The Samsung Galaxy A series is a line of mid-range smartphones and tablets manufactured by Samsung as part of their Galaxy line. The first-generation Samsung Galaxy A3 and A5 were introduced in December 2014 and released in March 2015. Fast forward to 2021 and Samsung has a new addition to its A series of smartphones in the form of the Galaxy A22.

The A22 is available in both a 5G variant and regular 4G. And once again, cramming in 5G, without deviating too much from the original price point has necessitated some major downgrades, compared to the LTE model. The test unit in this review is the 4G variant.

Design 

The Galaxy A22 4G seems to have a polished frame and rounded edges which feels good on the hands, although it is slightly offset by the weight of the device. The square camera housing protrudes ever so slightly from the back, giving the A22  a bit of a wobble on a flat surface. As for the rest, the power button has a built-in fingerprint sensor, and the volume rockers are placed high on the side, making it hard to reach. On the bottom, you get a 3.5mm headphone jack which is accompanied by a USB C port and a speaker grille.

As far as the screen goes, the Galaxy A22 features a 6.40 inch AMOLED display with a  waterdrop notch at the top which Samsung is calling an Infinity-V display. The HD+ 90Hz refresh rate works exceedingly well as expected while the panel itself exudes the classy viewing experience that generally goes hand-to-hand with Samsung smartphones. 

Performance & Battery 

Samsung Galaxy A22 packs in a MediaTek Helio G80 which is the same as used on the higher-priced Galaxy M32. The Helio G80 does offer excellent support for day-to-day tasks such as calling, texting, browsing, and other day-to-day uses. If you plan to play games on the phone I am happy to say that I was able to play Call of duty: Mobile, Wild Rift, Mobile Legends, and even PUBG Mobile without any hitch. I would suggest going on medium graphic settings for better playability but that is not to say that the phone can’t handle high settings though. 

As for the battery, the Galaxy A22 is equipped with a 5,000 mAh battery with 15W fast charging and I was able to take it over to the next day although it depends on your usage. It is worth noting that 15W of fast charging might not seem a lot but it is still better than having to go without it. 

The Galaxy A22 has bottom-firing loudspeakers. It has decent audio but lacks a bass.. However, the A22 does have Dolby Atmos and when turned on, improved the sound quality to a great extent thus I highly recommend it to be turned on. 

Camera 

Samsung Galaxy A22 comes with a quad-camera setup This includes a 48MP primary shooter, an 8MP ultrawide camera, a 2MP macro, and a 2MP depth sensor. There is also a single 13MP selfie camera located upfront. The main Sensor takes high-quality shots in daylight. Surprisingly.

The Galaxy A22 4G has software rendering that enhances the picture-taking experience but the impressive factor of the camera would be the low-light photography and OIS which in this price category, is really nice to have. When taking videos, since the primary sensor has OIS you can shoot stable videos at a max of 1080p@30fps without any issue.

The Samsung Galaxy A22 4G model is priced at PHP 11,990, you are getting a very capable phone with the power to play popular mobile games without sweat and a very impressive camera that has Optical Image Stabilization. However, A22 5G could be a great option in that case but you will get standard camera results. It’s not like there are flaws in both models, but minimal ones to differentiate the two.

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