SAMSUNG GALAXY M12 & M02: BAGONG BUDGET PHONES! By Mary Bautista

Okay, so we have two budget phones from Samsung which they launched during Lazada’s mid-year sale. So we now have the new Samsung Galaxy M12 and the Samsung Galaxy M02. Hey guys, it’s your tech girl Mary and welcome back to my channel. So let’s talk about Samsung, again they have two new releases during their mid-year sale. I actually wasn’t aware that they were going to launch new budget phones but knowing the M series, they always go with the silent release or silent launch. I bought the Samsung Galaxy M12 for 7,490 pesos and as for the Samsung Galaxy M02, I got it for 4,490 pesos.

What I want to talk about now is, again, this is only the first impressions, but I want to find out if Samsung has an edge when it comes to the budget segment especially when we have good choices of entry-level smartphones from well-known brands like POCO M3 Pro, POCO M3; we also have the newly released Infinix Hot 10S and we also have the Redmi Note 10. So the question is, can these new smartphones from Samsung compete with our already congested budget line-up? Before we proceed to our first impressions, first watch this very quick unboxing. So let’s now unbox the Samsung Galaxy M02 first. Actually the M series has a slightly different look this time. And what we have here is the 2 GB of RAM with 32 GB of internal storage So we have this thin box that contains all the paperwork, there aren’t any specifications on the plastic, and we have the Blue colored unit and yeah, we have the dual camera setup.

The back is actually textured, we have the Samsung power brick, a microUSB charging cable, and we have free earphones included. Now onto the next phone, we have the Samsung Galaxy M12. It’s plastic cover also doesn't have any specifications on it and as you can see, this smartphone is also in Blue but the lines are vertical this time and the texture on the back is not as evident. So yeah, that’s it guys, actually both the M12 and the M02 have the same items in the box except, the charger for the M12 is USB Type-C. For the buttons, they both have the volume rocker and power button on the right side but the M12’s is side mounted.

The M12 has a secondary microphone at the top. We have the speakers, microphone, and headphone jack but for the M12, it has the USB Type-C port. And lastly, we have the SIM tray located on the left side Okay so now that you know what to expect when you buy the M12 and M02 from Lazada, here are some things that I noticed about these phones. As you can see, both units are in Blue. t’s easy to distinguish between which one is the M12 and the M02.

One is an entry-level, which is the M02 and the other is a budget device which is the Samsung Galaxy M12. When it comes to the design language, both are pretty much the same. They’re both made out of Polycarbonate plastic and they’re both a little bulky but if you were to ask me, the Samsung Galaxy M12 is heavier and thicker. Again, I’m not trying to compete these two (against each other) of course they’re two different types of smartphones. I just did both first impressions at the same time.

The Samsung Galaxy M12 has vertical lines while the Samsung Galaxy M02 has horizontal (or diagonal) lines that stick out which gives it a rough texture. Anyway, they both have a matte finish so they aren’t smudge magnets. To unlock the Samsung Galaxy M12, it has a side mounted fingerprint sensor, which is already the norm but as for the Samsung Galaxy M02, the only way to unlock the device is by manually putting in the password. This is quite reasonable considering the price you pay for it. Now how are their displays? As you can see here, they look about the same since they have the same design language because both have the dewdrop notch display.

It’s kind of disappointing because considering the designs that we have this year in 2021, it’s somewhat unacceptable to still have a dewdrop notch. The thickness of the bezels and chin are the same. Like I said earlier, the Samsung Galaxy M12 is a bit thicker than the M02 and to be exact, it weighs 221 grams. Yes, the Samsung Galaxy M12 is that heavy. But to be fair, although the device is a bit heavy, the weight distribution is okay but you might get tired of holding it especially if you’re not used to heavier smartphones.

The M12 has 6.5 inches of HD+ display, so yes, it only has a 720p resolution and the Samsung Galaxy M02 also has 6.5 inches of 720p resolution. So yes, on paper, they both have the same display specs, size, and resolutions capabilities. But the advantage of the M12 is that it has a 90 hertz refresh rate which is kind of new to Samsung because they’re not known for giving higher refresh rates to their budget phones. So it’s a nice surprise to see this phone have a higher refresh rate. Of course, as expected from Samsung, the display is still good even though they don’t have an AMOLED display or 1080p resolution and honestly, Samsung makes great displays not only because of the wallpaper but also because the colors are still somehow vivid even though they only have LCD panels.

Of course, expect that they will lack sharpness because the panels on these two phones are not full HD+ Now what about their sets of cameras? The Samsung Galaxy M12 has four cameras on the back, a 48 megapixel wide camera, a 5 megapixel ultra wide, 2 megapixel macro lens, and the 2 megapixel depth sensor whereas the Samsung Galaxy M02 has a 13 megapixel main camera and a 2 megapixel macro lens. And lastly, for the front camera, the Samsung Galaxy M12 has 8 megapixels while the Samsung Galaxy M02 has only 5 megapixels. The photos taken from the Samsung Galaxy M12 captured a decent amount of detail in the daylight but it’s not the best in lowlight probably because it doesn’t have a dedicated Night mode feature. There’s a bit of a lag whenever I capture photos not only on the M12 but especially on the Samsung Galaxy M02. The user experience is not that fast on both their camera UIs.

The camera app also takes a second to load. So if you’re looking for more capable cameras, then you might want to consider going for the Samsung Galaxy M12. The photos taken on its 48 megapixel main camera are more acceptable compared to the Samsung Galaxy M02 unless you are really on a tight budget. Now what are the differences between these two phones when it comes to their chipsets? Okay so correction upon checking and doing more research, the M12 and M02 actually have the same battery capacity because in other countries, the M12 has a 6,000 milliamp Hour battery capacity, those are the units from India and Korea. So for the battery capacity, they are both 5,000 milliamp Hour.

It’s a bit disappointing because the device is a little heavier so I was expecting a bigger battery considering it came from the M series. Anyways, for their chipsets, the Samsung Galaxy M12 has 2.0 gigahertz of the Octa-core processor while the Samsung Galaxy M02 has the 1.5 gigahertz quad-core processor and 2 GB of RAM with 32 GB of internal storage. The Samsung Galaxy M12 definitely performs better, it’s a good device that can work for your day-to-day usage. It’s performance is sufficient enough although you may encounter the occasional lag especially when you are gaming. For the Samsung Galaxy M02, I would say the experience is not as smooth compared to the M12 because first of all, it only has 2 GB of RAM so expect that you won’t be able to multitask on it.

If you only need the bare basics on a device, which includes texting, emails, browsing on Facebook, it’s enough to do all your basic needs. But again, if you’re looking for something that can be used for gaming, you might want to consider the Samsung Galaxy M12 instead. Although of course for the price you’re paying for the M02, it’s not that bad because it has a decent sized battery for the price you pay for. You can charge the Samsung Galaxy M12 faster because it is capable of 15 watt fast charging unlike the M02. The difference between their operating systems is that the M02 is still on Android 10 while the Samsung Galaxy M12 already has the latest Android 11 as its operating system.

So yeah, those are the specifications and prices that you need to be aware of for the Samsung Galaxy M series. Again, if you were to look for these new phones at the mall, in the Samsung stores, you won’t be able to find it there because they are only exclusively available online at Lazada along with the rest of the M series. The designs are both appealing. Both have average performance, especially the Samsung Galaxy M02. I would say that the Samsung Galaxy M12 is still a better buy because it’s price and specs are more justifiable.

And again, like I always remind you, if you’re looking for a smartphone that you can use for your everyday social media use and online school you should get at least 4 GB of RAM to have a smooth multitasking experience. Anyway that’s it guys, that’s all the information that you need to know and again, it’s your Tech Girl Mary and see you on my next video. Bye!.

Source : Mary Bautista