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Samsung Galaxy A52 5G Battery test: Good on the go

This device has been retested in the latest version of our protocol. Overall, sub-scores and attributes are up to date. For detailed information, check the What’s New article
OTHER AVAILABLE TESTS FOR THIS DEVICE

Released in March 2021, the Samsung Galaxy A52 5G lands in our High-end ($400-599) segment and comes with a number of attractive features, including an AMOLED display with a 120 Hz refresh rate and a multi-camera setup with a 64 MP main camera. We put the Galaxy A52 5G through our comprehensive battery tests, and present a summary of the results here.

Key specifications:

  • Battery capacity: 4500 mAh
  • 15W charger included (can support 25W)
  • 6.5-inch, 1080 x 2400, 120 Hz AMOLED display
  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G 5G (8 nm) chipset
  • Tested RAM / storage combination: 6 GB + 128 GB

About DXOMARK Battery tests: For scoring and analysis in our smartphone battery reviews, DXOMARK engineers perform a variety of objective tests over a week-long period both indoors and outdoors. This article highlights the most important results of our testing. (See our introductory and how we test articles for more details about our smartphone Battery protocol.)

Test summary

Scoring

Sub-scores and attributes included in the calculations of the global score.


Samsung Galaxy A52 5G
106
battery
115
Autonomy
104

221

147

195

121

198

88

224

89

212

106

205

132

194

Key performances

Charging Time
2 days 8h
Battery life
Charging Time
1h15
80% Charging time
Charging Time
1h59
Full charging time
Quick Boost
1h51 autonomy
after 5-minute charge
Please be aware that beyond this point, we have not modified the initial test results. While data and products remain fully comparable, you might encounter mentions and references to the previous scores.

Pros

  • Provides more than two days of autonomy with moderate use
  • Good results in on the go testing
  • Efficient device overall

Cons

  • Lengthy charging time due to 15W charger

From its overall score, one might be tempted to pass over the Samsung Galaxy A52 5G, but its below-average overall score is directly due to its poor charging performance.

The table below shows the battery capacity, charger, display type and resolution, and processor specifications for the Samsung A52 5G and two other devices in our High-end segment, the Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro 5G and the Oppo Find X3 Lite.

Samsung A52 5G

Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro 5G

Oppo Find X3 Lite

Battery (mAh)

4500

5000

4300

Charger

15W

33W

65W

Display type

AMOLED

LCD

AMOLED

Resolution

1080 x 2400

1080 x 2400

1080 x 2400

Processor

Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G 5G

Qualcomm Snapdragon 865

Qualcomm Snapdragon 765 5G

Autonomy (62)

How long a battery charge lasts depends not only on battery capacity, but also other aspects of the phone’s hardware and software. The DXOMARK Battery autonomy score is composed of three performance sub-scores: (1) Stationary, (2) On the go, and (3) Calibrated use cases. Each sub-score comprises the results of a comprehensive range of tests for measuring autonomy in all kinds of real-life scenarios.

Light Usage
82h
Light Usage
Active: 2h30/day
Moderate Usage
56h
Moderate Usage
Active: 4h/day
Intense Usage
34h
Intense Usage
Active: 7h/day

The Samsung Galaxy A52 5G puts in a slightly above-average performance for autonomy in our database, and comes in highest overall among devices in the High-end segment for this attribute.

In terms of linearity, our tests showed that while you can generally rely on the battery gauge. The last 5% drops more slowly, however, giving you more power than expected until it turns off.

Stationary

Samsung Galaxy A52 5G

61

104

Vivo Y72 5G
Best: Vivo Y72 5G (104)

A robot housed in a Faraday cage performs a set of touch-based user actions during what we call our “typical usage scenario” (TUS) — making calls, video streaming, etc. — 4 hours of active use over the course of a 16-hour period, plus 8 hours of “sleep.” The robot repeats this set of actions every day until the device runs out of power. 

The Samsung Galaxy A52 5G lasted 57 hours 32 minutes in our TUS testing versus 61 hours 13 for the Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro and 46 hours 20 minutes for the Oppo Find X3 Lite. The Samsung lost only 1.33% lost per night on average versus 2% for the Xiaomi and the Oppo.

Typical Usage Scenario discharge curves

On the go

Samsung Galaxy A52 5G

75

96

Samsung Galaxy M51
Best: Samsung Galaxy M51 (96)

Using a smartphone on the go takes a toll on autonomy because of extra “hidden” demands, such as the continuous signaling associated with cellphone network selection, for example. DXOMARK Battery experts take the phone outside and perform a precisely defined set of activities while following the same three-hour travel itinerary for each device.

The Samsung Galaxy A52 5G soundly bested both rivals in our our on the go tests, with better results in all of our use cases, particularly in 3G calling.

Autonomy for on the go use cases (full charge)

Calibrated

Samsung Galaxy A52 5G

65

100

Samsung Galaxy M51
Best: Samsung Galaxy M51 (100)

For this series of tests, the smartphone returns to the Faraday cage and our robots repeatedly perform actions linked to one specific use case (such as gaming, video streaming, etc.) at a time. Starting from an 80% charge, all devices are tested until they have expended at least 5% of their battery power.

Back in the lab, the Samsung Galaxy A52 5G again bests its rivals (3 points over the Xiaomi and 10 points over the Oppo). The Samsung manages its screen-off idle mode better than its competitors, and does a better job when it comes to 3G calling, video streaming via 4G, and and especially music streaming. However, its rivals did better when streaming video via WiFi, when playing back video, and especially when gaming.

Autonomy for calibrated use cases (full charge)

Charging (61)

The DXOMARK Battery charging score is composed of two sub-scores, Full charge and Quick boost. Full charge tests assess the reliability of the battery power gauge; measure how long it takes to charge a battery from 0% to 80% capacity and from 80% to 100%; and measure how long and how much power the battery takes to go from an indicated 100% to an actual full charge. With the phone at different charge levels (20%, 40%, 60%, 80%), Quick boost tests measure the amount of charge the battery receives after being plugged in for 5 minutes. 

Wired
Wired
31%
in 30 min
1h15
0 - 80%
1h59
Full charge

The Samsung Galaxy A52 5G can support charging at 25W, so it is a bit of a pity that it comes with only a 15W charger, which put it at a disadvantage in this attribute, with the Xiaomi device coming in at 79 and the Oppo device scoring 92.

Power consumption and battery level during full charge

Full charge

Samsung Galaxy A52 5G

63

121

Black Shark 5 Pro
Best: Black Shark 5 Pro (121)

It takes almost two hours to fully charge the Samsung A52 5G, which is 50 minutes longer than the Xiaomi and 1 hour 15 minutes longer than the Oppo.

Time to full charge

Quick boost

Samsung Galaxy A52 5G

60

111

Realme GT Neo 3
Best: Realme GT Neo 3 (111)

You can expect to get nearly 1 hour 50 minutes of autonomy after charging the Samsung Galaxy A52 5G for five minutes — not all that long, but unsurprising, given the 15W charger. By contrast, the Xiaomi provides almost 4 hours and the Oppo 6 hours of use when charged for five minutes at 20% power remaining.

Samsung Galaxy A52 5G Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro 5G Oppo Find X3 Lite
Autonomy boost (hh:mm) 20%1:49 3:50 5:56
40%1:51 3:58 5:27
60%1:54 3:48 3:33
80%1:58 3:23 3:05
Percentage boost 20%5.1 %9.5 %18.9 %
40%5.2 %9.9 %17.4 %
60%5.4 %9.5 %11.3 %
80%5.6 %8.4 %9.8 %
Energy consumed 20%1235 mWh2416 mWh3983 mWh
40%1260 mWh2498 mWh3668 mWh
60%1293 mWh2397 mWh2384 mWh
80%1346 mWh2131 mWh2069 mWh

Efficiency (81)

Our Efficiency score comprises two sub-scores, Charge up and Discharge. Charge up is the efficiency of a full charge (how much energy is drained from the wall outlet vs the energy capacity of the battery, as well as the efficiency of the charger and its residual consumption). Discharge is how much current the smartphone drains from the battery when in use (the ratio of battery capacity over autonomy). Better autonomy with a smaller battery means better efficiency.

With a score of 81, the Samsung device is comfortably above the average, and above both the Xiaomi and the Oppo (at 69 and 74, respectively). Despite having an average-sized battery, it shows good results for autonomy among devices in its segment.

Charge up

Samsung Galaxy A52 5G

63

105

Nubia RedMagic 7 Pro
Best: Nubia RedMagic 7 Pro (105)

The Galaxy A52 5G’s adapter efficiency of 88.7% is slightly above that of the Find X3 Lite (87.3%), but the Mi 10T Pro 5G does better (90%).

Discharge

Samsung Galaxy A52 5G

89

121

Apple iPhone 13 Pro
Best: Apple iPhone 13 Pro (121)

Though the Samsung Galaxy A52 5G has low current consumption when its screen is off in idle mode and when making calls and streaming music, it consumes more battery power when gaming and playing back video than its competitors.

Conclusion

The only true downside of the Samsung Galaxy A52 5G is its lengthy charging time, particularly when  compared to its rivals, and that is largely attributable to the Samsung’s 15W in-box charger (vs. 33W for the Xiaomi and 65W for the Oppo). With a compatible 25W charger, the charging experience would  likely improve significantly. The Samsung Galaxy A52 5G provides more than two days of autonomy, and put in an especially good performance in our on the go tests.

 

 

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