The new design of Galaxy A12, however, is modest and gentle.
Galaxy A12 has a new design combining several elements late in 2020. Still, Samsung A12 is not garish; instead, it is understated and pleasing to the eye. It looks good overall with a rough surface contrasting diagonal striped textures along with rounded sides. This design aids in not only providing a firm grip to the Galaxy A12 but also in not sticking to the sweat and limiting scratches.
The square camera cluster on the back of the A12 finds its way into all smartphone designs launched late in 2020.
The camera cluster of the device includes four lenses: 48 MP wide-angle main lens, F2.0 aperture, 5 MP super wide-angle lens, F2.2 aperture with 123˚ angle, 2 MP macro lens, and 2 MP depth sensor lens. These four lenses combined allow meeting various shooting needs of users.
And on the display, Samsung has put a large 6.5-inch screen with HD+ resolution, sufficient for movies and entertainment. In particular, in the low-cost segment, the PLS IPS screen is enriched in color display, and with good brightness, screen visibility outdoors is not a problem.
To the screen area is an 8MP, F2.2 aperture lens, water-drop stylized. I would not say I like that design over a punch, but strictly speaking, with the price point of the Galaxy A12, that water-drop design is hardly a concern. On the contrary, the edging around the display is well optimized and very thin, giving a screen-to-body ratio of almost 86%.
Powerful Enough for Good Performance
The Galaxy A12 isnt using Exynos chips from Samsung at all, it’s got an octa core MediaTek Helio G35 for the processing part, plus it comes with 4 GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage, though people often swap words around and say something else. The Galaxy A12 scores quite high on benchmarks with the configuration mentioned above, and gaming experience is fairly impressive. Arena of valor Mobile or Wild Rift can be set to high graphics settings to achieve around 50fps frames or just inch down graphics a bit, so as to have smooth gameplay with 60fps.
Undoubtedly, the performance stands firm concerning heavier games such as PUBG Mobile, with only around 45 to 50 fps in Medium settings. Either way, you are going to need to lower graphics to keep game-play a little smoother.
The Galaxy A12 comes with a reliable configuration and an enormous battery of 5,000mAh for quite a while; quick trials-persistence showed nearly 5 hours while still under 50% battery remaining. Another added advantage is that the manufacturer also installed 15W fast charging for this battery, so it gets re-charged in no time.
The quad-lens camera takes beautiful pictures.
With a camera of Galaxy A12, a 4-lens system on the back of the device, users’ basic shooting requirements will barely be taken care of. These images look beautiful and detailed, especially with the 48MP main camera doing adequately in bright ample illuminance.
Some consideration must be made here for low-light photography, as this is when the image quality may disappoint.
In addition to the main camera, the ultra-wide camera of the device provides for images with a wide angle best suited for capturing space. But this wide-angle camera has a pretty low resolution, 5MP, so not much to write home about in terms of details.
The macro camera lends an exciting perspective to images taken very closely of small objects in the environment. The relative qualities of photos from this macro camera are also not that good.
Finally, for pictures to remove fonts, the 2MP depth sensor camera allows Galaxy A12 to create beautiful photos removing fonts that emphasize the subject. The device is fast and accurate in recognition, thereby delivering a pleasing effect of font removal.
Battery Life
Battery life is one of the main sections in the Samsung Galaxy A12. It comes with a large 5000mAh cell, giving great endurance for a smartphone in this price range.
1. Battery performance:
The Galaxy A12 can basically go the whole day, and even push into the next day with moderate habits, like web browsing, using social media, video streaming, and yes a bit of gaming. This feels like a solid pick for people who are battery focused, and who often end up far from a charger, pretty much all the time.
Charging Capabilities:
While 15W fast charging is almost unheard of in devices with a price tag on the Galaxy A12, it’s still available. It can be charged 0 to around 30% with the included charger in about 30 minutes, while total charge takes around two hours. While it is not as fast as other premium smartphones, this is still rather quick for a budget device.
Software and User Experience
One UI 2.5 from Samsung works on the Android 10 operating system. Now, even if this isn’t the very newest Samsung user interface, it can still turn a daily experience, especially on a budget device like the Galaxy A12, into something that feels smooth and helpful, kind of convenient without much fuss. One UI by Samsung is known for its clean layout, intuitive navigation system along with helpful features that ultimately enhance a user’s experience with the smartphone.
1. User Interface:
Easy use was put into consideration while designing One UI 2.5 for the Galaxy A12, like, they really did. The interface feels streamlined and optimized for one handed use, with a bunch of elements, such as icons and menus, pushed a bit down the screen so you can reach them easier. The overall look is clean and modern, and the point was to keep it simple while still staying highly functional, like, that was the utmost priority really.
The phone also comes with Samsung’s signature features : Dark Mode to minimize eye straining and save battery power as well as the brand-new Digital Wellbeing feature where users will be able to monitor and manage their screen time on their devices. Also, it comes pre-installed with the various applications owned by Samsung which include Samsung Health, Samsung Notes, and Samsung Members, all of which do contribute to the user experience.
2. Customization:
One UI actually gives a good level of customization for such. It is broad enough to allow a personalization of the device to preferring things even in between wallpaper and themes and icon packs downloadable from the Galaxy Store. Home screen layout, including placement of widgets and app icons, can be customized to further enhance user experience.
3. Pre-installed Applications:
The Galaxy A12, like many Samsung devices, tends to arrive with a bunch of already installed apps , most of which are tied to Samsung’s own in-house suite but they also toss in a handful of widely used third party ones such as Facebook and Netflix. Even so, some people may actually find these apps useful, others might end up dealing with them as bloatware, kinda like unwanted extra weight that just sits there. Fortunately, however, the majority of them can be uninstalled or disabled in case one does not need them.
4. Software Updates:
One major consideration with budget devices refers to the number and length of software updates. Budget devices, such as Galaxy A12, have not been improved much in this regard. In recent years, the update policy has been improved quite a lot by Samsung, but the economy devices from its flagship models may have less frequent updates and for a shorter time. When it was launched, the device was running Android 10 with One UI 2.5 , and it has also gotten later updates, for newer Android versions and newer One UI flavors over time. However, be moderate in expectation from the future updates.
Connectivity and Network Performance
The Samsung Galaxy A12 allows a range of connectivity options, making it a very versatile device for day-to-day uses.
1. Network Performance:
The Galaxy A12 supports 4G LTE, providing a good, reliable network performance for web browsing, streaming videos, and voice calls. Network reception is generally good and calls are clearly without any major issues reported. Unfortunately, it does not support 5G, which is becoming a common feature of mid-range and, increasingly, some affordable smartphones. For all these 5G diehards, this device unfortunately will not fit the bill for all these needs.
2. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth:
The mobile phone provides a support for dual-band Wi-Fi, which is 2.4GHz and 5GHz. It allows connecting to both ranges of available Wi-Fi networks. The Wi-Fi performance is stable and most environments have good signal strength and speed. It also supports Bluetooth 5.0 which will give its users an improvement in the range as well as connectivity when compared to older versions of Bluetooth. The users simply connect with their devices that also have Bluetooth without any problems such as having to search for them.
3. GPS and Navigation:
The Galaxy A12 has features of GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, and BDS as for navigation, which ensures a more accurate and, indeed, reliable method of location tracking. While the other features can be on par with any standard phone using Google Maps for navigation, or even with other location-based services, the characteristic of the phone being real quick in locking onto satellites and in providing precise location data works.
4. USB and Audio:
As already suggested, its the USB-type C, which serves as a source for charging and data transfer. This feature is quite welcome in a budget device. The 3.5mm headphone jack will also cater ideally to audiophiles who rely heavily on wired headphones. FM radio working is also present, which is getting rarer in modern smartphones but is still valued by some users.
Audio and Multimedia
Samsung Galaxy A12 has this single bottom-firing speaker, pretty much like you’d expect from a budget smartphone . It does the job for casual listening , but honestly it cannot be called impressive at all when it comes to the audio quality.
1. Speaker Performance:
The single speaker on the Galaxy A12 is normal, just loud enough for video watch, gaming, or hands-free calls. However, the sound quality is just average, with almost no bass and depth. As for sound distortion, there is a fair amount of distortion at higher volumes, which is, though uncommon, something the budget devices face. For a pleasing experience, getting a pair of headphones is recommended, either wired or wireless.
2. Headphone Experience:
Using headphones, there is, a notable kind of difference in audio quality, honestly. Thanks to the 3.5mm jack for connecting up a favorite pair of wired headphones, the immersion kind of jumps, like to another level, quickly. The phone also includes Dolby Atmos, but only when the headphones are plugged in so the whole thing feels more enhanced, more spatial and dynamic also, in a way.
Video Playback:
The 6.5 inch display on the Galaxy A12, isn’t the absolute top resolution of course but it’s still decent for videos and streaming. The colors are pretty vibrant, and the screen size really helps the whole viewing experience feel immersive, sort of. But still, since it’s capped at 720p, it might not look that impressive in a sharper style, compared with higher end devices, that give you Full HD or even more.
Security Features
The Samsung Galaxy A12 comes with several security features to aid in the security of the device and the user’s data.
1. Fingerprint Sensor :
On the Galaxy A12 the side-mounted fingerprint sensor, is kinda conveniently built into the power button ,so you get quick access without thinking too much. The fingerprint reader feels responsive and accurate, letting you unlock your device fast and also in a more secure way. It also supports biometric authentication for opening apps and services that use fingerprint recognition.
2. Facial Recognition :
Along with that fingerprint sensor ,the Galaxy A12 includes facial recognition as another biometric option. Basically it works by scanning your face using the camera on the front panel, and then using that image to unlock the phone. For most people it’s a quick and easy route to get in, but it’s not as secure as fingerprint recognition, especially in low-lit environments , or when the user has glasses on,or a hat.
3. Software Security :
For extra protection the Galaxy A12 uses Samsung Knox as another protection layer for user data. Knox helps shield the device from malware and security threats, by delivering real time monitoring and countermeasures. It also has things like Secure Folder, which lets you create a private, encrypted haven right on the device, for sensitive files and even apps.
Sum up
The Samsung Galaxy A12 smartphone is the budgetary necessities without the worry of compromising between best and cost since it is basically a consumer-grade phone. It does not have the fast processing units nor the best display resolutions, yet it comprises a flat package with a broad screen, wide-ranging versatile camera setup, and long-lasting battery performance. Its design is simple but functional, while build quality is good for this price class.
For the people who want really affordable and practical devices, the Galaxy A12 is undoubtedly an option to consider. This is a dependable and user-friendly experience that wears pride in the quality and support from Samsung as a whole, although there would be more modern features in the other budget smartphones or specifications that, maybe, do promise goodness, the Galaxy A12 practical design, performance, and value truly offer one’s solid competition in the budget segment.
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Tech Reviewer & Product Analyst
Định Bia has spent over 10 years testing consumer electronics with a focus on smart technology. He work as a product advisor at Biareview where he helped customers find the right devices for their needs. He personally tests every product featured on this site using a consistent evaluation framework covering quality, durability, and value. All reviews are based on experience, not influenced by the manufacturer.