Samsung Galaxy A12 Review: Looks Good, Performs Well
March 20, 2021Looks cool and works well, but powered by mediocre hardware
Performance: Mediatek MT6765 Helio P35, 6GB RAM
Display: 6.5-inch (720 x 1600)
Weight: 205g
Storage: 128GB
Battery: 5,000mAh
Features:1080p video recording, power button fingerprint sensor
Rear Camera:48MP Wide, 5MP ultra-wide, 2MP Marco, 2MP Depth
Front Camera:8MP
Rating: 8/10
Price: RM 799.00
Mediocrity isn’t necessarily a bad thing when it comes to budget smartphones. Though devices like the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, OnePlus 8 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max get most if not all of the limelight, it’s the lower end phones that are bought in greater numbers and command a substantially larger user base.
These are hero phones, the ones that keep most of us connected to the rest of the world and allow us a diluted experience of that enjoyed by people with flagship smartphones. The A12 is one such example. It may not have the supreme build quality of the S21 Ultra or its magnificent quad HD display, but there’s enough in it to satisfy the needs of most budget minded consumers.
Take its exterior for example. Unsurprisingly, it’s made from plastic. But thankfully, not the same dreary stuff of other smartphones in its price range. Instead, the rear panel gets a two tone finish, the top section is made up of fine ridges that run across the panel, diagonally. But the bottom has a smooth, matte finish. It’s an interesting design, and one not usually seen in the budget market.
Similarly, the A02s that we tested earlier, had its own interesting design, which confirms one thing, Samsung is investing more time in its cheaper phones than ever before. They feel substantial when held, have more sturdy buttons and have an overall purposeful look to them. It may have finally dawned on Samsung this is the market that actually matters.
Hardware-wise, the A12 doesn’t have anything special. It’s powered by a Mediatek MT6765 Helio P35, a lower-end chipset that seems to be enough for the phone. Depending on the configuration, it can be paired with 3,4 or 6GB RAM and 64GB or 128GB of eMMC 5.1 storage. It’s not spectacular, but the 6GB variant should offer the best experience of the lot.
The Display
The phone has a dated teardrop display, which should have been phased out by now. Punch hole displays have been around for quite a while, so there’s little reason to keep older screens around for much longer. But thankfully, it’s a 6.5-inch one. It’s tall and wide with an aspect ratio of 20:9, which isn’t ideal for media consumption but perfect for everything else.
It may only be a 720p display, but it’s bright and sharp enough that you won’t notice the shortcomings. This is an LCD panel, not an AMOLED one, so colours, though bright, won’t seem as punchy as those on the M31. The same is true of blacks, they aren’t as deep, which isn’t a deal breaker, but it’s noticeable.
Besides this, it’s fairly color accurate and offers decent viewing angles. Most people who buy the A12 will be happy with the screen’s performance, whether it be for regular web browsing, streaming media or playing non-demanding mobile games. It’s adept at these tasks, which is saying a lot of a 720p display.
Samsung should look at making 1080P the standard at this point. Since they have been pushing the envelope on screen resolutions for sometime, keeping 720p displays around seems wasteful. An argument can be made about the necessity of keeping costs down, but the company makes its own displays, surely they can think of a way of making 1080P, cheaper.
The Performance
This kind of wishful thinking may not be reasonable, but the A12 would have been a far better device had it been fitted with a 1080p display. It’s a good phone, if you are doing the bare minimum. Reading documents, browsing social media content, messaging or watching movies. The phone is good at all of this, provided that you didn’t buy the variant with 3GB RAM.
When it comes to RAM, the lowest you should be willing to go is 4GB RAM. At this mark, the phone provides a fairly usable and trouble-free experience. There are stutters here and there, but such occurrences are rare and only happen when you’re juggling between several apps. The 6GB RAM option, will offer the smoothest experience possible.
That said, don’t expect a buttery smooth experience when accomplishing highly demanding tasks because the Mediatek chipset won’t be able to keep up. This is an A12 not an A71, be mindful of this when you’re choosing a phone. That said, I love the side-mounted fingerprint sensor that doubles as the power button. It’s surprisingly fast and accurate.
Though under-screen fingerprint sensors may be the ‘in’ thing to have, I still prefer the old fashioned physical sensor. They are far better to use and quicker to respond in varying weather conditions. The A12’s screen springs to life the moment you place your thumb on the power button. It’s quick, but not ‘lightning quick’.
At the bottom is the phone’s only speaker, which means you can forget about having immersive sound waves hit you from every angle. But the delivery is good and with a decent amount of clarity. Don’t expect the world from it, because it muddles the listening experience when you ask too much of it.
The Cameras
The quad camera array on the back features a 48MP wide angle lens, 5MP ultrawide, 2MMP macro and 2MP depth sensor. The pictures produced look sharp with a good balance of exposure and contrast. You can get a decent amount of detail out of them, provided that the lighting is good. But the phone’s software isn’t as good as that found on the A51 or A71.
Close up and portrait shots are Instagram-worthy. Nobody will scoff at your posts because the results are more than good enough for such a platform. The 48MP sensor is a capable one, and with some extra tweaking, it can produce impressive results. But lighting is the key here, get that right, and you should be able to compensate for the camera software shortcomings.
This is especially true of pictures taken at night. Poor lighting conditions will not do this phone any favours. It will produce somewhat overexposed and slightly noisy images, which isn’t horrendous, but noticeable. The same is true for selfies. Image quality depends on where the shots are taken.
Video quality isn’t great though. Lack of proper stabilization and software processing, causes the A12 to take shaky and less detailed footage. Keeping your hands steady will help but good lighting is needed to capture decent videos that are worth sharing. Don’t get me wrong, the results are good for a budget phone, but only passable when compared to mid range devices.
Users must be mindful of the phone’s shortcomings when attempting to use it for gaming. It doesn’t have a powerful GPU, and as such, moderate to light gaming is what suits it best. Anything more than that will result in less than stellar frame rates and underwhelming picture quality. It’s good for arcade styled titles but not great for role playing ones.
Samsung was more than generous when it came to the battery department. This phone has a 5,000mAh battery. There’s enough juice to last an entire day, regardless of what you’re doing. Granted, the Mediatek MT6765 Helio P35 may not be a very power efficient chipset, but it isn’t power hungry either. If you’re careful with tasks, you can get more than a day’s worth of use.
Should I Buy One?
If you’re a budget minded consumer, then this is a good phone to have. Its exterior design looks quite cool, which leads people to believe that it’s a premium device. The screen is more than big enough to accomplish most tasks and it has a sizable battery that should keep you going throughout the day.
If all you do is stream videos, surf the web and occasionally do some light gaming, then its a darn good device to have. However, it isn’t meant for anything more demanding, which includes pro photography, video recording or competitive gaming. It’s a budget device that is powered by moderate hardware. But it’s one of the more competent budget phone out there.
