Samsung Galaxy A13 5G smartphone review – Modern cellular technology in an otherwise simple package

As previously mentioned, the Samsung Galaxy A13 5G is visually very similar to its cheaper 4G sibling. However, the case has a matte texture, making it less susceptible to fingerprints. The three cameras are arranged in a straight line without any higher design aspirations.

Although the case yields slightly under pressure and can be twisted from the corners to a small degree, it offers a good build quality and good handling. At 195 grams (~6.88 oz) , the smartphone is not exactly a featherweight for its size.

Since there is a dedicated microSD card reader, it is possible to use both two SIM cards and a microSD card with a capacity of up to 1 TB. The results with our reference Angelbird V60 microSD card and the Galaxy A13 5G are mixed: While they are fairly good in the CPDT benchmark - albeit with heavy fluctuations - the transfer rates during the copy test are relatively slow. Overall, users should not expect top speeds when it comes to data transfers.

Of course, the main draw of the affordable Samsung phone is its 5G capability, which is far from being standard in this price range, as devices such as the Honor X8 or Motorola Moto G42 show.

Additionally, the Galaxy A13 5G supports a wide range of 4G frequencies, making it suitable for accessing mobile networking while travelling. That being said, since there are several bands missing for global use, users should determine whether the phone will work at their destination beforehand.

The smartphone supports Wi-Fi standards up to and including Wi-Fi 5. Compared to other phones in its price range, the transfer rates are good and consistent. We used our reference router Asus ROG Rapture AXE11000 for this test.

While Samsung uses its own telephony app, other apps can also be installed, if desired. VoLTE and Wi-Fi calling are supported. Although the signal strength within the 4G network is weaker compared to high-end devices and frequently drops to below 50 percent, it never fully disconnected during our testing.

The call quality when using the earpiece is mediocre: Although it can get very loud, everyone in proximity will then be able to listen in on the conversation. This also results in the voice of our conversational partner droning in our ears and although it still remains distinctly audible, the higher frequency parts become more pronounced. While our voice is captured well by the microphone, the volume could have been slightly higher.

Via the speakerphone in hands-free mode, voices sound less present, but still distinct. Here, we also must not speak too quietly in order for the person at the other end of the line to hear us.

There is no charger included in the slim package - instead, the scope of delivery only includes a USB cable and a SIM tool. During our testing, the smartphone at least accepted all the chargers we tried without any issues.

Samsung offers a standard one-year limited warranty in the US.

The SoC uses the ARM Mali-G57 MP2 GPU. It is sufficient for video playback at 1440p and 30 FPS, although playing 4K videos is not necessarily a stutter-free experience. That being said, the latter is an unlikely situation for a device with a 720p display, anyway.

The low resolution of the screen is also the reason for the GPU's good onscreen benchmark scores. As the offscreen tests at a fixed resolution show, the overall performance level compared to the competition is still decent.

Our browser benchmarks show that the cheap smartphone can make for a smooth web browsing experience. In practice, pages load quickly, while images are often slightly delayed while scrolling.

Unfortunately, users of the Samsung Galaxy A13 5G will have to contend with long copy operations and charging times. The manufacturer's cheap phone uses slow eMMC storage.

Even within its price category, this is outdated with all competitors being significantly faster during data transfers to and from the storage chip.

Under a prolonged load, the smartphone becomes warm in a very localized area near the top of the phone. Thankfully, the peak temperature of 42.3 °C (108.14 °F) at room temperature is nothing to worry about.

As our 3DMark results show, throttling due to critical temperatures is unlikely to happen even under extreme stress.

The small mono speaker reaches a decent maximum volume level, although the sound is nothing to write home about. With thin and treble-heavy characteristics it is not suitable for long-term music or video consumption.

For clearer results, a 3.5mm audio jack and Bluetooth are available.

In terms of the codec support, the latter is somewhat limited, however: Aside from Samsung's Scalable codec, SBC, LDAC, and AAC, the older standard aptX is also supported, whereas its significantly better and more modern variants are not. Here, users should choose their headphones or external speakers carefully, in order to ensure a pleasant audio experience.

The Galaxy A13 5G is very energy-efficient, particularly during idle and in very undemanding scenarios. While the power draw under load is also acceptable, it is not as impressive, comparatively.

The phone can be charged at up to 15 watts, which results in a fairly long charging time of the large 5000-mAh battery: Fully recharging an empty battery can take up to 3 hours. Charging the smartphone for 10 minutes results in a relatively low change in the battery charge. Here Samsung would do well to keep an eye on the competition: The Xiaomi Poco X4 Pro can be charged at 4x the power or more.

Our test device performs very well in many cases when it comes to the battery life tests and reaches a real-world Wi-Fi runtime of 18:22 hours at a controlled brightness level. This is sufficient for 2 days of normal or even more with moderate use without having to recharge the phone.

Surprisingly, the runtimes in demanding scenarios are shorter compared to other phones in this price category despite the low display resolution. With 5:34 hours, the load runtime is still decent and gamers will not have to constantly be near a power outlet.