Samsung Galaxy A02s/M02s review

Android 10 and OneUI 2.5

Similarly to the A12 we had over recently, the Galaxy A02s review unit is running Android 10 with Samsung's One UI 2.5 on top. We can imagine these low-end Galaxies aren't top priority for new firmware development, but we're hopeful Android 11 is coming eventually. In any case, the A02s is on the list of phones that will be getting security updates for at least four years.

One UI has been very consistent from phone to phone and between releases, so there's not a whole lot missing on the A02s to begin with, v2.5 or otherwise. The lockscreen is a familiar sight with a couple of shortcuts in the bottom corners and notification icons under a clock. This being an LCD-equipped phone, it doesn't support Always-On Display.

There's no fingerprint sensor on the Galaxy A02s, not even a side-mounted one, like we saw on the A12. For unlocking authentication, you get the usual PIN, password pattern options, and a camera-based face unlock. It's not very secure, but it does score points for convenience. It worked quickly and reliably, even in very dim environments, and it requires at least one open eye to work.

Lockscreen • Biometrics (just face recognition, really)

The UI fundamentals are the same as on virtually any other Samsung phone from the past couple of years.

Homescreen • Folder view • App drawer • Notification shade • Quick toggles • Task switcher

Gesture navigation is available, and you can choose that in the initial setup process or later on. A system-wide dark mode is par for the course, too.

Navigation options • Navigation options • Dark mode

What is missing on the A02s, similarly to other lower-end Galaxies, is Edge panels. Otherwise, the software package is similar to other Samsung phones, with an in-house Gallery app, file manager, and Samsung browser.

An FM radio app is also included, though it does require plugging in headphones to serve as the antenna - some phones like the Redmi 9 have a built-in FM antenna.

Gallery • Files • Browser • FM radio

Synthetic benchmarks

The Galaxy A02s relies on the Snapdragon 450 chipset for doing math, a fairly unremarkable piece of silicon that's been in commercial devices since late 2017. It was a moderately big deal back then, offering a 14nm chip to the masses, though it's understandably a lot less impressive in 2021.

The CPU inside the SD450 uses eight Cortex-A53 cores, all of them capable of going up to 1.8GHz. The A12's Helio P35 could crank four of its A53s up to 2.35GHz, but that's not the case with the A02s and its Snapdragon. An Adreno 506 GPU is in charge of graphics.

Two RAM and storage configurations are available on the Galaxy A02s - 3GB/32GB and 4GB/64GB (our review unit).

Rather predictably, the A02s isn't competitive when it comes to raw processing power, with even the otherwise modest A12 scoring higher in the CPU-focused Geekbench and the compound Antutu alike.

GeekBench 5 (multi-core)

Higher is better

• Realme 6
  1726
• Infinix Zero 8
  1663
• Motorola Moto G9 Play
  1402
• Realme Narzo 20A
  1400
• Poco M3
  1398
• Motorola Moto G9 Power
  1374
• Realme 6i
  1349
• Realme Narzo 20
  1328
• Xiaomi Redmi 9 (Prime)
  1325
• Realme 7i
  1318
• Infinix S5 Pro
  1039
• Samsung Galaxy A12
  1034
• Samsung Galaxy A02s
  495

GeekBench 5 (single-core)

Higher is better

• Realme 6
  548
• Infinix Zero 8
  532
• Realme 6i
  388
• Realme Narzo 20
  385
• Xiaomi Redmi 9 (Prime)
  362
• Motorola Moto G9 Power
  315
• Motorola Moto G9 Play
  314
• Realme Narzo 20A
  314
• Realme 7i
  312
• Poco M3
  308
• Infinix S5 Pro
  187
• Samsung Galaxy A12
  169
• Samsung Galaxy A02s
  131

AnTuTu 8

Higher is better

• Realme 6
  288931
• Infinix Zero 8
  282348
• Realme 6i
  202275
• Xiaomi Redmi 9 (Prime)
  201829
• Realme Narzo 20
  193912
• Motorola Moto G9 Power
  182875
• Poco M3
  177904
• Realme 7i
  172933
• Motorola Moto G9 Play
  170064
• Realme Narzo 20A
  169543
• Infinix S5 Pro
  117533
• Samsung Galaxy A12
  107189
• Samsung Galaxy A02s
  90811

The A02s is about on par with the A12 in graphics tests, but that's not really all that great seeing how the A12 is towards the bottom of the charts.

GFX Manhattan ES 3.1 (offscreen 1080p)

Higher is better

• Realme 6
  31
• Infinix Zero 8
  30
• Realme Narzo 20
  16
• Realme 6i
  16
• Poco M3
  13
• Motorola Moto G9 Play
  13
• Realme 7i
  13
• Motorola Moto G9 Power
  13
• Realme Narzo 20A
  13
• Infinix S5 Pro
  8.2
• Samsung Galaxy A12
  7.7
• Doogee Mix
  6.8
• Samsung Galaxy A02s
  6.1

GFX Manhattan ES 3.1 (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Realme Narzo 20
  32
• Realme 6i
  31
• Realme 6
  27
• Infinix Zero 8
  26
• Motorola Moto G9 Play
  26
• Motorola Moto G9 Power
  26
• Realme Narzo 20A
  26
• Realme 7i
  25
• Doogee Mix
  16
• Samsung Galaxy A12
  13
• Samsung Galaxy A02s
  12
• Poco M3
  11
• Infinix S5 Pro
  7.3

GFX Car Chase ES 3.1 (offscreen 1080p)

Higher is better

• Infinix Zero 8
  18
• Realme 6
  18
• Realme Narzo 20
  16
• Realme 6i
  9.4
• Poco M3
  7.2
• Motorola Moto G9 Power
  7.2
• Realme Narzo 20A
  7.2
• Motorola Moto G9 Play
  7
• Realme 7i
  7
• Doogee Mix
  4.1
• Infinix S5 Pro
  3.7
• Samsung Galaxy A02s
  3.4
• Samsung Galaxy A12
  3.3

GFX Car Chase ES 3.1 (onscreen)

Higher is better

• Realme Narzo 20
  18
• Realme 6i
  17
• Realme 6
  16
• Infinix Zero 8
  15
• Motorola Moto G9 Play
  13
• Realme 7i
  13
• Motorola Moto G9 Power
  13
• Realme Narzo 20A
  13
• Doogee Mix
  8.5
• Samsung Galaxy A02s
  6.1
• Poco M3
  5.9
• Samsung Galaxy A12
  5
• Infinix S5 Pro
  3.2

3DMark SSE ES 3.1 (offscreen 1440p)

Higher is better

• Realme 6
  2570
• Infinix Zero 8
  2537
• Realme Narzo 20
  1400
• Realme 6i
  1363
• Motorola Moto G9 Power
  1186
• Poco M3
  1175
• Motorola Moto G9 Play
  1169
• Realme Narzo 20A
  1065
• Infinix S5 Pro
  449
• Samsung Galaxy A02s
  438
• Samsung Galaxy A12
  365

3DMark SSE Vulkan 1.0 (offscreen 1440p)

Higher is better

• Realme 6
  2619
• Infinix Zero 8
  2556
• Realme Narzo 20
  1382
• Realme 6i
  1347
• Motorola Moto G9 Power
  1125
• Realme Narzo 20A
  1111
• Poco M3
  1106
• Motorola Moto G9 Play
  1103
• Infinix S5 Pro
  614
• Samsung Galaxy A12
  612
• Samsung Galaxy A02s
  489

The Snapdragon 450 inside the Galaxy A02s is no miracle worker, and the benchmark results prove that. Competitors are available with vastly more powerful chips for A02s money or a small premium. Having said that, for some odd reason, the A02s was less prone to stutters and hiccups than the A12 we had before it.