The Samsung Galaxy A22 5G and the TCL 20 R 5G are two of the cheapest 5G handsets you can buy right now in South Africa, both priced under R4,000.
The A22 5G is available in violet, grey, white and mint, and you can currently get it for R3,749 at Game – though Samsung lists it as R3,999. The TCL 20 R is available in blue and grey, priced at R3,899, only available in-store at Truworths.
- There are two contenders for the cheapest 5G smartphone in South Africa, coming in at under R4,000.
- We take a closer look at the Samsung Galaxy A22 5G and TCL 20 R 5G to see which offers better value for money.
- You can pick up the Galaxy A22 for R3,749 and the TCL 20 R for R3,899.
But which of the two are worth your hard earned randelas? We put them head-to-head to see what gives you more bang for your buck.
Screen size matters
Samsung is known for making good screens and packed in a 6.6-inch TFT display on the A22. It has an 82.3% screen to body ratio, and features Samsung’s Infinity-V display that houses a selfie-cam top centre that is V shaped. It supports a 90Hz screen refresh rate that is noticeable for smooth scrolling and gaming.
The handset has a full HD+ display with a resolution of 1080 x 2408 pixels that works out to 399ppi (pixels per inch). Unfortunately, it does not have an AMOLED display like the A33. The A22 weighs 203g.
Comparatively, the TCL 20 R has a marginally smaller 6.52-inch IPS LCD display with a 90% screen to body ratio. It also has a V notch display and 90Hz screen refresh rate but a lower resolution display. Its HD+ screen is 720 x 1600 pixels, which works out to 268ppi (pixels per inch) and has a 500nits brightness. The 20 R weighs 186g.
Under the hood
Both the A22 and 20 R are powered by a Mediatek MT6833 Dimensity 700 (7nm) octa-core chipset, starting with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. Important to note with most Android smartphones, it comes pre-installed with bloatware, which means some of the storage will be used by the OS when switched on. The A22 at set-up uses 18.5GB of internal storage, leaving only 45.5GB free. That said, both handsets offer expandable storage slots of up to 1TB, with the 20 R using a shared dual SIM slot. Both have a 3.5mm audio jack and USB-C port.
Both handsets support 5G connectivity, along with WiFi, WiFi Direct, Bluetooth, but very crucially, only one of them supports NFC – the 20 R. Despite Samsung listing NFC for the A22 5G in South Africa, we attempted to download the Samsung Pay app and was met with “this phone is not compatible with this app.” This is important if you want the “tap to pay” functionality and avoid carrying a bank card.
Sensors across both handsets include an accelerometer, proximity and light sensors, a fingerprint reader and facial unlocking.
Lights, camera, action
The A22 has a 48MP main shooter, a 5MP ultra-wide and a 2MP depth camera that will capture up to 115-degree wide shots. It supports HDR and the depth camera can be used for portrait shots with manual background blur controls. The 8MP selfie-cam also supports bokeh effects. The rear lens shoots 2K videos and slow motion at 120fps.
The 20 R has a 13MP main AI camera, supported by a 2MP macro lens and a 2MP depth camera for bokeh style portrait shots. It supports HDR with up to 1080p videos. The 8MP selfie-cam also shoots in 1080p.
All day and night battery
The A22 offers a 5000mAh battery, which is typically found on their premium handsets. With the right settings and tweaks – not keeping the 90Hz refresh rate on permanently, it will last longer. It also supports 15W fast charging.
The 20 R has a 4500mAh battery that supports a power-saving mode to prevent battery drains. It claims to offer 34 hours of talk time, 10 hours of video playback and 210 hours of audio playback. It also supports up to 15W of fast charging.
The verdict
From a performance point of view, both run the same chipsets, but the A22 5G has a better display and camera with 2K video recording, and a higher capacity battery, but lacks NFC. The TCL 20 R 5G on the other hand, is listed by Google as an Android Enterprise Recommended device, which means it meets the company’s strict enterprise requirements to run your business on. The Samsung A22 has more consumer appeal, whereas the TCL 20 R is more business ready.
But ultimately, do you want to use your phone for tap to pay?
Published here:
Recharged is an independent site that focuses on technology, electric vehicles, and the digital life by Nafisa Akabor. Drawing from her 16-year tech journalism career, expect news, reviews, how-tos, comparisons, and practical uses of tech that are easy to digest. info@recharged.co.za
