Samsung Galaxy A42 5G review

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Introduction

Samsung Galaxy A42 5G is one very odd smartphone. It was touted as the cheapest 5G phone and teased for weeks before its complete specs were finally outed. And it turned out the A42 has grown quite bigger since its compact A40 and A41 predecessors. Not only that but this new Galaxy A42 5G is also shaping to be an excellent gaming device with a pretty large battery at that. Yes, the Galaxy A42 5G is odd, but in a good way.

The Galaxy A42 5G doesn't stray from the beautiful design we saw on the Galaxy A41 and comes with an even more glamorous Prism Dot look. But it is now bigger as Samsung opted for a 6.6" Super AMOLED screen this time. Larger it may be, but the resolution has dropped to HD+, which may get some instant "ew", but bear with us for a moment.

The latest mid-range Galaxy is powered by the 5G-capable Snapdragon 750 chip, which is a real powerhouse. And with that oomph under that HD+ display, we are looking at flagship-grade performance in gaming.

Then there is the beefy 5,000mAh battery, which can keep those gaming sessions for quite some time. The older A41 and A40 aced out battery life test with considerably smaller batteries, so we have high expectations for this one.

The Galaxy A42 5G borrows the Galaxy A41 camera setup and adds an additional 5MP depth sensor. This means you'd find a familiar arrangement on its back - a 48MP primary cam, an 8MP ultrawide shooter, a 5MP macro snapper, and the new depth sensor. The front camera is in the ballpark of the old one - a 20MP f/2.2 imager.

The A42 loses nothing since the A41 - it still offers a 3.5mm jack, an FM radio, a microSD slot, and many will appreciate the doubled storage of 128GB, UFS2.1 at that.

Let's take a look at the specs sheet now.

Samsung Galaxy A42 5G specs at a glance:

• Body: 164.4x75.9x8.6mm, 193g; Plastic body.
• Display: 6.60" Super AMOLED , 720x1600px resolution, 20:9 aspect ratio, 266ppi.
• Chipset: Qualcomm SM7225 Snapdragon 750 5G (8 nm) - unconfirmed: Octa-core (2x2.2 GHz Kryo 570 & 6x1.8 GHz Kryo 570); Adreno 619.
• Memory: 128GB 4GB RAM, 128GB 6GB RAM, 128GB 8GB RAM; UFS 2.1; microSDXC (uses shared SIM slot).
• OS/Software: Android 10, One UI 2.5.
• Rear camera: Wide (main): 48 MP, f/1.8, 1/2.0", 0.8µm, PDAF; Ultra wide angle: 8 MP, f/2.2, 123˚; Macro: 5 MP, f/2.4; Depth: 5 MP, f/2.4.
• Front camera: 20 MP, f/2.2, (wide).
• Video capture: Rear camera: 4K@30fps, 1080p@30fps, 720p@480fps; Front camera: 1080p@30fps.
• Battery: 5000mAh; Fast charging 15W.
• Misc: Fingerprint reader (under display, optical); NFC; 3.5mm jack.

There is only one thing we would have liked even more on such a gaming-oriented smartphone, and that's a stereo speaker setup. We know it's a €299 phone with 5G and all, but seeing how Poco puts some outstanding speakers, it's not that far-fetched thing to wish for, is it?

Anyway, we just can't wait to put this phone through its paces. So, without further ado, here is the Galaxy A42 5G unboxed.

Unboxing the Galaxy A42 5G

The Samsung Galaxy A42 5G is packed within a compact paper box. Its bundle contains a 15W charger, a USB-C cable, and one cheap-looking pair of headphones with a mic.

There is also a silicone protective case inside the box, hidden in the paper compartment that's somewhat stuck inside the paper lid.