

We were pleasantly surprised by the 48-megapixel mode for capturing landscape shots at the end of the day. The management of the lights suffers from almost no faults and the rendering is really pretty.

In ultra wide-angle mode, again unsurprisingly, we lose sharpness, especially on the outer edges of the photo. The color management is also more risky, we realize this for the sky which turns almost white.

The lower the brightness, the more the A22 has digital noise in the background of the shot. The "Night" mode allows you to catch up a bit, the photos become brighter and more faithful to reality, on the other hand you will have to show religious immobility during the shooting. If you are in a minimally lit urban environment. In a complete night situation, unfortunately, he will not be able to do much. Finally, the front camera is not too prone to backlighting for our taste, it will be necessary to constantly take care to focus.

An attractive 4G version… on paper

The Galaxy A22 also exists in a 4G version (219 euros) that we were able to quickly take hold of, without being able to test it thoroughly. Three notorious differences exist between these false brothers. Samsung wants to position its 4G model as the gateway to its know-how in terms of slab since this smartphone has a 6.4-inch Amoled screen with HD + definition. The photo module is adorned with a macro sensor and the ultra wide-angle goes to 8 megapixels. Finally, this 4G model displays a processor, once again on paper, less powerful, namely the SoC MediaTek Helio G80. It will be difficult to say if one version is better than another.

It all depends on your wishes. Either you want to position yourself on 5G with a fast processor, or you prefer to take advantage of an Amoled screen with small onions while saving 40 euros. On the other hand, if for you photography is only incidental, do not forget the Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 5G either. Indeed, although its photo configuration is a little disappointing, it is more powerful, more enduring and displays more accomplished finishes than the A22 5G. Finally, although messier and not having One UI 3.1, the most successful Android software interface in our opinion, the Oppo A54 5G also has some good arguments to make.

Our opinion on the Samsung Galaxy A22 5G

Between the Oppo A54 5G (260 euros) and the Xiaomi Redmi Note 10 5G (270 euros), the Galaxy A22 5G knew it was going to do a lot to become the new entry-level benchmark for 5G. Especially since it confirms a basic trend, to offer the latest standard of mobile telephony, while maintaining a reduced price, choices have to be made. Those of the Galaxy A22 5G are not bad: the screen is pleasant, the performance is there as long as it has juice and the camera does the job. Without making waves, he manages to do what was expected of him. However, wanting to be average everywhere, he lacks that grain of madness that would have made him unforgettable.