The Samsung Galaxy M33 5G is also a 5G phone that pushes the limits of this price by not offering a charger. The phone has a starting price of Rs 17,999 and comes with Samsung’s own Exynos 1280 chipset. More importantly, like other M-series phones, it continues with a 6000mAh battery. But is that enough to recommend this phone? Let’s find out in our review.
Samsung Galaxy M33 5G Specifications: 6.6-inch Full HD+ LCD display with 120Hz refresh rate | Exynos 1280 processor with 6GB or 8GB RAM + 128GB storage | 50MP+5MP+2MP+2MP rear camera and 8MP front camera | 6000 mAh battery with 25W fast charging | OneUI 4 with Android 12
Samsung Galaxy M33 5G Price in India: Rs 17,999 for 6GB/128GB and 8GB/128GB variants is priced at Rs 19,499
Samsung Galaxy M33 5G: what’s good?
I will quickly outline the basics
- The design is standard for the M series, it is bulky considering the 6000 mAh battery
- The fingerprint reader is part of the power button and works fine
- It continues with a headphone jack
- Yes, it’s 5G ready with 12 band support
- Dual-SIM with a microSD slot supporting 1TB
- Runs One UI 4 with Android 12
- Samsung is offering 128GB of storage on both RAM variants, which is always nice to see
Let’s start with the best aspect which is the battery. This 6,000mAh battery will easily last two days with moderate usage. Really push it and you’ll get a day and a half. If you or a family member needs a phone where you don’t have to worry about charging every day, this is the easy choice considering the battery size.
The phone sports a 6.6-inch LCD display with a resolution (2408 x 1080) and a refresh rate of 120Hz. Samsung offers adaptive refresh rate, which means it will change the refresh rate depending on the needs, although you can also set it to 120Hz from the settings. Nevertheless, adaptive refresh should satisfy most users.
The phone has a 6.6-inch Full HD+ LCD screen with 120Hz refresh rate. (Image credit: Shruti Dhapola/Indian Express)
The display itself is good enough for most users. It’s readable in sunlight, and if you’re using it to watch videos on YouTube, Netflix, etc., it’ll do the job well.
The Galaxy M33 5G sports a quad camera with the primary camera being 50MP, while there’s 2MP macro, 2MP depth and 5MP ultra-wide. The main camera does a good job, especially if I compare it to other devices on the market in a similar segment. In fact, some of the photos taken from it make me wish we lived in a world of Samsung cameras. The skies would be bluer, the reds richer, and our grass greener.
The quad camera on the back of the M33. (Image credit: Shruti Dhapola/Indian Express)
There’s no doubt that the camera tends to over-saturate certain colors, but the overall results are very social media-ready, if you’re into those colors. The selfie camera actually does an impressive job, even though it’s 8MP. In well-lit environments, the images are pleasant, the skin does not look unnatural. But the camera struggles in Night mode and details are blurry for both the front and main camera.
Camera sample taken from Galaxy M33 5G. (Image credit: Shruti Dhapola/Indian Express)
Camera sample taken from Galaxy M33 5G. (Image credit: Shruti Dhapola/Indian Express)
Camera sample taken from the Galaxy M33 5G (Image credit: Shruti Dhapola/Indian Express)
Samsung Galaxy M33 5G: What’s wrong?
Performance is disappointing for this price. The phone works well for basic scrolling on Facebook, WhatsApp, but if you start pushing it struggles. While it can run games like Alto’s Odyssey, you can see it struggle with games like Genshin Impact and Asphalt 9. Stuttering and lag are just hard to ignore, even when playing at basic graphics settings . The device also got very hot during gaming sessions. There’s also a noticeable stutter when scrolling sometimes on Chrome, if you have too many tabs open.
Camera performance in low light. is not up to par. (Image credit: Shruti Dhapola/Indian Express)
25W fast charging remains an issue. This 6000 mAh battery takes time to recharge. Of course, you’ll have to buy the charger separately, since Samsung doesn’t ship one in the box.
The ultra-wide and macro camera remains as unimpressive on any other device. Portraits are always acceptable. But the camera’s performance in low light is below average.
Samsung Galaxy M33 5G: Verdict
When considering a new phone, there are many factors that help a user decide. Their use case, budget, and sometimes brand name all matter. The Galaxy M33 does the trick for someone who needs a big battery phone, more than the standard 5000 mAh as seen these days. The device can handle daily basic tasks such as messaging, calls, WhatsApp and has enough onboard storage. It’s also great for someone who isn’t too picky about other camera features.
But if your usage involves gaming, photo and video clicking in different lighting scenarios and your budget is in the Rs 18,000 to Rs 20,000 segment, then this is not the right choice. Samsung’s own F23, or the Redmi Note 11 series or even Realme 9 might be better suited in these cases.