Samsung Galaxy A52, A52 5G Benchmark score comparison!

We put the Samsung Galaxy A52 and A52 5G through a series of benchmarking apps and see the difference. The results surprised us.

Samsung Galaxy A52 5G in Awesome Black and A52 in Awesome Blue

We take a look at Samsung's latest mid-range offerings and see if there really is a difference in performance between the LTE-only Galaxy A52 and Galaxy A52 5G. These benchmarks were run during the last week of March 2021 and the first week of April 2021. Your results may have changed after some time has passed because of software update optimizations of the operating system and the benchmarking apps themselves.

Before we get to the results, let's recap the specifications of both phones. Both feature a large 6.5-inch Super AMOLED Infinity-O (punch-hole) display with up to 800 nits of brightness. Inside both phones are 8GB RAM, 256GB of storage, and a 4,500mAh battery with 25W fast charging via USB-C inside an IP67-rated body. Unfortunately, Samsung only includes a 15W charger in the box. The 25W charger is sold separately.

The main difference between the two is the display refresh rate (A52 4G - 90Hz, A52 5G 120Hz) and the SoC (A52 4G - Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G + Adreno 618 GPU, A52 5G Snapdragon 750G + Adreno 619 GPU).

In the Philippines, the Galaxy A52 LTE 8GB/256GB only is priced at PHP 18,990 while the A52 5G 8GB/256GB is priced at PHP 23,990.

Let's dive in.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G vs 750G

AnTuTu V9.0

1. AnTuTu Benchmark version 9.0.1 - The Galaxy A52 4G was able to score an average of 310,954 in AnTuTu while the Galaxy A52 5G scored an average of 303,493. The point difference is negligible but what is interesting is that the A52 5G ran 0.2 degrees Celsius cooler but lost 3 percent of battery than the A52 during the duration of the test.

What is most surprising is that the massive 8000 point difference in GPU score between the A52 4G (84,140) while the A52 5G (72,270). Another observation is that the Memory and UIX score of the A52 5G is better than the A52 but the CPU and GPU score of the A52 4G is better than the A52 5G.

GeekBench 5.3.2

2. GeekBench Benchmark 5.3.2 - This benchmark measures the capabilities of individual single-core and multi-core performance in one click

The Galaxy A52 4G scored 536 in Single-Core tests and scored 1582 in Multi-Core tests while the Galaxy A52 5G scored 415 in Cingle-Core tests and scored 1492 in Multi-Core tests.

Like in AnTuTu, the Galaxy A52 LTE only scored higher than the A52 5G by around a hundred points in both single-core and multi-core scores.

3DMark Wild Life benchmark

3. 3DMark Slingshot Extreme - This is a demanding set of tests that measures GPU and CPU performance. Overall, the A52 4G scored 1043 and an average frame rate of 6.2 while the A52 5G scored 635 with an average frame rate of 3.8.

This confirms the better CPU and GPU cores of the A52 4G in AnTuTu.

PCMark Battery test

4. PCMark Battery test - PC Mark Battery uses a series of different workloads that simulate daily use and will measure and predict the longevity of the battery life of the device.

In this test, the Galaxy A52 4G 4,500mAh battery scored 13 hours and 29 mins while the Galaxy A52 5G's 4,500mAh battery 9 hours and 41 minutes.

There is nearly a 4-hour difference in the score difference. 

This could be because of multiple factors but it could be attributed to the 120Hz and 90Hz panel, the SoC, or the OneUI software optimization.

Internal storage test

5. Internal storage speed test - This test measures read and write speeds of internal storage. Both phones feature the same 256GB of internal storage and in this test, both phones scored nearly the same. In Sequential write and Sequential read speeds, the A52 4G scored 175.78 MB/s and 338.09 MB/s while the A52 5G scored 195.93 MB/s and 400.37 MB/s respectively. It can be seen that the A52 5G is slightly faster than the A52 4G.

Samsung Galaxy A52 Specs

Display: 6.5-inch 2.5D curved AMOLED screen w/ 90Hz refresh rate, FHD+ 2400 x 1080 resolution at 405 ppi

CPU: 2.3GHz 8nm Snapdragon 720G octa-core processor

GPU: Adreno 618

RAM: 8GB

ROM: 256GB expandable via microSD card up to 1TB

Back Camera: 64MP f/1.8 w/ OIS + 12MP f/2.2 ultra-wide-angle + 5MP f/2.2 macro + 5MP f/2/2 depth + LED flash

Selfie Camera: 32MP f/2.2

Battery: 4,500mAh w/ 25W fast charging

OS: Android 11 w/ One UI 3.1

Connectivity: WiFi 802.11ac (2.4GHz/5GHz), 4G LTE, Bluetooth 5.0, OTG, GPS, GLONASS, dual SIM (hybrid)

Sensors: Accelerometer, light, orientation, proximity, gyroscope, sound, magnetic

Others: In-Display fingerprint sensor, IP67 water and dust resistance, AKG stereo speakers, Dolby Atmos, USB-C, Colors: Awesome Blue, Awesome Violet, Awesome Black, Awesome White

Dimensions: 159.9 x 75.1 x 8.4 mm

Weight: 189 g

Price: PHP 18,990

Samsung Galaxy A52 5G Specs

Display: 6.5-inch 2.5D curved AMOLED screen w/ 120Hz refresh rate, FHD+ 2400 x 1080 resolution at 405 ppi

CPU: 2.2GHz 8nm Snapdragon 750G octa-core processor

GPU: Adreno 619

RAM: 8GB

ROM: 256GB expandable via microSD card up to 1TB

Back Camera: 64MP f/1.8 w/ OIS + 12MP f/2.2 ultra-wide-angle + 5MP f/2.2 macro + 5MP f/2/2 depth + LED flash

Selfie Camera: 32MP f/2.2

Battery: 4,500mAh w/ 25W fast charging

OS: Android 11 w/ One UI 3.1

Connectivity: WiFi 802.11ac (2.4GHz/5GHz), 4G LTE, Bluetooth 5.0, OTG, GPS, GLONASS, dual SIM (hybrid)

Sensors: Accelerometer, light, orientation, proximity, gyroscope, sound, magnetic

Others: In-Display fingerprint sensor, IP67 water and dust resistance, AKG stereo speakers, Dolby Atmos, USB-C, Colors: Awesome Blue, Awesome Violet, Awesome Black, Awesome White

Dimensions: 159.9 x 75.1 x 8.4 mm

Weight: 189 g

Price: PHP 23,990

Quick thoughts

Surprising results!

After running both phones through several benchmarks, it is clear that even though the A52 4G and A52 5G is nearly the same, the One UI operating system, Processor, and GPU still manages to yield different performance results. 

From the above benchmarks, we can see that the A52 4G is better in CPU, GPU, and battery-focused tasks while the A52 5G is better in Memory, UI, and AI.

Samsung may need to optimize the One UI better to be able to fully utilize the Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G of the A52 5G.

These results are surprising and but do not forget that these are synthetic benchmarks, actual daily use may still vary.

BONUS: Another unrelated observation is that at maximum brightness, the A52 4G appears brighter. This may be because of the slower 90Hz refresh rate. This results in less demand in keeping a brighter peak brightness than the faster 120hz refresh rate.

What do you guys think?