The Galaxy A series has some of Samsung’s most widely popular phones. In fact, judging by analyst data reports, the company’s mid-range phone lineup held a noticeably larger share of overall unit sales during 2021 compared to the pricier flagship models.
Of course, that doesn’t come as a surprise, given the increased interest and improvement in the affordable smartphone sector during the last few years. On that note, Samsung just introduced the Galaxy A53 and Galaxy A33, both of which could prove worthy competitors in their price range.
The Galaxy A33 5G, in particular, seems to have received a more significant upgrade over its previous generation. So much so that the difference between the A33 5G and A53 5G ends up being slight, much like how the Galaxy A52 and Galaxy A72 compared to each other.
But let us focus on the A33 for now and check out everything Samsung did to make it more appealing in 2022.
The Galaxy A33 5G is not available in the US, while in the UK it is priced at £329 (€369 in Europe), and comes in one version with 128GB storage and 6GB RAM (a 256GB/8GB should also be available but good luck finding one).
The design of the Galaxy A33 is about what you would expect from a Samsung mid-range phone nowadays, although there are some interesting choices that have been made.
First of all, the back panel is made of matte plastic. It does a pretty good job at avoiding fingerprints, so if you are brave enough to hold it without a case, the new blue and peach colors pop beautifully.
Going around the sides, you will find the power button and volume rocker, the SIM card tray/expandable storage combo and microphone hole on the top. On the bottom of the Galaxy A33 are the speaker grill, USB-C port, and a second microphone.
If you feel like there is something missing here, your gut is correct — there is no 3.5mm headphone jack anymore. A moment of silence, for yet another one bites the dust...
Samsung has, however, brought an IP67 rating to the Galaxy A33, making it dust and water resistant, and an even more appealing choice for potential buyers. One thing that is borrowed from the higher-priced A53 is the Gorilla Glass 5 protecting the display.
Galaxy A33 5G What's in the box
The phone ships with a thin box and that thinness is due to the fact that you don't get a charger included. That is the current reality, what you do get in the box is a USB-C to USB-C cable, a SIM tool, some user manuals and that's about it.
Galaxy A33 5G Display
Just like its predecessor, the Galaxy A33 5G is keeping its tear-drop shaped display, or as Samsung calls it — Infinity-U. This time around, however, it has an FHD+ resolution and it measures 6.4 inches.
Last year Samsung launched two versions of the A32 — a regular A32 and an A32 5G. The latter was equipped with a 90Hz refresh rate display while the former had only 60Hz. This year, the Galaxy A33 has a 90Hz refresh rate.
The display itself had good viewing angles, the colors look vibrant, and Samsung claims as much as 800 nits of maximum brightness.
The CIE 1931 xy color gamut chart represents the set(area)of colors that a display can reproduce,with the sRGB colorspace(the highlighted triangle)serving as reference.The chart also provides a visual representation of a display's color accuracy. The small squares across the boundaries of the triangle are the reference points for the various colors, while the small dots are the actual measurements. Ideally, each dot should be positioned on top of its respective square. The 'x:CIE31' and 'y:CIE31' values in the table below the chart indicate the position of each measurement on the chart. 'Y' shows the luminance (in nits) of each measured color, while 'Target Y' is the desired luminance level for that color. Finally, 'ΔE 2000' is the Delta E value of the measured color. Delta E values of below 2 are ideal.
The Color accuracy chart gives an idea of how close a display's measured colors are to their referential values. The first line holds the measured (actual) colors, while the second line holds the reference (target) colors. The closer the actual colors are to the target ones, the better.
The Grayscale accuracy chart shows whether a display has a correct white balance(balance between red,green and blue)across different levels of grey(from dark to bright).The closer the Actual colors are to the Target ones,the better.
In terms of biometrics, there is an optical fingerprint reader below the above-mentioned screen. Yes, having an ultrasonic sensor on such a device would have been quite the treat, but it is not that surprising that Samsung has opted for the more affordable option. And it works quite well in our experience.
If you are more of a "face-unlock" kind of person, then you can do that too with the Galaxy A33 5G.
Performance and Software
The Exynos 1280 chip inside is decent, but not flagship level
Much of the improvements in the Galaxy A33 5G stem from its new chipset — the Exynos 1280, which is the first SoC built on the 5nm process to be placed in a Galaxy A3x series. The processor inside features eight cores: 2 x 2.4 GHz and 6 x 2.0 GHz.
The new GPU, on the other hand, shows 50% increase in performance compared to the A32, while Samsung claims that the APU is a whopping 400% better, making AI performance significantly improved over the previous generation.
We have run our suite of benchmarks, so you can see exactly what has changed in the performance numbers below:
In terms of storage, the Galaxy A33 5G comes in one simple configuration — 128GB with 6GB of RAM. Thankfully, there is also the option to expand that storage via a microSD card up to 1TB.
As for the software, the Galaxy A33 launches with Samsung's latest software — One UI 4.1, straight out of the box.
Camera
Two of the four cameras really count, the main and the ultrawide, but you also have a macro and depth sensors
Now, at a first glance the camera system on the Galaxy A33 5G does not seem that much different, or at all even, from that of its predecessor. Look in a bit closer, however, and you will find some key differences.
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First and foremost, optical image stabilization (OIS) makes an entrance in the A3x series. The main snapper on the A33 5G's back is the one equipped with this feature.
It allows for the Galaxy A33 to utilize Samsung's night mode, since the main camera can now shoot long-exposure images and gather more light.
Additionally, the Exynos 1280 inside and the better AI performance it brings result in improved camera features such as portrait mode on both the back and front-facing cameras. The blur is adjustable and there is portrait lighting as well.
The new chipset also helps out while you are digitally zooming in on the shot, with Samsung calling this AI zooming.
In comparison with the generation older A32 5G, the quality has not changed all that much. The A33 boosts the typical vibrant Samsung colors to 11 with more saturation, so the sky is deeper shade of blue and grass is even greener. It all looks too good to be true, and sometimes that can be too much. Still, you do get sharper detail which everyone can appreciate.
While you can spot differences in the main camera, and the selfies have improved a tiny bit, it seems that the ultra-wide camera on the A33 looks nearly identical to the previous gen version.
Video quality has traditionally been the one area where budget phones make some big compromises compared to flagships, and the Galaxy A33 5G unfortunately does make quite a few compromises as well.
You can record at 4K UHD video resolution, but you don't get proper video stabilization which makes the footage quite jerky and not very usable, plus you cannot use the ultra-wide camera in 4K mode.
Then, you have 1080p FHD video recording, and since that option does use the default software video stabilization, the footage is actually cropped in quite a bit more than in 4K mode. In FHD mode you can use the main and the ultra-wide cameras, but while you do get gradual zoom, the switch to the ultra wide camera just jumps from 1X directly to 0.5X.
In 1080p mode, you also have the Super Steady option (the wavy hand icon in the camera menu), which traditionally uses the ultra-wide camera. It is a bit steadier than the default stabilization, but since you are using the ultra-wide camera, the quality is worse with more grain and noticeably less detail, so we wouldn't recommend it for most of your footage.
Galaxy A33 5G Audio Quality
As mentioned earlier, sadly, the Galaxy A33 5G does not come with a 3.5mm audio jack, or any other kind of jack for that matter. Samsung has decided to opt it out of its two mid-range phones this year.
Thankfully, there are stereo speakers to maybe, possibly compensate for that tragic loss. They are now louder than before, and the quality went above expectations, even if it wasn't quite stellar. You get a pleasing clarity out of this loudspeaker, and some depth to the sound, but if you crank up the volume to the max you will hear it distort. However, at 2 or 3 levels below the maximum sound output, you get very pleasing audio output.
Battery Life and Charging
Just like the Galaxy A32, the Galaxy A33 has a maximum wired charging speed of 25W, with no support for wireless charging. Unlike the predecessor, though, it comes with no included charging brick in the box, so you would have to get that yourself. The battery itself is 5000mAh in capacity.
We ran our three independent battery tests (we use the same brightness and equal conditions and perform the test over a Wi-Fi connection), and we got the following results out of the Galaxy A33.
To bring things up to a close, the Galaxy A33 5G is a huge upgrade over its predecessor, and extremely close in terms of features to the Galaxy A53 5G.
If you are fine with a bit more bezel on the A33 5G and want to save some money, you should not hesitate and just go with the A33 instead.
The new processor brings faster everything, including AI, and GPU power, the screen makes it all look good, and when you sprinkle in the optical image stabilization, louder speakers, and better durability, it starts to look quite appealing. Still, this is not iPhone SE level in terms of performance, it's a mid-range device, but in a far more modern looking design than the SE, we have to say.
Are there better options around? Depends on what you are looking for, and for more color on that we recommend you pay a visit to our continuously updated Best Budget phones article.
Aleksandar is a tech enthusiast with a broad range of interests, from smartphones to space exploration. His curiosity extends to hands-on DIY experiments with his gadgets, and he enjoys switching between different brands to experience the latest innovations. Prior to joining PhoneArena, Aleksandar worked on the Google Art Project, digitizing valuable artworks and gaining diverse perspectives on technology. When he's not immersed in tech, Aleksandar is an outdoorsman who enjoys mountain hikes, wildlife photography, and nature conservation. His interests also extend to martial arts, running, and snowboarding, reflecting his dynamic approach to life and technology.
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