The Galaxy smartphones of Samsung have been in the market for more than a decade already. All the years that the South Korean tech giant spent innovating mobile devices have resulted in it being a household name in their home country and in foreign nations like the Philippines. Safe to say, no matter what kind of mobile user you are, you’ll find a Samsung Galaxy smartphone that fits your needs.
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| Samsung Galaxy A12 Review; Hit and Miss |
Samsung is a brand particularly known for its expensive, premium smartphones. So it’s almost unusual for the firm to release mobile devices that are under Php10,000. And when it does, consumers can’t help but be curious about what an affordable smartphone from Samsung can bring. The latest addition under this category is the Samsung Galaxy A12. Does this device play at par with the high expectations consumers have of Samsung? Let’s dig in!
Get yours now via Lazada at https://bit.ly/samsungphofficialstore or Shopee at https://bit.ly/samsungstoreph.
DISPLAY and PHYSICAL:
Let’s establish first that the Samsung Galaxy A12 retails for a starting price of under Php8,000 locally. Of course, being a budget device, it’s expected that this comes with a plastic build, but it carries a two-tone textured rear cover with a smooth finish, deviating from fingerprint marks and smudges. In addition, there's a square bump that houses the smartphone's four rear cameras with the flash right below it, and the familiar Samsung branding at the lower part.
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| Black |
Smartphones under this price group usually have fingerprint sensors at the back. Still, the Samsung Galaxy A12 has a power button that doubles up as a fingerprint scanner, something that's common in mid-range offerings. That's a plus, but there are instances that the fingerprint sensor fails to do its job. It's located on the right side of the device alongside the volume buttons, while on the opposite cheek lies the hybrid tray for two nano-SIM cards and microSD. At the top part of the smartphone is its secondary microphone, while at the bottom are the 3.5mm headphone jack, speaker grille, and main microphone. The Samsung Galaxy A12 also has a USB Type-C port which is a good feat considering that budget phones often have outdated micro-USB ones.
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| 6.5-inch IPS HD+ Display |
The 6.5-inch HD+ display of the Samsung Galaxy A12 has distractingly prominent bezels, and it delivers bland colors and dull sharpness -- all tell-tale signs that it's indeed a budget device. In addition, it doesn't have an AMOLED screen that's common to almost all Samsung devices but rather a standard LCD display.
On a positive note, the screen does have impressive brightness levels that are useful when outdoors and under direct sunlight. And while it only has up to 5 multi-touch points, its screen is responsive.
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SOFTWARE and PERFORMANCE:
Probably the most underwhelming aspect of the Samsung Galaxy A12 is its internals. This device comes with an outdated MediaTek Helio P35 chipset coupled with either 4GB or 6GB of RAM and 128GB of memory.
The device works decently when used in the least demanding tasks like scrolling through social media; however, users must be mindful when multitasking and switching between different apps as these slow down the Samsung Galaxy A12.
Gaming on this device is a hit-or-miss experience. It can handle Mobile Legends Bang Bang and Call of Duty Mobile in low graphics quality but tweak the parameters up a notch, and its performance dwindles.
Binge-watching on YouTube and Netflix using the Samsung Galaxy A12 is fairly acceptable. And to be fair, we tried using this smartphone in shooting videos on TikTok, IG, and FB stories, and we didn't encounter any stutters. This somehow fits what Samsung claims about the Galaxy A12 as an affordable budget device for content creators. Video editing can be a handful for this smartphone, though.
Out of the box, the Samsung Galaxy A12 comes powered with an Android 10 system with Samsung's One IU 2.5 on top. The One UI is among the neatest and straightforward UIs in Android phones, so it's apt with the simple performance the Samsung Galaxy A12 provides. However, note that there's another element that's quite common among Galaxy smartphones missing in this device -- the Always-On Display feature.
Here are the benchmark results of the Samsung Galaxy A12.
- Antutu - 104,169
- Geekbench Single-Core - 169
- Geekbench Multi-Core - 937
- PC Mark Work Performance 3.0 - 5,211
- PC Mark Work Storage 2.0 - 6,509
- 3D Mark Sling Shot - 748
- 3D Mark Sling Shot Extreme - 386
CAMERA:
The cameras of the Samsung Galaxy A12 are considerably its best assets. The device's 48MP Samsung GM2 sensor, 5MP ultra-wide sensor, and two 2MP cameras for macro and depth provide decent-looking images with an acceptable amount of saturation and sharpness on details under well-lit environments. At night, though, the photos aren't that impressive, as expected. Images appear cloudy and dull, and this might be due to the missing night mode.
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| 48MP Quad Camera |
At the front, the Samsung Galaxy A12 has an 8MP camera that boasts a Live Focus feature. This does a good job bringing a bokeh effect to self-portraits, making the background blur look natural.
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| 8MP Front Camera |
Here are some camera samples we took using the Samsung Galaxy A12. Are these results enough for its specs and pricing? Let us know in the comments section of this blog post.
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| Playground, Normal |
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| Playground, Ultrawide |
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| Pool, Normal |
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| Pool, Ultrawide |
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| Playground, Night |
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| Pool, Night |
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| Flower, Normal |
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| Flower, Macro |
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| Selfie |
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| Selfie, Night |
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BATTERY:
Samsung generously equipped the Galaxy A12 with a 5,000mAh device. So if you'd take our advice and moderately use this device switching between two apps at a time, its battery life may last you until the next day with little juice to spare.
It refuels through its USB-C port and doesn't support fast charging. So a 30-minute charge will give you more or less 20-25% of battery life, and you might need to wait for beyond two hours to reach 100% of battery life.
FINAL WORDS:
The Samsung Galaxy A12 has its fair share of highs and lows. It's not for heavy users and frequent gamers but apt for those looking for a backup daily driver with long battery life for basic tasks.
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| Samsung Galaxy A12 |
How much is the Samsung Galaxy A12 price in the Philippines?
- The Samsung Galaxy A12 prices in the Philippines are Php7,990 for the 4GB + 128GB variant, and Php9,990 for the 6GB + 128GB model.
- Get yours now via Lazada at https://bit.ly/samsungphofficialstore or Shopee at https://bit.ly/samsungstoreph.
When will be the Samsung Galaxy A12 available in the Philippines?
- The Samsung Galaxy A12 is now available in the Philippines.
Samsung Galaxy A12 Specs Philippines:
- Dual Nano-SIM, dual standby, supports 4G LTE connectivity
- 6.5-inch IPS PLS HD+ (1600 x 720) capacitive touchscreen display
- Dimensions: 164mm x 75.8mm x 8.9mm
- Weight: 205 grams
- OneUI 2.5 based on Android 10, Upgradeable to OneUI 3.1 based on Android 11
- 2.3GHz 64-bit octa-core CPU, PowerVR GE8320 GPU, MediaTek Helio P35 chipset
- 4GB/6GB RAM
- 128GB internal storage, expandable up to 256GB via MicroSD card, uses dedicated slot
- 48MP f/2.0 PDAF main + 5MP f/2.2 ultrawide + 2MP f/2.4 macro + 2MP f/2.4 depth quad rear cameras with LED flash, 1080p video recording at 30fps
- 8MP f/2.2 front camera, 1080p video recording at 30fps
- Multimedia Player
- FM Radio
- 3.5mm audio jack
- WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band
- Bluetooth v5.0
- GPS with A-GPS, GLONASS, BDS
- MicroUSB 2.0 with OTG function
- Sensors: fingerprint (side-mounted), accelerometer, light, proximity
- Battery: 5,000mAh Li-Po, non-removable, supports 18W fast charging
- Colors: Glacier Blue, Phantom Black
- Price: Php6,499