Samsung has finally begun expanding its mid-range line-up with the Galaxy F62 smartphone launch. It’s powered by an Exynos 9825 SoC (the same chipset that powered the flagship Galaxy Note 10 and Galaxy Note 10+ back in 2019), One UI 3.1 (based on Android 11), a huge 7,000 mAh battery and more. Some may say that the Galaxy F62 is a rebranded Galaxy M51 but I can say with confidence that it isn’t. It’s a unique device because of the Exynos 9825 SoC. The rest of the specifications may be the same, but the chipset makes a huge difference.
How does it fare when it comes to daily use? Let’s find out.
What immediately stands out in the Galaxy F63 is the huge 6.7-inch Super AMOLED Plus Infinity-O display and the dual-tone gradient reflective finish at the rear. It’s got vertical silver lines running through it.
However, there are two problems that I encountered with the design. First, it is a fingerprint magnet and attracts smudges easily on the rear panel. Second, it picked up scratches and scuff marks even while keeping it inside my pocket. Be sure to pick up a case if you want it to stay pristine two months down the line.
Despite the huge display and battery, Samsung has done a good job of keeping the weight in check. The Galaxy F62 is 9.5mm thick and weighs 218 grams. You also get a side-mounted fingerprint scanner (built into the power button).
The 6.7-inch Super AMOLED display comes with curved Gorilla Glass 3 protection on top. The bezels seem thinner than on other phones in the segment, even if the bottom bezel isn’t so minimal. Despite not being a flagship grade AMOLED panel, the Galaxy F62’s display has punchy colours with deep blacks.
The one drawback is that the smartphone operates at a refresh rate of just 60Hz. With 120Hz becoming the norm in the mid-range sector, it’s sad to see the Galaxy F series holding back.
With the Exynos 9825 SoC under-the-hood (the same chipset that powers the Galaxy Note 10 series of smartphones) paired with up to 8GB of RAM and running One UI 3.1 (based on Android 11), the F62 is a capable performer. For a mid-ranger, this smartphone has top-notch performance and there is little to complain about. It does, however, tend to get warm, especially when one is gaming.
One needn’t go into too much detail about the camera setup as it isn’t much different from the Galaxy M51. The main camera’s photos come with good detail, dynamic range and accurate colours. The noise creeps in during low-light photos.
The ultra-wide camera is usable in daytime conditions but hardly functional when lighting is an issue. The 5MP macro camera shouldn’t have been there. Samsung should have used the space and budget taken up by the 5MP macro camera on improvements in other areas.
Nonetheless, you get good photos that are shareable on all the various social media platforms but nothing that will stand out.
Phenomenal. That’s the way I will put it. And no, that isn’t an understatement. Trying to deplete the F62’s massive 7,000 mAh battery in one day is an epic challenge. I threw everything I could at it and came up short.
I tried everything from playing games to 12-hour YouTube videos to keeping 30+ tabs open on Google Chrome, video calls, phone calls and more. I failed the test each time. The Galaxy F62’s battery easily lasted me a day and a half. Mostly, it was closer to the 2-day mark.
If you do manage to deplete the smartphone’s battery completely, then a full charge with the 25W charger in-the-box will take you just under two hours to complete. In fact, a 30-minute charge can juice it up by about 35%.
Let me just say that despite the word ‘monotonous’ being used here, I quite enjoyed the Galaxy F62. The reason for calling it monotonous is that nothing stands out. It’s a good, capable smartphone at an attractive price with nothing exceptional barring the battery.
With a flagship processor and a long lasting battery, I was very excited with the Galaxy F62. It’s a good mid-ranger from Samsung.
In fact, the Galaxy F62 offers more features than the Galaxy M series of smartphones from Samsung. The Galaxy F62 is better than the Galaxy M51 and takes the crown for the best mid-range smartphone within Samsung (and no, I haven’t tested the Galaxy A52 thoroughly yet).
Images by Sahil Bhalla