Verdict on the Samsung Galaxy M52 5G: The Samsung smartphone often comes up short

With the Galaxy M52 5G, Samsung introduces a powerful upgrade of its M series in the mid-range. Due to the up-to-date Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G, the M52 5G reaches a performance score that is more than 50% better than that of its predecessor. We particularly liked the display of the Galaxy M52 5G in the test: the attractive 6.7-inch, 120-Hz Super-AMOLED display is convincing in all areas and offers a very high brightness for this price class. 

On the other hand, there was some cost-cutting in the relatively powerful batteries, which have been the distinguishing characteristics of the M-series phones in the recent past. While the Galaxy M51 still offered a 7000-mAh battery, the 2021 model has to be content with a capacity of 5000 mAh. This causes the mid-range smartphone from Samsung to lose the "DNA" of the Galaxy M series, so to speak, which consisted of the very long battery life due to a huge battery capacity.

This becomes very apparent in our WLAN test at an adjusted display brightness of 150 cd/m². The Galaxy M52 5G is surpassed by its predecessor by almost 12 hours, which feels like an eternity in this battery test.

Without this long battery life, the Galaxy M52 5G also to some extent loses its reason to exist as a member of the Galaxy family, in our view. The similarities to the Galaxy A52s 5G, which is similarly priced and better in many areas, make the representative of the M series look bad in the direct comparison. In addition to stereo speakers, a 3.5-mm audio port, and faster updates, the A52s 5G sibling model also offers an IP certification and a more high-quality case including Corning Gorilla Glass.   

If you value a large display in an Android smartphone and are looking for a relatively affordable mid-range smartphone, you can get a detailed impression of the Samsung Galaxy M52 5G by taking a look at our extensive review.