Samsung Galaxy F62 review: Worthy all-round 4G smartphone in Indian context

The Samsung Galaxy F62 seems to be a competent midrange smartphone with something in store for everyone. But how does it fare in real life? Khalid Anzar finds out

After opening its 2021 account with budget and premium smartphones, Samsung is now looking at expanding its midrange line-up with the launch of the Samsung Galaxy F62. The smartphone is touted to be a performance-centric device powered by Exynos 9825 system-on-chip, Android 11 operating system-based OneUI 3.1 user interface, and a 7,000 mAh battery. Besides, the smartphone has a big 6.7-inch super AMOLED Plus Infinity-O (punch-hole) screen, 64-megapixel-based quad-camera set-up on the back, and fast-charging support.

On paper, the Samsung Galaxy F62 seems to be an all-round package. But how does it fare in real life? Let’s find out:

Samsung Galaxy F62: Design

The Galaxy F62 seems boring when compared with other midrange smartphones. Made mostly of polycarbonate, the smartphone lacks novelty and looks regular despite its thin (9.5mm) and lightweight (218g) form factor. The phone’s back cover has a dual-tone gradient reflective finish with vertical silver lines running from top to bottom. Interestingly, even the frame is painted in dual-tone colour to maintain design symmetry. The frame features a power button (which doubles up as a fingerprint scanner) and volume rocker keys on the right, dual-SIM and microSD slot on the left side, secondary microphone opening on the top, and 3.5mm audio out port, USB-C charging and data transfer port, primary microphone, and mono speaker at the bottom. Though the gradient design looks good, the glossy finish makes it susceptible to fingerprints and smudges — not something you want if you are not in the habit of using a back cover. Speaking of the back cover, the Galaxy F62 does not come with one in the box.

For a smartphone with massive 6.7-inch screen and 7,000mAh battery, the Samsung Galaxy F62 is neatly built but lacks the charm and zing you expect in a midrange smartphone.

Samsung Galaxy F62: Display

The Galaxy F62 sports a 6.7-inch punch-hole (Infinity-O) screen of a fullHD+ resolution. It is a flat super AMOLED Plus screen with curved Gorilla Glass 3 protection on top. The screen bezels are minimal and even the thick bottom bezel seems thinner than those in other phones in the segment. As for quality, the screen is bright and vivid. Though not a flagship grade AMOLED panel, the Galaxy F62 screen has rich contrast with deep blacks and natural whites. Importantly, it is easy to read irrespective of lighting conditions.

Like most other Samsung Galaxy smartphones, the Galaxy F62 is capable to stream videos available on over-the-top platforms in the fullHD resolution, thanks to its Widevine L1 certification. There is support for high dynamic range (HDR), too, but only for YouTube videos. While the Galaxy F62 screen is good, it operates at a conventional refresh rate of 60Hz. At a time when higher refresh rate screens, including the OLEDs and AMOLEDs, are becoming reality in midrange smartphones, Samsung’s decision to stick with a 60Hz screen panel tempers the Galaxy F62 overall utility.

Samsung Galaxy F62: Camera

The Samsung Galaxy F62 boasts a quad-camera array on the back. The sensors’ combination here is similar to the one available in the Galaxy M51 (review). It features a 64-megapixel primary sensor (Sony IMX682) of an f/1.8 aperture, a 12MP ultra-wide sensor of a 123-degree field-of-view, a 5MP depth sensor, and a 5MP macro sensor. Even the front 32MP camera sensor for selfies, videos and face-unlock mechanism is identical to the one available in the Galaxy M51.

Despite similar sensors, the Galaxy F62 camera performance is different – in a good way. The phone’s primary rear camera takes detailed shots in daylight conditions. Photos taken with the primary camera sensor come out detailed with slightly saturated colours and sharp contrast, good to go out on social media platforms without requiring much of an edit job. Though a 64MP sensor, Samsung uses the pixel-binning technology to reduce the output size without compromising much on quality, and the result is apparent on captured images. For a slightly detailed output, especially in daylight conditions, there is a dedicated 64MP mode, which captures frames in sensors’ native resolution.

It is hard to find a midrange smartphone with a dedicated telephoto lens for optical zoom capability. Like many of its peers, the Samsung Galaxy F62 lacks a zoom lens but the pixel-rich primary sensor allows the camera to go up to 2x zoom (digital) without losing much detail – especially in good light conditions.

As for the ultra-wide-angle sensor, it has a wide field-of-view (FoV) of 123 degrees, something uncommon in midrange smartphones in this price band. The sensor is a good one for daylight photography but struggles in lowlight conditions. The third usable camera sensor is for close-up shots. It is decent but not great.

Complementing the package of capable sensors are value-added features like ‘Single Take’. This feature utilises the phone’s available optics to capture up to 14 different shots in multiple formats in a single go.

The phone’s front camera is also a capable unit and supports some software-based optimisation, such as the portrait mode, live focus selfie videos, night mode, etc. The ‘Single Take’ feature is also available for the front camera and it works equally well, given there is a good lighting to support it.

Samsung Galaxy F62: Performance

The Galaxy F62 is powered by the Exynos 9825 system-on-chip, which is the same mobile processor that powered Samsung’s Galaxy Note 10 series smartphones. The processor is paired with up to 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of on-board storage. The phone boots Android 11 operating system-based OneUI 3.1 user interface.

Details aside, the Galaxy F62 is a power-packed performer. It, however, warms up significantly at times – something that was apparent in the Galaxy Note 10 Plus (review) too. Nevertheless, the performance is top-notch for a midrange smartphone. There is no performance gap and the phone handles everyday operations and heavy-duty tasks with ease. Gaming experience is good but the thermal issue sometimes results in performance throttling – it occurs after extensive gaming sessions. As for the UI, it looks fresh and appealing but comes preloaded with tons of bloatware, including Samsung’s own and third-party ones. Moreover, there are instances of advertisements in UI that look unpleasant.

The Galaxy F62 ships with a 7,000 mAh battery, which is good for a day’s on-battery time on heavy usage. The on-battery time extends to around two days and more on regular usage with intermitted power activity like gaming, video streaming, etc. The phone comes with a 25W fast-charger, which seems somewhat underpowered to support the massive capacity battery. Nonetheless, it takes about three hours to replenish the battery fully.

Samsung Galaxy F62 review: Verdict

Priced Rs 23,999 onwards, the Samsung Galaxy F62 is a competent midrange smartphone with something in store for everyone. Compensating for the phone’s average looks is its neat build and lightweight form factor. The phone’s display is good for most content types that one consumes on a smartphone but the absence of an enhanced refresh rate and touch sampling rate is noticeable. Though not class-leading, the camera is competent, with tons of value-added features to experiment with and explore. Performance-wise, the Galaxy F62 is a delight to use but the ads in the UI hamper the user experience. Completing the package is an enduring on-battery time, which is among the best you get in the midrange segment.

The Galaxy F62 might look less of a modern-day smartphone, thanks to the absence of 5G. But in the Indian content, there is still a long way before 5G becomes a reality, so ‘no 5G’ takes nothing away from the Galaxy F62 or makes it less competent than other smartphones in network and data connectivity. It would, however, be the first in line to become obsolete in terms of network support once the 5G services roll out in the country.