Samsung Galaxy A72 vs Galaxy A71 5G

Samsung Galaxy A72

128GB, Dual SIM, GSM

$429 ⁹⁹

Buy at B&H Photo

Samsung is making the Galaxy A72 slightly larger, thicker, and wider than its predecessor to accommodate the longer display diagonal. Anything above six inches in height is unwieldy to carry around or operate with one hand anyways, and both phones are at fault here, so we'd rather have the slightly larger - 6.7" vs 6.5" - display. Both displays are very bright, tuned towards the colder side of the spectrum, and exhibit about average color credibility score for the price range. The higher refresh rate panel on the A72 wins hands down, as it's 2021, and once you go high, it's hard to go 60Hz again.

Samsung's Glasstic housing on an aluminum frame is wrapping the Galaxy A72 internals, available in Awesome Black, Awesome White, Awesome Blue, and Awesome Violet colors.The kicker? The Galaxy A72 still has a headphone jack and supports a microSD card slot, unlike the more expensive Galaxy S21 series, and it will be have water-resistant certification to boot, unlike its predecessor.

We don't mind this plastic-to-glass feel, as it allows for some intriguing pattern finishes, and helps to lower the weight that is bordering on ridiculous with today's big glass phones. Moreover, you can toss it around without worrying it will crack and fracture, just what we'd expect from our midrangers - not to think and baby them as much as their expensive flagship siblings in the Galaxy line. 

Just like last year, Samsung will keep notifying you that this and that Galaxy phone has the next-gen cellular connectivity standard abilities by denoting it with '5G' after the name, and the Galaxy A72 that will be doing this is still to be announced. Like the Galaxy A71 5G before it, the A72 5G might come at a later date, mostly confined to the US and Samsung's home turf, the nations with advanced 5G networks.

The non-5G, LTE version of the Galaxy A72 is equipped with a Snapdragon 7-series processor that actually sits lower on Qualcomm's totem pole than what's in the A71, but the 5G model for the US would be landing with a Snapdragon 750 model, so all is well. While the chipset differs slightly from the more potent Snapdragon 765 in the Galaxy A71 5G, it still supports up to 192MP single cameras, 120Hz display refresh, and fast downloads, so all is well. As you can see from our performance benchmark tests below, the scores are basically similar to what the A71 is able to muster.

A 6GB RAM/128GB storage combo is the start here, as it was for the Galaxy A71, while Samsung also offers a more palatable 8GB RAM/256GB storage version for less than a Benjamin or so more, and that would be the wiser choice, especially on promo pricing.

Samsung isn't mincing its intentions here, and has equipped the Galaxy A72 5G with the largest battery it offers on Galaxy phones sold west of China or India. A little birdy told us that this is the 5000mAh battery pack that the Galaxy S21 Ultra almighty is offering itself, and a welcome upgrade from the 4500mAh unit of its predecessor. 

Don't expect much longer battery life compared to the Galaxy A71, though, as the higher 90Hz (120Hz for the eventual 5G model) display refresh will make sure that surprises in the battery life department don't happen. Still, Samsung advertises the A71 as a two-day battery phone, so it has that advantage before the A71 in the battery department. In 60Hz mode, though, it decimates the A71's endurance on a charge.

On the other hand, Samsung is notorious with its fast charging standard that can top up the 5000mAh pack of the S21 Ultra for an hour and change just with the stock 25W charger, and since that's the charging speed that the Galaxy A72 supports, it will be ready to go when you are, for nearly two days of average use on a charge, and a fast fill-up when you finally get to an outlet in Mary's Gravy truck stop.

We are glad to report that the useless and gimmicky "depth" and even overkill 5MP macro cameras that the Galaxy A71 was forcing you to live with are gone from the Galaxy A72, and Samsung added the way more useful 8MP 3x telephoto cam, and a small-res, but large in sensor size 2MP macro shot. 

The main 64MP sensor that offers pixel-binned 16MP shots, and the 12MP ultra-wide camera have stayed but we had no complaints about those to begin with, while the main camera now gets optical stabilization for crisper shots and more stable footage. 

Despite that 50% of the Galaxy A71 quad-camera setup was there just for props, we were pleasantly surprised by the quality of photos it was able to achieve with the other half, and the Galaxy A72 doesn't stray away from that tendency, as you can see from our samples below.

The exposure level is tuned a step higher on the A72, resulting in better shadows but burned highlights compared to the A71's calibration, while the newer model has more credible colors than the warmer, yellowish tones of its predecessor. 

For all intents and purposes, though, except the clearly superior zoom and optical image stabilization of the A72, both phones produce very pleasing photos for their price range outside when there is enough light. Moving indoors, however, and taking selfies with the front camera, moves the needle way in the new Galaxy A72's favor when it comes to detail and exposure.

All in all, the telephoto and camera sensor upgrades, the larger battery, and the high refresh rate added to the display are the most meaningful Galaxy A72 vs A71 updates that may force even some of you who have been eyeing the Galaxy S21 range to think twice at this price point. On the other hand, the Galaxy A71 is much cheaper now, yet those upgrades are too sweet to pass on.