a complete device with 5G and a good battery

Support for the new 5G network is no longer just for expensive smartphones. We now also find these in the mid-end segment. For example in the Samsung Galaxy A22 5G. We have tested this smartphone in recent weeks. We share our experiences in the extensive Samsung Galaxy A22 review.

Samsung Galaxy A22 review

In recent weeks we have walked around with the Samsung Galaxy A22, which has recently been available in the Netherlands. The manufacturer has provided the device with 5G support and positioned it in the middle segment. Now it’s time to share our experiences with you. Because what do you get from Samsung for a decent 225 euros for the Galaxy A22?

Samsung wants to reach a large target group with the A-series. That also explains why a large number of devices can be found in this series. According to the Korean manufacturer, it stands for ‘Awesome is for everyone’. For a relatively competitive price you have a comprehensive device that can offer everything you need. But how does that work out in practice?

Sales package

The sales package of the Samsung Galaxy A22 is of course equipped with the device itself. We also find a paper quick start guide, an adapter and a charging cable. The SIM needle for opening the SIM card slot can be found on the bottom of the box. It is a pity that many brands now also supply their cheaper devices with a silicone case, but that Samsung does not seem to find that advantage yet. Of course there are enough covers at the different stores to make a choice from.

Design and interface

The Samsung Galaxy A22 gets a 6.6-inch screen, which is big for a device. It is an LCD screen with a Full HD+ resolution and a 90Hz refresh rate. In the bright sun, the screen is just barely legible, in the evenings the brightness of me could have been a little less bright. Furthermore, it is an excellent screen that is sufficiently sharp. However, the brightness sensor sometimes reacts a bit too fickle, so you can adjust it manually. Settings such as color profiles and the like cannot be found in this price range with the Galaxy A22 5G, but we do not expect that either.

The fingerprint scanner is placed on the right side of the device and the volume key can also be found there. The fingerprint scanner also serves as a power button. You can press this. At the bottom, Samsung has left room for a USB-C connection and a 3.5 millimeter headset port. The slot for the SIM card is on the left. You can also store two SIM cards and a memory card in the Galaxy A22.

Samsung has placed the slightly protruding camera module on the back of the Galaxy A22 5G, which is equipped with three lenses. Despite the fact that it protrudes slightly, the device hardly wobbles when it is flat on the table. The smartphone feels solidly finished, but really plastic. Does that matter? Not necessarily if you see what you pay for the device. There is a clear difference here with the expensive smartphones.

Interface

As we are used to from Samsung, the Galaxy A22 also comes with the One UI skin from Samsung itself. This is the layer over Android. If you do not come from a Samsung device, this can take some getting used to. Some things work slightly differently than with your current device, but it is fine to work with. However, large hands are a bit handy, because the device is on the large side. Samsung has, however, built in a one-hand mode, so that the device is more convenient to operate with one hand.

At the top of the screen you have access to the notifications and the quick settings. In the menu you can find the installed apps and on your home screen you can of course place the widgets and shortcuts. Edge Windows, a feature we know from the more expensive Galaxy’s, is also present on the Galaxy A22. A sidebar opens with shortcuts to apps, contacts, smart screenshot selection tools, or other tools. Useful!

Communication: calling, chatting and networking

As the name implies, the Samsung Galaxy A22 has support for the 5G network. No suitable subscription, no problem, then you can simply get started with the device via the 4G network. In terms of connectivity, the device is fully equipped. There is of course also WiFi, Bluetooth and NFC on the device. You can determine your location using GPS.

For sending messages you can use the Samsung Messages app from the manufacturer itself. There is the Samsung Phone app for calling, but you can also get started with the Google Phone app, which you can download from the Play Store. We have no complaints about the call. Conversations are clearly understood and the call quality is good; the volume can also be loud enough. The internet is done with the Samsung internet browser, but you can also use Chrome for this.

Multimedia: music and film

Lover of multimedia? Then you can also use the Galaxy A22 for this. This is partly due to the large screen of 6.6 inches. Enough screen to watch a series or movie. The image quality is sufficient and equipped with Full HD+ resolution. Colors come into their own for this smartphone from the middle segment.

The sound quality is average. Not bad, but not special. The volume can be quite loud. It is sufficient for the price of the device. If you don’t want everyone to enjoy your music, you can connect a Bluetooth headset to the device. Thanks to the 3.5 millimeter connection, it is also possible to connect a wired headset to the Galaxy A22.

Camera: photo and video

There is a triple camera on the back of the device. It consists of a 48 megapixel main lens, 5 megapixel wide-angle lens and 2 megapixel depth sensor. The operation of the camera app is self-explanatory. Aim, click and done. Saving a photo can take a while, but the result is definitely there. Manufacturers in this price range quickly save on the camera, but we do not see that effect (immediately) with the Galaxy A22.

When we view the photos on the big screen, we see sharp and above all colorful photos that look very acceptable. You should not zoom in; the photo then changes into a pixelated whole. The wide-angle lens has some shortcomings. This only 5 megapixel lens is a big difference with the 48MP lens as the main sensor and you can see that in the result. The images lose their sharpness; as you can see from the trees. This makes them look a bit soft and that also influences the details that are captured. In the dark hours, photos are decent. The night mode on the device pumps up the details further; the noise increases enormously.

Below you will find the photos we took with the Galaxy A22. If you want to see more, you can view the online photo album of the smartphone.

Video

The Galaxy A22 can also film, of course. The highest resolution that can be filmed is 1080p with a frame rate of 30fps. When moving he seems to lose focus and then opt for a blurry image, in general the video quality is very reasonable. Unfortunately, it is not possible to switch to the wide-angle lens during filming.

Other options

In the Samsung Galaxy A22 review we have more to report about the device. We’ve highlighted some features of this phone in this section of the review.

bloatware

It remains a bit of a criticism at Samsung; the bloatware on the device. When you buy your new smartphone, you get a series of options during the setup process to install even more apps. Fortunately, this is not mandatory, but pay attention to what you tick. Once you have set up the device, you will still see some bloatware on the smartphone. For example, the Galaxy A22 comes with the LinkedIn app, but also various Microsoft apps such as Outlook, Office and OneDrive. Not to mention the many Samsung apps that are installed by default. Think of the Samsung Shop, Galaxy Store, Netflix, Samsung Free, Samsung Global Goals, Members, Notes, Voice Recorder, Game Launcher and a few more.

Fingerprint scanner

The fingerprint scanner is on the side of the phone. The operation is sufficient, but could have been refined a bit further. It will take a while for it to recognize your finger. Another point to note is that you can store up to three fingers that can be recognized by the device.

Update Policy

A strong point of the Samsung Galaxy A22 is the update policy. Many manufacturers can take an example from this. Like other devices, the Samsung Galaxy A22 can count on updates for three years. These are security updates that will be released every quarter for the smartphone. Then there are also Android upgrades, of which Samsung will release two for the Galaxy A22. This means the update to Android 12 and Android 13.

Performance: battery, speed and memory

What a car’s engine is, a smartphone’s processor is; this ensures that everything runs and can be performed at full speed. The Samsung Galaxy A22 has a Dimensity 700 chipset from MediaTek under the plastic hood. The tasks are performed neatly and it is certainly not slow, but in terms of speed it is not a high flyer, and it does not have to be for this price. In daily use, the A22 is fine to work with. The processor is assisted by 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage space. For 20-30 euros more you have the variant with 128GB storage space, but the working memory remains at 4GB. That’s a bit on the edge and we might have preferred 6GB of RAM.

The battery capacity of the device is 5000 mAh. That is quite substantial and you notice that in daily use. With intensive use, you still have about 25 percent battery juice left at the end of the day. The screen time on such days amounts to 4.5 hours, so with battery left. With little use, the Samsung easily lasts two days and we note a screen time of 6.5 hours. Neat. Such a large battery must of course also be charged; and that takes quite a while with the Galaxy A22. After about 2.5 hours, the battery is from 0 to 100 percent with the 15W charger.

Judgement

The Samsung Galaxy A22 makes a 5G device a lot more affordable. Although the benefits of the 5G network are still negligible for consumers at the time of writing, it can never hurt to be prepared for the future. Samsung also thinks about this well, because the device will receive security updates for three years, so you can still go ahead for the time being.

In daily use, the Galaxy A22 is a great device. It’s not too slow and all the features you need are on board this smartphone. However, there are points for improvement; for example, the wide-angle lens is not the best and the phone takes a very long time to charge. On the other hand, the battery lasts a long time and the main camera takes excellent pictures. You probably won’t regret the 230 euros that the Galaxy A22 costs. Devices that are also available in this segment are the Oppo A74 5G, Poco X3 Pro and Xiaomi Redmi Note 10.

For the Galaxy A22 you can now contact Samsung, Coolblue, Belsimpel, Mobiel, MediaMarkt and Bol.com.