Samsung Galaxy M32 review: A marathon runner

Samsung Galaxy M32 is the latest offering in the Galaxy M-series, targeting budget shoppers who want a marathon battery. Positioned in the highly competitive price segment, the Galaxy M32 faces stiff competition from rivals. However, the brand's popularity paired with some competitive specs, the Galaxy M32 might just make the cut.

Samsung Galaxy M32 is priced at Rs 14,999 for the base model featuring 4GB RAM and 64GB storage. For Rs 2,000 extra, the storage is doubled and the RAM size is extended to 6GB. There are two shades to choose from Light Blue and Black and we received the former for review purposes.

Let's see how this new smartphone fairs in the market.

Design

Samsung Galaxy M32 tips the scale on the bulkier side of phones but doesn't feel heavy since the frame and the back panel is made out of plastic. The curved frame on all sides makes the phone comfortable to hold and even use with a single hand. The stripes on the back panel of the blue variant give a 3D finish when light falls on it from a certain angle.

The buttons are on the right side of the phone, the fingerprint sensor is integrated within the power/lock button and the volume controls are positioned above it. One might find the volume controls are placed a bit higher, so you might have to stretch your thumb to reach them.

The left side of the phone has nothing but the SIM card tray, which has two SIM slots and a dedicated microSD card slot. On the bottom is a 3.5mm jack alongside USB Type-C port and speaker.

On the back, the quad-camera module takes its regular top-left corner spot with an LED flash below it. The module isn't protruding, so when you place the phone on the table, there's no see-saw action.

Overall, Samsung Galaxy M32 gets a familiar design - one that's liked by the masses. Samsung isn't experimenting with the design in this price range. Why fix something that isn't broken?

Display

Samsung continues its expertise in the area by offering the M32 with best display there is in the segment. The 6.4-inch Full HD+ Super AMOLED display is as good as it gets and the 90Hz refresh rate makes things smooth for users as they navigate across the phone. As a result of a great display, colours are rich, crisp and accurate - suitable for viewing multimedia content and even games. Using the phone in broad daylight is also easy with the help of the high brightness levels, which automatically adjusts to the surroundings.

The display is surrounded by thin bezels on the sides, but there's a thick chin at the bottom and a water-drop notch, which houses the front camera.

Camera

The Galaxy M32 sports a quad camera setup, combining a 64MP main sensor, 8MP ultra-wide sensor and two 2MP depth and macro lenses. Similar to other Samsung mid-range phones, there are modes like AR, Hyperlapse, Slow-mo and Food Mode. The 20MP selfie camera takes decent selfies, but going by the results produced, the camera isn't the best of the phone's qualities.

After testing the different camera lenses under various conditions, we have observed the following:

1. Shots taken in broad daylight are good, captures accurate colours and tones
2. Images are crisp and vibrant, but the dynamic range and details could be better
3. Macro shots are good, captures good details of subjects
4. Portraits work well in well-lit areas, but results are inaccurate in low-light.
5. Adjustable bokeh is a boon
6. Wide angle shots in good light can capture wide field of view with accurate colours
7. Low light shots lack detail and colour accuracy, the night mode slightly improves the output
8. Selfies were good, edge detection in portrait mode in low-light can be easily tricked

Check out a few samples below:

Performance

Samsung Galaxy M32 is powered by MediaTek Helio G80 processor, which gets either 4GB or 6GB RAM. We had the base model for review, which gives a fair idea of what to expect if you're considering saving Rs 2,000. The M32 is not heavy on performance, but it is not bad either. While it can take care of your day-to-day tasks with easy, but it won't ideal to push the limits on this one. We did experience some delay in launching new apps or while multitasking with many apps in the background. Offloading apps that you don't need can certainly be helpful. Casual gaming on the M32 is not too bad either.

The OneUI 3.0 based on Android 11 is similar to what other phones offer. App recommendations in the notification can be annoying. Users can opt out of suggestions while setting up the phone to avoid them. The gestures work smoothly on the phone, the fingerprint sensor is snappy and efficient.

Overall, the Galaxy M32 is not a performance-first phone. It balances the spec sheet with a decent configuration. The 6GB RAM model could be better with multitasking.

Battery

After the display, the phone's battery is the biggest USP of the Galaxy M32. The massive 6,000mAh size is the reason for the bulky design. But when the phone lasts for two days, the size of the phone won't bother.

We consistently got a day and a half worth of battery life with 90Hz refresh rate and moderate-to-heavy usage. But charging the battery even with fast charging can be tiring in 2021. Even though the phone supports 25W charging, there's only 15W adaptor in the box, requiring you to invest more on the new adaptor. But if you choose to use the one that shipped with the phone, be prepared to wait for two hours to fully charge the Galaxy M32. Leaving the phone on charge overnight seems like a reasonable hack.

Verdict

Samsung Galaxy M32 puts together a reliable set of specs. The battery life and the display have to be the best features of the Galaxy M32, making it ideal for binge-watchers and marathon users. The cameras and the performance of the phone are average, but the latter is not a deal-breaker entirely. Even the cameras are unable to perform their best under low-light. So if you can work around a few setbacks, the Galaxy M32 can be worth considering in the sub-Rs 15,000 category.