Samsung M62 Review: A Great Mid-range Smartphone

Samsung Galaxy M62 is the latest phone to enter Samsung’s 2021 lineup of M-series smartphone.

It starts at Rs. 39,999 for the 6/128GB variant and is a one-of-a-kind mid-range smartphone. Why? Because it sports a flagship chipset Exynos 9825 for a mid-range price.

So, is the Exynos 9825 good enough to make it a good value mid-ranger? Well, you will find out in our review of the Samsung M62.

Samsung Galaxy M62 Review

Performance

• Exynos 9825 (7 nm)
• Octa-core (2×2.73 GHz Mongoose M4 & 2×2.4 GHz Cortex-A75 & 4×1.9 GHz Cortex-A55)
• Mali-G76 MP12 GPU
• 128GB 6GB RAM, 128GB 8GB RAM

Samsung Galaxy M62 brings an old flagship chipset, the Exynos 9825. This is the same chipset that is also used on the Samsung Note 10+.

Exynos 9825 crushes mid-range chipsets like 730G and 732G on benchmark.

As for real-world performance, M62 feels like a flagship when browsing apps and navigating the UI. I did not get any hint of slowdown even when using multiple apps and multitasking. The RAM management on the M62 is also impressive.

On to the gaming performance, I raised concerns about its sustained gaming performance in my impressions article. But, I can say that it can handle gaming quite well.

It is able to play PUBG at a maximum of HDR graphic and extreme fps setting. For the extreme 60fps option, the graphic needs to be dialed down to smooth. The frame rate was hovering around 38-40fps in HDR and ultra setting with an occasional drop to 35fps. Likewise, it provides 58-60fps in smooth settings for the first 20 mins of gaming. Afterward, the chipset drops its performance to maintain 55fps while the temperature maxes out at 41-degree celsius.

The experience is similar in COD Mobile as you will get occasional frame drops if you play in max graphics and max fps option. But, it will maintain a good frame rate in low graphic and max fps settings.

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M62 doesn’t overheat and the temperature remains under 41-degree celsius but it shaves off some performance while doing so.

Super AMOLED Display

• 6.7-inches sAMOLED+
• 1080 x 2400 pixels
• 420 nits
• 60Hz

M62 is a copy-cat of M51 in terms of the display panel. It’s an infinity-o display with a Super AMOLED panel that gets bright enough and has punchy colors.

The absence of high refresh rate is a bummer but its not deal braking.

Yes, it is a 60Hz panel but the superior flagship chipset keeps things really smooth. All the animations and scrolling are quick. So, you won’t be complaining about the lack of a high refresh rate option.

Design

• 163.9 x 76.3 x 9.5 mm
• 218 g
• Dual SIM (Nano-SIM, dual stand-by)

Samsung M62 shares the design philosophy of the Samsung M51 as it has the same body dimensions. The change comes in terms of the square-shaped camera module and pattern design on the glastic rear.

The rear panel is one of the major weaknesses of this smartphone as it is easily scratchable.

On the other hand, it is also a thick and heavy phone just like the M51 as it measures 9.5mm thick and weighs 218 g.

Upfront it gets the same hole punch right in the middle of the screen and a side-mounted fingerprint sensor. The fingerprint sensor works well. It’s fast and reliable.

Overall, M62 doesn’t have an appealing design when compared to the likes of A52 or even the A32. But it looks okay.

Camera

• Rear Camera: 64 MP, f/1.8, 26mm (wide), 1/1.73″, 0.8µm, PDAF
  • 12 MP, f/2.2, 123˚ (ultrawide)
  • 5 MP, f/2.4, (macro)
  • 5 MP, f/2.4, (depth)
  • Video: 4K@30fps, 1080p@30fps
• Front Camera: 32 MP, f/2.2, 26mm (wide), 1/2.8″, 0.8µm
  • Video: 4K@30fps, 1080p@30fps

Samsung Galaxy M62 has the same camera setup as the M51. There’s a triple camera setup on the rear with a 64MP Sony IMX686 main sensor, a 12MP ultrawide angle sensor, a 5MP depth sensor, and a 5MP macro sensor.

64MP MAIN SENSOR

While it uses the same sensor as the M51, the flagship-level image processing on the M62 delivers a better picture. The images shot in daylight have crisp detail with rich colors and a satisfactory dynamic range.

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The 64MP photos also get HDR support so there are not many sacrifices interms of picture quality. But, it’s better to use the normal mode rather than the 64MP mode.

While it is good at daylight situation, M62 doesn’t produce the best images in low-light scenarios.

The dynamic range takes a hit and the photos have low detail. Furthermore, noise starts to creep in and you might get blur photos at night. But, it does include night mode which helps to reduce noise and get more light into the picture. However, this can result in weird artifacts and a smoothened effect.

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ULTRAWIDE ANGLE CAMERA

The 12MP Ultra wide-angle camera is easily one of the best in the segment.

Images have a good dynamic range and the level of detail is satisfactory too. The color profile of the ultrawide image is slightly different from the main sensor though.

Also, it provides a 120-degree FOV and the distortion correction is also quite good.

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PORTRAIT AND MACRO MODE

Samsung Galaxy M62 has a 5MP depth sensor and a 5MP macro sensor. Talking about the portrait photos, the edge detection won’t be perfect all the time but the background blur is really nice. Also, the HDR helps to keep the backlight under control.

As for the macro photos, they are good enough for social media. But, the results are a bit flat and look slightly overexposed.

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FRONT CAMERA

Now on to the front camera, the 32MP sensor takes good photos under good lighting.

Photos have good detail in well-lit conditions and indoor selfies turn out great as well.

The HDR feature helps to keep the backlight under control even in tough situations and the results speak volumes especially on portrait photos. Overall, the selfie game of M62 is pretty strong.

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Video

Samsung M62 can capture videos up to 4k 30fps. The video quality is really good on 4K and even on 1080p. However, it doesn’t get OIS which is available on the A52. Instead, it uses EIS which produces pretty stable videos.

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Furthermore, it doesn’t have a 1080p 60fps option even though it is using a flagship chipset. Putting that aside, it can capture up to 4K 30fps videos from the ultrawide angle sensor and the front camera too.

Battery and Charging

• Non-removable Li-Po 7000mAh battery
• Fast charging 25W
• USB Type-C 2.0

While the 7000mAh battery on the M51 racked up an average of 9-10 hours of screen on time. I was getting around 7-8 hours of average screen on time with the M62.

Battery life is not as expected but it is still better than most mid-range phones out there.

The included 25W charger takes slightly more than 2 hours to charge the phone from 0 to 100.

Speaker

Samsung M62 has a single bottom-firing speaker which gets very loud but it does not offer the best clarity. Overall, it has an average speaker.

Software

• Android 11
• One UI 3.1

M62 runs on One UI 3.1 on top of Android 11.

My review unit is running on January 2021 update and it has not received further updates. Well, the experience is very similar to that of the M51.

It also gets swipe right to Google news which is standard on all of the latest Samsung phones. Likewise, there’s lift to wake, double-tap to turn on/turn off the screen, finger sensor gestures, etc.

M62 is secured by Knox as it comes with a secure folder feature. In terms of camera features, it comes with single-take, pro video, portrait video, etc.

Should You Buy Samsung Galaxy M62?

Samsung Galaxy M62 is a really good phone and you should definitely go for it.

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The Exynos chipset gives it good performance and is a stand-out performer in the mid-range segment. But, it lacks a high refresh rate display which is quite common these days.

On top of that, its design and build quality are not impressive. So, if you want a better-looking phone with a similar performance, you can go with the Samsung A52.

I hope you like our Samsung Galaxy M62 review. If you have any questions regarding this device, then drop them in the comments below.