Samsung Galaxy A72 leak just revealed secret weapon to fight Google Pixel 5a

Samsung Galaxy A71 5G
(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

If the rumors about the Google Pixel 5a aren't exciting you, then we have good news about the Samsung Galaxy A72.

A series of tweets from TechTalkTV have revealed detailed specs for Samsung's most fully-featured mid-range smartphone. Despite an expected price of around $600, it will offer some fancy features, including the same telephoto zoom ability as the Galaxy S21

Specifically, the Galaxy A72 will reportedly have an 8MP telephoto camera capable of 3x lossless zoom with a maximum of 30x "Space Zoom". That's the same magnification as seen on the Galaxy S21 and the Galaxy S21 Plus, but the S21 phones use a much larger 64MP sensor for this purpose. All the same, this feature is a particularly notable upgrade since there wasn't a telephoto camera on the Samsung Galaxy A71 5G, the A72's predecessor.

The other sensors on the back of the A72 are said to be a 64MP main camera and 12MP ultrawide camera and a 5MP macro camera, with a 32MP selfie camera in Samsung's trademark central punch-hole notch. The cameras also offer night mode, and a variety of filters on the main and ultrawide cameras if you want to give your friends amusing cartoon expressions.

That makes for a total of four rear sensors and a front sensor. It's quite an impressive brace of cameras compared to the single front and back sensors that Google installed on the Pixel 4a. The Pixel 5a could use two cameras like the Google Pixel 4a 5G had; a pair of main and ultrawide sensors, and will certainly use Google's excellent photo processing software. But that that would still put Google at a hardware disadvantage compared to the Samsung phone.

The other leaked specs for the Galaxy A72 look good, too. The display is an FHD AMOLED model with a 90Hz refresh rate and Gorilla Glass 5. The A72 will likely be powered by a Snapdragon 720G chipset, with either 6GB or 8GB of RAM and 128GB or 256GB of storage, plus support for up to 1TB of microSD storage.

You'll also find a 5,000 mAh battery with 25W fast charging, stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos, a headphone jack and IP67 water/dust resistance. That's quite a lot for a phone that, based on the price of the A71, will cost around $600.

The Galaxy A series is not a premium product like the Galaxy S or Galaxy Note series, but is still an excellent mid-range choice. From the look of these specs, the Galaxy A72 could be a formidable rival to phones like the OnePlus Nord N10 5G or the upcoming Pixel 5a.

We could see the Galaxy A72 very shortly. These leaked specs come at the same time Samsung has announced a March 17 product launch. While Samsung hasn't specifically said what it plans to introduce at this Unpacked event, early signs suggest an update to its midrange phones.

Richard Priday
Assistant Phones Editor

Richard is based in London, covering news, reviews and how-tos for phones, tablets, gaming, and whatever else people need advice on. Following on from his MA in Magazine Journalism at the University of Sheffield, he's also written for WIRED U.K., The Register and Creative Bloq. When not at work, he's likely thinking about how to brew the perfect cup of specialty coffee.