Samsung Galaxy A52 vs Nokia X20

Here we compared two mid-range smartphones: the 6.5-inch Samsung Galaxy A52 (with Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G) that was released on March 17, 2021, against the Nokia X20, which is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 480 and came out 1 month after. On this page, you will find tests, full specs, strengths, and weaknesses of each of the devices.

Key differences

An overview of the main advantages of each smartphone
Reasons to consider the Samsung Galaxy A52
  • Waterproof body (IP67 classification)
  • Higher display refresh rate – 90 Hz
  • Delivers 28% higher peak brightness (797 against 622 nits)
  • Optical image stabilization
  • Ability to record video in 4K resolution
  • Stereo speakers
  • Slow-motion recording at 240FPS
  • Super AMOLED display (versus competitor's IPS LCD)
  • The front-facing camera can record video at 4K
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Review

Display
Screen quality, color accuracy, brightness
Performance
CPU/GPU performance in apps and games
Battery
Battery life, charging type and speed
Camera
Photo and video recording quality
Connectivity
Networks, ports, data transmission
NanoReview score
Final comparison evaluation

Value for money

You can enter your local price of these phones (in USD or any other currency) and click on the "Calculate" button to see which one has a better value for money.
Price

Tests and specifications

Comparison table of technical specifications and tests
Phone:
vs

Display

Type Super AMOLED IPS LCD
Size 6.5 inches 6.67 inches
Resolution 1080 x 2400 pixels 1080 x 2400 pixels
Aspect ratio 20:9 20:9
PPI 407 ppi 395 ppi
Refresh rate 90 Hz 60 Hz
Adaptive refresh rate No No
Max rated brightness 400 nits 450 nits
HDR support Yes, HDR10 No
Screen protection Corning Gorilla Glass 5 Corning Gorilla Glass 5
Screen-to-body ratio 84.1% 79.8%
Display features - Always-On Display -
Display tests
RGB color space 99.3% 98.7%
PWM 183 Hz -
Response time 4.4 ms 30.5 ms
Contrast ∞ Infinity 923:1
Peak brightness test (auto)
Galaxy A52 +28%
797 nits
622 nits
Sources: NotebookCheck [3], [4]

Design and build

Height 159.9 mm (6.3 inches) 168.9 mm (6.65 inches)
Width 75.1 mm (2.96 inches) 79.7 mm (3.14 inches)
Thickness 8.4 mm (0.33 inches) 9.1 mm (0.36 inches)
Weight 189 g (6.67 oz) 220 g (7.76 oz)
Waterproof IP67 IPX2
Rear material Plastic Plastic
Frame material Plastic Plastic
Colors White, Black, Blue, Pink Gold, Blue
Fingerprint scanner Yes, in-display Yes, in home button
Screen-to-body ratio
84.1%
79.8%

Performance

Tests of Samsung Galaxy A52 and Nokia X20 in the benchmarks
SoC
Chipset Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G Qualcomm Snapdragon 480
Max clock 2300 MHz 2200 MHz
CPU cores 8 (2 + 6) 8 (2 + 6)
Architecture - 6 cores at 1.8 GHz: Kryo 465 Silver (Cortex-A55)
- 2 cores at 2.3 GHz: Kryo 465 Gold (Cortex-A76)
- 6 cores at 1.8 GHz: Kryo 460 Silver
- 2 cores at 2 GHz: Kryo 460 Gold
L3 cache 1 MB -
Lithography process 8 nanometers 8 nanometers
Graphics Adreno 618 Adreno 619
GPU clock 750 MHz 825 MHz
FLOPS ~435 GFLOPS ~468 GFLOPS

Benchmarks

Geekbench 5 (Single-Core)
529
511
Geekbench 5 (Multi-Core)
1591
Nokia X20 +5%
1673
AnTuTu Benchmark 9
339049
324721
CPU 106114 96013
GPU 85526 84253
Memory 55594 62060
UX 90668 81099
Total score 339049 324721
3DMark Wild Life Performance
1040
981
Max surface temperature 40.1 °C 47.5 °C
Stability 99% 99%
Graphics test 6 FPS 5 FPS
Graphics score 1040 981
PCMark 3.0
Galaxy A52 +24%
8747
7064
Web score 7219 5814
Video editing 6258 3962
Photo editing 17328 13998
Data manipulation 7512 6691
Writing score 8998 8303
Sources: 3DMark [3], [4]

Memory

RAM
RAM size 4, 6, 8 GB 6, 8 GB
Memory type LPDDR4X LPDDR4X
Memory clock 2133 MHz 1833 MHz
Channels 2 2
Storage
Storage size 128, 256 GB 128 GB
Storage type UFS 2.1 UFS 2.1
Memory card MicroSD MicroSD
Memory card max size Up to 1024 GB Up to 512 GB

Software

Operating system Android 11 (Can be upgraded to Android 13) Android 11 (Can be upgraded to Android 13)
ROM One UI 5.0 -
OS size 25.8 GB 18 GB

Battery

Specifications
Capacity 4500 mAh 4470 mAh
Charge power 25 W 18 W
Battery type Li-Ion Li-Po
Replaceable No No
Wireless charging No No
Reverse charging No No
Fast charging Yes (35% in 30 min) Yes (50% in 50 min)
Full charging time 1:30 hr 1:50 hr
Battery life tests
Web browsing 11:08 hr -
Watching video 12:14 hr -
Gaming 05:40 hr -
Standby 117 hr -
General battery life
32:10 hr
n/a

Camera

Specs and camera test of smartphones
Main camera
Matrix 64 megapixels 64 megapixels
Image resolution 9000 x 7000 9000 x 7000
Zoom Digital Digital
Flash LED LED
Stabilization Optical Digital
8K video recording No No
4K video recording Up to 30FPS No
1080p video recording Up to 60FPS Up to 60FPS
Slow motion 240 FPS (1080p) 120 FPS (720p)
Angle of widest lens 123° -
Lenses 4 (64 MP + 12 MP + 5 MP + 5 MP) 4 (64 MP + 5 MP + 2 MP + 2 MP)
Wide (main) lens - 64 MP
- Aperture: f/1.8
- Focal length: 26 mm
- Pixel size: 0.8 micron
- Sensor: 1/1.7", Sony IMX682 (Exmor-RS CMOS)
- Phase autofocus
- Optical stabilization
- 64 MP
- Aperture: f/1.8
- Pixel size: 0.8 micron
- Phase autofocus
Ultra-wide lens - 12 MP
- Aperture: f/2.2
- Focal length: 13 mm
- Pixel size: 1.12 micron
- 5 MP
- Phase autofocus
Macro lens - 5 MP
- Aperture: f/2.4
- 2 MP
Depth lens - 5 MP
- Aperture: f/2.2
- Pixel size: 1.12 micron
- Sensor: 1/5.0" (CMOS)
- 2 MP
Camera features - Bokeh mode
- Pro mode
- Bokeh mode
- Pro mode
Selfie camera
Megapixels 32 megapixels 32 megapixels
Image resolution 6528 x 4896 6528 x 4896
Aperture f/2.2 f/2.0
Focal length 26 mm -
Pixel size 0.8 microns -
Sensor type Exmor-RS CMOS CMOS
Sensor size 1/2.8" -
Video resolution 2160p (4K) at 30 FPS 1080p (Full HD) at 30 FPS

Connectivity

Wi-Fi standard Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 b/g/n/ac) Wi-Fi 5 (802.11 b/g/n/ac)
Wi-Fi features - Dual Band
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
- Dual Band
- Wi-Fi Direct
- Wi-Fi Hotspot
- Wi-Fi Display
Bluetooth version 5 5
Bluetooth features PBAP/PAB, PAN, OPP, MAP, HSP, HID, HFP, DIP, AVRCP, A2DP LE, A2DP
USB type USB Type-C USB Type-C
USB version 2 2
USB features - Charging
- USB-Storage mode
- OTG
- Charging
- USB-Storage mode
GPS GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo
NFC* Yes Yes
Infrared port No No
Network
Number of SIM* 2 2
Type of SIM card Nano Nano
Multi SIM mode Standby Standby
eSIM support* No No
Hybrid slot Yes Yes
LTE Cat* 15 15
5G support No Yes

Sound

Speakers Stereo Mono
Headphone audio jack Yes Yes
FM radio Yes Yes
Dolby Atmos Yes No
Speakers test
Max loudness
88.8 dB
83.4 dB

Other

Category Mid-range Mid-range
Announced March 2021 April 2021
Release date March 2021 May 2021
SAR (head) 0.35 W/kg 0.51 W/kg
SAR (body) 0.84 W/kg 1.29 W/kg
Sensors - Proximity sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient light sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint
- Proximity sensor
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- Ambient light sensor
- Compass
- Fingerprint
*Disclaimer! NFC, GSM network support, and some other specs can be different depending on the country.

Conclusion

After analyzing all the data, we think that the Samsung Galaxy A52 is definitely a better buy.

Cast your vote

So, which phone would you choose?
44 (34.1%)
85 (65.9%)
Total votes: 129

User opinions

You can share your opinion or ask a question in the comments below
Avatar
Wedgscream 27 February 2022 11:14
The Samsung may look better on paper but which phone's gonna be packed out with janky bloatware?
+7 Reply
Avatar
Hey 26 July 2021 23:34
Galaxy might be better but Nokia is supposed to be the more ethical company. Wish that weren't the case, Samsung really does look like a good phone and I'd love to be able to support an ethical company when buying it. I can't, so Nokia is the only option.
+27 Reply
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