Samsung launched the Galaxy A27 5G smartphone last month as the successor to the Galaxy A26 5G. This gets a 6.7″ FHD+ Infinity-O AMOLED display, faster Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 SoC while retaining the same battery. The price has also increased due to an increase in memory cost. Is this a good upgrade compared to the Galaxy A26 5G? Let us dive into the review to find out.
| Box Contents |
| Camera |
| Battery Life |
| Conclusion |
Box Contents
- Samsung Galaxy A27 5G 8GB + 128GB in Light Green color
- USB Type-C to C cable
- SIM ejector tool
- User manual
Display, Hardware and Design
The phone comes with a 6.7-inch Full HD+ Infinity-O Super AMOLED display with a resolution of 1080×2340 pixels at about 384 PPI, a change from the Infinity-U notch display. The display looks bright, thanks to 1400 nits of peak brightness and up to 800 nits of HBM (high brightness mode), better than the A26. It also has good colour reproduction, and the screen is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass Victus+ protection.
It has a 120Hz refresh rate screen that offers a fluid user experience with smoother animations, scrolling, and gaming. Similar to the other Samsung phones, there is an Eye Comfort Shield that limits blue light emitted by the screen. There is also dark mode. You can choose from Vivid or Natural screen modes based on your preference or set the white balance manually.
The phone doesn’t have DC dimming or a low-brightness anti-flicker mode that is present in some AMOLED-screen phones in the price range. I didn’t notice any screen flicker issues in low brightness on the phone. It doesn’t have a notification LED, but there is an always-on display option.
On the top, there is a new 12-megapixel camera compared to a 13-megapixel camera in the predecessor, and the earpiece is present on the top edge, but it doesn’t double as a secondary speaker. The punch hole is small, and it is not intrusive.
The phone still has huge bottom bezels, and the side bezels are also bigger compared to the competitors.
Coming to button placements and ports, the power button that embeds the fingerprint scanner and the volume rockers are present on the right side; the hybrid dual SIM slot is present on the left; the primary microphone, the USB Type-C port, and the speaker grill are present on the bottom. The secondary microphone is present on the top. It still has a plastic frame but offers a matte finish.
On the back, there is a triple camera module arranged vertically, and this time the camera deco has a silver ring. There is a single LED flash next to it. It is just 7.8 mm thin and weighs 200 grams, almost the same as the A26.
It also comes in light pink and black colors in India. The phone has IP64 ratings for dust and water resistance compared to IP67 ratings in the older models.
Since it has a glossy glass back, it attracts fingerprints easily. The back also has Gorilla Glass Victus+ protection. I have been using the phone without a case, and it didn’t slip out of my hands even once.
Camera
- 50MP rear camera with f/1.8 aperture, OIS
- 5MP ultra-wide angle camera with f/2.2 aperture
- 2MP macro sensor with f/2.4 aperture
- 12MP front camera with f/2.2 aperture
Even though there is no major change in the camera setup, there are some minor changes in the UI with One UI 8.5. You can choose the 50MP option from the aspect ratio settings on the top, and the default output is 12MP instead of 12.5MP after pixel binning. It also has AR stickers, a scene optimizer, panorama, hyperlapse, food, dual rec, and more modes.
Coming to the image quality, daylight shots look good with a good amount of detail and dynamic range and detailing. Ultra-wide shots from the 5MP camera are decent and could be better in low-light. The A26 had an 8MP ultra-wide camera.
2X macro shots from the main camera are good, and there is a dedicated macro camera mode with a 2MP camera, which is average, and you have to keep it at a 3-5cm distance. Live focus is good at detecting the edges. 50-megapixel shots have a good amount of details, but the image size is huge. The 12-megapixel front camera is similar.
Check out some camera samples.
It can record videos at a maximum of 4K resolution at 30 fps and 1080p 60 fps videos from the rear camera, but the stabilization works only in 30 fps when it’s enabled in the settings. The front camera can do up to 1080p 30fps video recording.
Software, UI and Apps
Coming to the software, the phone runs on Android 16 with One UI 8.5, and has June 2026 Android security patch. Similar to the other latest Samsung devices, the company has confirmed 6 OS updates and 6 years of security updates for the A27 5G.
Unlike the AI features in the flagship S series phones, the A27 5G only gets some AI features such as generative wallpapers; the voice transcription feature in the Voice Recorder app AI Select, accessible via the Edge Panel, to extract text, create content, and utilize Drag & Drop functionality in Multi-Window layouts; a better Object Eraser tool for more natural background removal; and Best Face for continuous shooting optimization in group photos, as well as an “Auto Trim” tool for video editing. With the One UI 8 Now Bar that was introduced with One UI 7, it delivers customized insights and suggestions via curated AI information, supporting task management and daily routines.
The device maintenance option lets you manage your device’s battery life, storage, RAM usage, and security all in one place. Out of 128GB (UFS 3.1) storage in our unit, 103.5GB is free. Out of 8GB LPDDR5X RAM, about 7.3GB is usable and 3GB is free when default apps are running in the background.
There is also a RAM Plus feature, which uses the internal memory of the phone to expand the RAM by an extra 8GB, in addition to the existing 8GB of RAM. This is enabled automatically, but you can turn it off.
Apart from the usual set of utility apps and Google apps, the smartphone comes with Netflix, Truecaller, Spotify, Snapchat and Microsoft apps such as Microsoft 365, OneDrive, Outlook and LinkedIn. You get the option to install apps when you are setting up the phone, which you can choose not to. It also has Samsung Wallet via NFC. The phone doesn’t have ads but shows notifications of new Samsung products occasionally.
Fingerprint sensor and Face unlock
The phone has a side-mounted fingerprint sensor that immediately unlocks the phone when you place your finger on it. You can add up to 3 fingerprints, and adding a fingerprint is easy. It has support for face recognition, which doesn’t work well if the lighting is poor in the room or if you are wearing hats or heavy makeup. Both these are protected by Knox security.
Music Player and Multimedia
YouTube Music is the default music player. It has equalizer, Dolby Atmos, UHQ upscaler, and Adapt that can be enabled from the settings. All these improve the audio when listening through earphones, and Dolby Atmos also works with speakers. It doesn’t have FM radio support. That said, audio through earphones is good. Loudspeaker output from the mono speakers is decent, but could have been better.
The phone comes with Widevine L1 support out-of-the-box so that you can enjoy HD content on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hotstar and other streaming apps. There is also HDR playback support for YouTube, but not for Netflix.
Dual SIM and Connectivity
The Galaxy A27 5G has support for N1, N3, N5, N7, N8, N20, N28, N38, N40, N41, N66, N77 and N78 network bands in India. There is dual SIM 5G, and Airtel and Jio 5G work out of the box. There is also 4G Voice-over-LTE (VoLTE) and support for LTE-A, or Carrier Aggregation, and VoNR support for Jio. It doesn’t have eSIM support, which is fine considering the price.
Other connectivity options include Wi-Fi 802.11 ac (2.4GHz + 5GHz), Wi-Fi Calling or Vo-Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.1, and GPS with GLONASS. It has support for USB OTG and NFC that works with supported payment apps.
The Galaxy A27 5G’s head SAR is 0.857 W/Kg, which is well under the limit of 1.6 W/kg (over 1 g) for India.
Performance and Benchmarks
The Galaxy A27 5G is powered by Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 4nm Mobile Platform. This has 4×2.4GHz Cortex-A78 performance CPUs and 4×1.8GHz Cortex-A55 efficiency CPUs. I didn’t face any performance issues; it was smooth.
There is Adreno 710 GPU. Even though the performance is good, it is not optimized for gaming, since you only get low or medium graphics in games like COD. In low graphics, you get max frame rate, but in games like Genshin Impact, the frame rate is low. It also has vapor chamber cooling, but the size is not mentioned.
In the 3D Mark Wildlife stress test, it scored 92.4%, which is good, and the temperature shot up from 33 to 39 degrees. That said, check out some synthetic benchmark scores below.
Battery life
The Galaxy A27 5G retains the 5000mAh battery from the last 4 generations. I got about 6 hours of screen on time, mostly on Wi-Fi and occasionally on 5G, with over 2 days of use in 120Hz refresh rate, thanks to the One UI 8.5 optimization. It should last for a day easily even with heavy use.
Samsung doesn’t offer a charger in the box, but the phone supports 25W charging. With the official 25W PPS fast charger, it takes about 1 hour and 30 minutes for 100%, and 50% took about 35 minutes. It is still less compared to the competitors.
Conclusion
The Samsung Galaxy A27 5G represents a calculated but uneven evolutionary step in Samsung’s mid-range lineup. On one hand, it delivers meaningful, high-value improvements that directly elevate the daily user experience. The shift to a modern, bright 120Hz Infinity-O punch-hole AMOLED display is a massive visual leap forward over the dated U-shaped notch of the Galaxy A26 5G. Under the hood, the transition to the 4nm Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 platform provides dependable, smooth day-to-day multitasking and exceptionally optimized battery life, pushing past two days of light-to-moderate use.
Furthermore, Samsung’s industry-leading software promise—offering 6 generations of major OS upgrades and 6 years of security updates—is virtually unmatched at this price tier, ensuring this device remains secure and relevant well into the 2030s.
However, these updates are accompanied by notable compromises and a higher price tag driven by rising memory costs. For a device positioning itself over the Rs. 30,000 threshold, the omission of stereo speakers is a bit disappointing. The phone also drops from the robust IP67 water resistance of its predecessor down to an IP64 splash-proof rating, if you care about that.
Pricing and availability
The Galaxy A27 5G 6GB + 128GB model is priced at Rs. 31,999, the 8GB + 128GB model costs Rs. 34,999, and the 8GB + 256GB costs Rs. 40,499. It is now available from Samsung exclusive outlets, partner stores, Samsung.com, and other online platforms.
Pros
- 120Hz AMOLED display is good
- Premium glass back design
- Reliable day-to-day performance
- Promise of 6 OS updates and 6 years of security updates
- Dependable battery life
Cons
- 5MP ultra-wide camera is average
- No stereo speakers
- IP64 ratings compared to IP67 in the predecessor
- Still only has 25W fast charging