Samsung Galaxy M32 review: A value play in the company's budget portfolio

On paper, the Galaxy M32 seems to be a value-for-money proposition in Samsung's budget smartphone line-up in India. Is it so in real life too? Khalid Anzar finds out

In its aggressive push to make its budget and midrange smartphones competitive, Samsung recently launched the Galaxy M32 in India. Priced Rs 14,999 onwards, the smartphone boasts a super AMOLED screen of fullHD resolution and a 90Hz refresh rate, big-capacity battery, a quad-camera array on the back, and the Android 11 operating system. On paper, the Samsung Galaxy M32 seems to be a value-for-money proposition in the South Korean electronics maker’s budget line-up in India. But is it so in real life too? Let’s find out:

Design

Like Samsung’s other budget and midrange smartphones, the Galaxy M32 is made of plastic. The phone has a gradient reflective plastic cover on the back with a glossy finish, which makes it a fingerprint magnet. On the brighter side, the overall form factor is compact and the phone has a good in-hand feel. The phone might not be a looker but it does not feel bad in hand. It has a compact form and lightweight build for a good in-hand experience. There is a plastic construction on the sides as well – the phone has a plastic frame. It does not look cheap but gives away the phone’s budget affiliation. Overall, the Samsung Galaxy M32 has a modest build with no fancy design element to add zing. One must give it to Samsung, however, for designing a smartphone that does not feel unwieldy despite packing in a mammoth 6,000 mAh battery.

Display

The Galaxy M32 sports a 6.5-inch sAMOLED screen of fullHD+ resolution and a 90Hz refresh rate. The screen is bright (up to 800 nits) and remains legible under bright outdoor conditions. It is set to render vivid colours by default that can be changed to natural, if preferred, from the phone’s display settings. Besides, the screen’s colour profile can also be personalised by manually tuning the white balance and red, green and blue colour intensity. To reduce eye fatigue, the phone ships with an ‘Eye comfort shield’ built in the operating system; it adjusts the screen colour temperature (limiting the blue light) based on the time of day. There is also an option to custom-set the screen colour temperature here. As for responsiveness, the screen is smooth and works fine in everyday use.

Camera

The Galaxy M32 has a quad-camera set-up on the back, featuring a 64-megapixel primary sensor, an 8MP ultra-wide-angle sensor, a 2MP depth sensor, and a 2MP macro lens. On the front, the phone has a 20MP sensor for selfies, videos and face-unlock mechanism.

Details aside, the rear cameras on the Galaxy M32 are good but only for daylight imaging. In good light conditions, the primary 64MP sensor takes detailed shots with a modest dynamic range. It, however, boosts the colours and makes the frame look anything but natural. The colour accuracy might seem to be an issue for shutterbugs but casual everyday photographers and social media enthusiasts would appreciate the output as these look lively. In low light, the sensor struggles and fails to deliver. The sensor does not lock the focus and captures a lot of noise. There is a visible distortion, and detailing like highlights and shadows also go for a toss.

As for the ultra-wide sensor, it takes good shots in day light, but struggles in dark environments. In daylight conditions, it takes detailed shots with a good colour accuracy, enhanced highlights and shadows, and a decent dynamic range. The macro sensor is good but not the best in its segment. The depth sensor complements the primary sensor’s performance, and it works well for the bokeh effect and camera filters.

As for the front camera, it is a capable one and supports a lot of software-based optimization – the portrait mode, night mode, etc.

The camera on the Galaxy M32 is similar to what you get in other Samsung budget smartphones. It, however, omits Samsung’s exclusive feature named the ‘Single Take’. Single Take is a feature that Samsung trickled down to its budget and midrange smartphones from premium flagships. The lack of it in the Galaxy M32 does not dent the overall camera performance but takes away the familiar Samsung experience.

Performance

The Samsung Galaxy M32 is powered by the MediaTek Helio G80 system-on-chip, paired with up to 6GB RAM and 128GB internal storage. The phone boots Android 11 operating system-based OneUI 3.1. The phone’s performance is good for everyday use but pales in comparison to what most of its Chinese peers offer. The phone’s gaming performance is modest and graphic-intensive gaming titles are best played in low and medium graphics settings. As for the user interface, the phone is loaded with bloatware, including some that cannot be uninstalled from the phone.

Besides bloatware, the Galaxy M32 is infested with third-party app recommendations that keep sending notifications till you accept the terms to install the recommended apps. Surprisingly, you cannot bypass this part of set-up as the notification keeps popping up until you have given the permission. Moreover, the set-up compels you to download and install more junk in the smartphone in the name of recommended apps. There is a way to not do so but it is not direct and can only be done if you have time and patience.

Battery

The Galaxy M32 is powered by a 6,000 mAh battery, which is good for a day’s on-battery time with the screen set at 90Hz. The phone ships with a 15W fast wired charger, which takes about three hours to replenish the battery fully.

Verdict

The Galaxy M32 is a value-for-money proposition in Samsung’s budget smartphone line-up. It boasts a good sAMOLED display of a 90Hz refresh rate, 3.5mm audio out port for wired earphones, a decent camera system, and modest performance. The smartphone might not be the best one in the budget segment but it is in the Samsung portfolio. That said, consider the Galaxy M32 if you are averse to Chinese brands. If not, there are options like the Realme 8 5G and Poco M3 Pro 5G which exceed the Galaxy M32 on almost all parameters.