Samsung Galaxy A13: Small unobtrusive cameras, big battery life for a budget phone

Huge and protruding camera modules seem to be a popular thing on smartphones nowadays but there’s one brand that is currently going against the flow: Meet the Samsung Galaxy A13. This minimalist and aesthetically-pleasing smartphone probably has the smallest cameras that I’ve seen in recent quad-camera entry-level releases. However, choosing a smartphone shouldn’t just be based solely on design, so let’s take a look at all the features that you’ll be getting for the price of Php 10,490:

INSIDE THE BOX

When it comes to smartphone packaging, Samsung is on the minimalist side. The Galaxy A13 comes in a thin box which includes select accessories — a charger, a USB Type-C cable, a SIM eject tool, quick start guide, and warranty card. If you’d like to keep your smartphone scratch-free, consider buying a protective film and phone case in advance as there’s none inside the box.

DESIGN AND DISPLAY

Let’s start with the sleek design of the Galaxy A13: It has a black polycarbonate back panel with a glossy coating and rounded edges. Although it’s black, the smartphone tends to appear like a dark grey shade at some angles, complementing the cameras that have black edges. I like how it appears premium as is, however, the back is a total fingerprint magnet so I would suggest that you clean it as often as you can.

On the upper left corner, you’ll find 3 separate camera bumps that don’t protrude unlike other brands’ recent releases, as well as two smaller circles for the Macro Camera and the flash. On the lower center part of the device, there’s a small Samsung label that isn’t that noticeable.  

The Galaxy A13 is light and slim with only a 195g weight, making it easy to hold even for someone with small hands.

When it comes to button and port placements, you’ll find the card slot on the left side – almost near the edge of the smartphone, while the volume rocker button and power button which doubles as a fingerprint scanner are located on the right at an easy-to-reach location.

On top, you’ll find the secondary microphone, while at the bottom, there’s a 3.5mm audio port, a primary microphone, a USB Type-C port, and speaker grilles.

In front is the 6.6-inch LCD display with Full HD+ resolution and 60Hz refresh rate, which is decent enough as this is only an entry-level smartphone. The top bezel houses a dewdrop front camera at the center an almost invisible earpiece. On the other hand, the rest of the bezels are slim enough to give users ample screen space. In fact, the screen is big enough for you to be able to appreciate small details in your favorite videos. The only difference is that the colors are not as vibrant as an AMOLED display.

CAMERA

Samsung Galaxy A13 has four rear cameras – 50MP main, 5MP ultra-wide, 2MP macro, and 2MP depth. What makes it special is its ISOCELL JN1 sensor that enables low-light shots and better auto focus. There’s a Portrait Mode with adjustable bokeh, Ultra Wide feature up to 0.5, Zoom feature up to 10x, Pro Mode, Panorama, Macro, and Food. Using the rear cameras, you can also shoot videos in FHD or HD, and in different resolutions – 1:1, 9:16, and full screen.

Zoomed photos look clear enough within the 2-4x range, but anything beyond (up to 10x) already looks a bit pixelated.

The Galaxy A13 is also able to capture moving objects clearly, which amazed me, considering that its cameras don’t have as much features as other brands. The auto focus works fast and is capable of identifying the subject in a snap:

At night, I would suggest that you bring the brightness down a bit in order to get clear photos. Otherwise, you’ll end up with light sources that have too much “glow” in them even if this smartphone DOES NOT come with a Night Mode feature. It takes pretty good shots, though:

On the other hand, the front camera has an 8MP shooter which also has all the camera features mentioned above. Aside from filters, users can also adjust the bokeh to ensure that multiple people can be seen clearly in a photo.

Overall, I am impressed with the camera. This delivered good photos that exceeded my expectations for an entry-level device. Here are more sample shots for better appreciation:

STORAGE, BATTERY, AND PERFORMANCE

There are two Galaxy A13 variants available – one with 4GB RAM and one with 6GB RAM. If you’ll be using it as a primary smartphone, I would suggest that you get the latter. It’s paired with 128GB of storage that is decent enough for you to keep up with all the necessary files that you need to save in your mobile. I got the 4GB version and I only have 1GB left after only a week of using it! Good thing I still have a fair amount of storage left. The Galaxy A13 is powered by an Exynos 850 processor which is able to handle and keep up with our multiple smartphone commands so far. I’m almost always on social media during weekdays, on top of videos and work files that I study via mobile. So far, so good!

As for the One UI 4.1, you can customize your smartphone as much as you want. I personally like the adjustable color palette feature which automatically matches the accent colors of the UI and icons with your wallpaper or you can choose one that matches your phone case. There’s also a Dynamic lock screen, Samsung Themes, and navigation controls, to name a few.

One of the downsides of using the Galaxy A13 when watching videos and playing games, at least for me, is its bottom-firing speaker. Since the audio is only coming from one direction, I tend to accidentally cover the speaker with my hand when using it in landscape mode. Although I’m not a fan of using it on speaker mode at highest volume, this can easily be fixed by using earphones.

For an entry-level device, the Galaxy A13 already has a big battery at 5,000mAh. It can keep up with my sched for 14 hours straight without needing to be charged. This is where you’ll get to appreciate the power-efficient Exynos 850. While 15W Fast Charging isn’t the best in class as of 2022, having this is a plus for a smartphone that is within a Php 10,000 budget. From 5%, you’ll need more or less 2 hours in order to get to full charge. Pretty decent, in my opinion.

SPECIFICATIONS

Display6.6”, 1080 x 2408 (FHD+)
Dimensions165.1 x 76.4 x 8.8mm (H x W x D)
Weight195g
CPUExynos 850 processor 2 GHz Octa-Core
Memory4GB
Storage128GB (expandable up to 1TB)
Rear Camera50.0 MP Main (f/1.8) + 5.0 MP Ultra-Wide (f/2.2) + 2.0 MP Macro (f/2.4) + 2.0MP Depth (f/2.4)
Front Camera8MP (f/2.2)
SIMDual Nano-SIM
ConnectivityUSB Type-C 3.5mm Stereo WiFi 802.11 a / b / g / n / ac 2.4+5GHz Bluetooth 5.0 GPS, Glonass, Beidou,Galileo, QZSS
Battery5,000mAh with 15W Fast Charging
OSAndroid 12, OneUI 4.1
SensorsAccelerometer, Fingerprint Sensor, Geomagnetic Sensor, Virtual Light Sensing, Virtual Proximity Sensing
ColorsBlue, Black

PRICE AND AVAILABILITY

The Samsung Galaxy A13 is available in Samsung stores and official Samsung e-commerce pages for only Php 10,490 for the 4GB+128GB variant, while the 6GB+128GB variant costs Php 11,490.


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5 Replies to “Samsung Galaxy A13: Small unobtrusive cameras, big battery life for a budget phone”

  1. Wow! That’s awesome! The best brand when it comes on choosing a smartphones.
    Highly recommended because of its best specs.

  2. Ganda Naman po nito perfect ito Lalo na sa mga gamer at mahilig mag picture picture ganda Ng qua Ng camera at nice battery na pang matagalan po talaga 🥰🤗

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