Samsung Galaxy A33 Review: Good Photography and Decent Performance

Galaxy A33 is one of the recently launched A series from Samsung’s family, which has got some upgrades as compared to the previous version like more beautiful back panel, enhanced display quality but… what else? Let’s take a look at the Samsung Galaxy A33 review below.

We are no strangers to the world’s leading smartphone maker alone, referring to Samsung. However, with every year that passes, the market gradually witnesses the continued growth of many Chinese brands, especially in the mid-range and low-cost segments. Will the launch of the Samsung A33 5G help the South Korean brand compete with many other competitors in this price segment? Keeping this point in view, let us proceed with our Samsung Galaxy A33 review.

Design

The back design of this year’s A-series products has not changed much compared to last year’s A-series. The way to set up the camera cluster, and set up the logo is the same, and the Samsung Galaxy A33 5G is no exception. For a more specific example, while its predecessor, Galaxy A32 (REVIEW) had a flat camera cluster, this year’s A33 has a protruding design from the back.

Actually, the base of the A33’s design has been taken by the company from the Galaxy A52 (REVIEW) that was launched last year. But instead of clearly protruding from the back like the A52, the A33 is better finished with a more seamless and softer protrusion than before. From a subjective standpoint, we quite appreciate the A33’s appearance design, though not much has changed over the past year. But whatever you say, good or bad, we will let you guys experience it in your own way.

The edges of the Samsung A33 5G are quite square, of course, this makes the device appearance more sturdy and sharper, especially when viewed from the side. But in exchange for the feeling of holding is not complete, the second is that when looking at the border, it gives the feeling that the handset is quite thick even though the case has not been attached.

Another thing to note is that this year’s Galaxy A33 will not have a 3.5mm headphone jack, which is quite inconvenient for many. Apart from the above details, the IP67 standard, Gorilla Glass 5 to help resist drops and scratches, and a rough back to prevent fingerprints, good sweat stains will be some of the minor plus points of the Galaxy A33 over many competitors.

Display

The first thing that can be seen on the front is that the device uses a waterdrop screen, or as the company calls a more sophisticated name, Infinity-U, which means U-shaped notch. Actually, the water drop screen is good. The perforation also doesn’t affect the screen feel much, it affects the aesthetics more. Another is that the surrounding bezel is quite thick, both on the top and bottom bezels.

Samsung A33 5G has been upgraded to Super AMOLED panel, the resolution is also higher than FHD+ instead of HD+ like last year. It’s hard to criticize someone who specializes in plowing new MVs from Blackpink or Binz with colorful concepts. High contrast and vibrant colors are some of the benefits of this monitor. The screen brightness is still good under many different lighting environments.

The screen refresh rate of the Galaxy A33 is 90Hz, neither too high nor too low. The manipulations of gliding, swiping, and touching are at a good level. In fact, if you pay close attention, it still doesn’t seem completely comfortable when surfing social networks, while scrolling the news feed. But the general assessment is that the selling price is right, and it is difficult to ask for more.

Camera

The parameters and features on the camera have not changed after this year compared to last year, namely: 48MP f/1.8 wide-angle camera (1/2.0″ sensor), 8MP f/2.2 ultra-wide-angle camera (1/4.0 sensor), 5MP f/2.4 macro camera and 2MP f2.4 depth camera.

The Galaxy series’ sufficiently bright photos are still the same language, with image quality refreshing, brighter, and more alive than in reality. Immediately after shooting, the resulting images always bring a flatter feeling, especially when shooting outdoors or backlit. Those of you who are often virtual with wind and moon will love the image quality of Galaxy A33. No need to edit much, capture pictures, and post them instantly.

If you take pictures with a super wide-angle camera, the color of the image is still flattering, if you look carefully, you will notice a slight color blur phenomenon. Because the resolution of this camera is smaller than that of a wide-angle camera, the detail is also reduced.

In a dimly lit environment, weakness appears gradually. The image at this time is smooth, but it does feel a bit uncomfortable. Photos lack depth, lack clarity, and end up looking unnatural. Switching to an ultra-wide-angle camera will only make this situation worse. This is also justified because the parameters of the ultra-wide-angle camera are far behind that of the main wide-angle camera.

Since the sensor is quite good, images are generally good in night environments, although details aren’t very sharp. This situation is improved when Night Mode is on, and the image gets more depth.

Most smartphones in this price range are equipped with a 2MP macro camera just “for fun”, but the Galaxy A33 is a bit more prominent with a 5MP resolution. This parameter is not really better, but it is more or less improved and gives the image only slightly sharper than that of a macro camera with 2MP resolution.

Taking pictures to remove the background produces usable images, it is difficult to have high requirements for detail, but the processing algorithm produces good color quality, so it can be “saved” to some extent.

Talking about the front camera, Galaxy A33 comes with a 13MP f/2.2 selfie camera. The image colors are nice and realistic but not too flattering. And as mentioned above, the Galaxy A33’s backlit handling is stable, so selfies are acceptable in a backlit environment.

Samsung Galaxy A33 Review Test

Samsung Galaxy A33 specifications

• Display: 6.4-inch FHD+ (1080×2400 pixels) Super AMOLED Infinity-U Display with 90Hz refresh rate, Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection
• CPU: Octa-Core (2.4GHz Dual + 2GHz Hexa CPUs) Exynos 1280 processor
• GPU: Mali-G68 GPU
• RAM / Storage: 6GB RAM with 128GB / 8GB RAM with 256GB internal storage, expandable up to 1TB via micro SD card
• OS: Android 12 with Samsung One UI 4.1
• Features: Hybrid Dual SIM (nano + nano / microSD), In-display Fingerprint sensor, Samsung Pay, USB Type-C audio, Stereo speakers with sound by AKG, Dolby Atmos, Water-resistant (IP67)
• Rear Camera: 48MP rear camera, f/1.8 aperture, OIS, 8MP ultra-wide-angle camera, f/2.2 aperture, 2MP depth sensor, and 5MP macro camera with f/2.4 aperture, LED flash
• Front Camera: 13MP front camera with f/2.2 aperture
• Connectivity: 5G SA / NSA, Dual 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 802.11 ac (2.4GHz + 5GHz), Bluetooth 5.1, GPS + GLONASS, USB Type-C, NFC
• Battery: 5000mAh (typical) battery with 25W fast charging
• Dimensions: 159.7 × 74 × 8.1mm
• Weight: 186g

Performance

This year, Galaxy A33 returns to “homegrown” with Exynos 1280 chip with 5nm process, consisting of 2 Cortex A-78 2.4GHz cores and 6 Cortex A-55 2.0GHz cores with 8 cores, Mali-G68 GPU, 8GB RAM, and 128 GB internal storage. The Antutu software (v9.3.4) used by many and dotted quickly on Geekbench 5, the Galaxy A33 got a moderate score. Featured with a fairly high GPU score, even more than the CPU.

Use additional 3DMark software to test graphics performance with rendering resolutions of 2K (2250 points) and 4K UHD (628 points). Next to it is a comparison table with other devices near the score for you to easily visualize. Let’s play some games to see how the device performs and continue our Samsung Galaxy A33 review.

One such game that requires high configuration compatibility is PUBG Mobile. Graphics settings up to max HD with FPS high for a relatively stable experience. Of course, it won’t be as easy as configuration for professional gamers, but it’s enough not to annoy users.

The average FPS fluctuated when playing was 29.3 FPS. If you reduce the graphics to a lower level, the maximum setting for FPS is still High. So please keep the HD graphics for the best visual experience.

Finally, we have Genshin Impact, a game with more advanced graphics quality and better known as the “hardware killer”. We set low graphics and it feels enough for a walk. In combat, the device can still handle it, but it isn’t smooth. In general, light entertainment is fine, if you need hardcore gaming, it’s hard to get from the Galaxy A33.

During gameplay, the frame rate fluctuates up and down continuously, the average fps is 18.2.

Battery

The Galaxy A33 uses a 5,000mAh battery that promises a full day of use, but it is uncertain with the device configuration. Set the brightness to 50% and speakerphone volume to 50%, and we tested the battery’s capacity to degrade after 1 hour in each of the tasks below. In fact, if you use it at home or office, don’t need the extra screen brightness, and combine it with headphones, the battery life will last longer.

Removing the charger by Samsung makes it very difficult for users to replace it. In the case of using the 25W charging standard, the charging speed of the device is around 91 minutes. Significantly slower than many fast chargers today, charging speeds are even longer if fewer standard chargers are used.

Final line

Looking at the back panel, camera, screen, and ample configuration of the Samsung Galaxy A33, it can be said that it is a beautiful smartphone. However, in order to get the most accurate valuation, it is impossible to ignore the key factor which is price. It is expected to officially launch in mid-April.

Currently, the Samsung Galaxy A53 5G is listed on Amazon.co.uk with a price tag of £329. And it comes in Awesome Black, Awesome Peach, Awesome White, and our Samsung Galaxy A33 review unit is in Awesome Blue. Thus, it can be speculated that the selling price of the Galaxy A33 will be slightly lower than that of the A53.

Considering the price aspect, the Galaxy A33 is quite complete in many ways… at a slightly higher price point. A waterdrop camera with only a slightly thick bottom border will be a big minus for those who care about appearance. Those specializing in the game will also find that the performance is still pretty weak.