Initial verdict: The Galaxy A13 does appear to be a promising entry-level offering from Samsung in the Philippines. The nice, aesthetically pleasing design and upgraded main camera make it a tempting buy, though Samsung’s processor choice for the budget phone might scare off potential buyers.

Pros

• Unique design
• High-resolution main camera

Cons

• Dated processor

Samsung Galaxy A13 Philippines Specs:

• Exynos 850 processor
• 4GB/6GB RAM
• 128GB storage
• 6.6-inch LCD display, Full HD+ resolution
• 50-megapixel main camera ISOCELL JN1 with PDAF, 5-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera, 2-megapixel macro camera, 2-megapixel depth sensor
• 8-megapixel f/2.2 selfie camera
• 4G, LTE
• WiFi, Bluetooth, side-mounted fingerprint scanner
• 5000mAh battery
• 15w fast charging
• Android 12, OneUI 4.1

The Galaxy A13 rounds up Samsung’s entry-level offerings here in the Philippines. Compared to last year’s Galaxy A12, the Galaxy A13 gets a full makeover and a few upgrades to justify its higher asking price.

Design

While it shares the same design language as the Galaxy A32 with the individual camera bumps on the rear cameras, the Galaxy A13 has a polycarbonate back panel that has a glossy finish that does attract fingerprints The phone also maintains the slim profile of the more expensive Galaxy A32.

The Galaxy A13 has a USB-C port and headphone jack, along with a power button that doubles as a fingerprint scanner.

Display

Being an entry-level offering, the Galaxy A13 uses an LCD display instead of AMOLED. The 6.6-inch display may only have a 60hz refresh rate, but Samsung did give the A13 a Full HD+ resolution, which should be the standard for an entry-level phone for 2022.

Being an LCD panel, the Galaxy A13 does not have the same vibrant colors and deep blacks as AMOLED panels, but it is nonetheless good enough for media consumption.

Cameras

While the Galaxy A12 did introduce a high-resolution 48-megapixel sensor on Samsung’s entry-level phones, the Galaxy A13 gets an upgrade by using the brand’s own 50-megapixel ISOCELL JN1 sensor.

Touted as one of the smallest sensors Samsung has produced to date, the ISOCELL JN1 measures 1/2.76-inches and has a pixel size of 0.64um. Aside from improved low-light performance, one of the key features of the ISOCELL JN1 is its Double Super PDAF tech, which aims to improve autofocus performance significantly.

We will have to put the Galaxy A13 through its paces once we get a review unit to see how the ISOCELL JN1 fares against other budget phones that also use a 50-megapixel sensor.

Aside from the upgraded main camera, everything else remains the same: you also get an 8-megapixel selfie shooter, a 5-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera, and a pair of 2-megapixel cameras.

Internals

Powering the Galaxy A13 is an Exynos 850 processor that’s paired with up to 6GB RAM and 128GB storage. To those not familiar, the Exynos 850 is an 8nm-based processor that has eight Cortex-A55 cores running at 2.0Ghz. The Exynos 850 is turning two years old and is roughly at par with the Snapdragon 460 based on tests made by various media outlets. We will do our own set of tests once we get a review unit to see how the Exynos 850 fares against newer entry-level processors like the Snapdragon 680, but things don’t look good as far as performance goes VS newer chips built on a more efficient manufacturing process.

Keeping the lights on its a 5000mAh battery with 15w charging. While it is not the fastest charging speed for an entry-level device, 15w is fairly decent.

Wrap up and Initial Verdict

The Samsung Galaxy A12 is the best-selling Android smartphone for 2021, and the Galaxy A13 does have big shoes to fill in various markets including the Philippines. It’s more expensive than its predecessor, but the Galaxy A13 does get a slew of upgrades–including a design makeover–to shape itself as a promising contender in the already-saturated budget segment.

Samsung Galaxy A13 Price Philippines

The Galaxy A13 is priced at Php 10,490 for the 4GB/128GB model and Php 11,490 for the 6GB/128GB model. Those who will purchase the Galaxy A13 from March 21 to April 30 will get a color-coded case with their purchase.