Samsung Galaxy F42 5G Review – Affordable 5G With Good Battery

The Samsung Galaxy F42 5G is the successor to the Samsung Galaxy F41, and it comes with one major upgrade: 5G connectivity. Even while we wait for Indian mobile networks to keep up with 5G, companies are expanding their range with future-ready gadgets, which should come as no surprise. This gadget also receives a new processor as part of the 5G upgrade.

The phone comes with a 6.6-inch Full HD display, a 64-megapixel triple back camera setup, 5G, dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, USB Type C port, 3.5mm headphone jack, Dolby Atmos audio, and a fingerprint sensor on the side. The phone’s battery capacity is 5,000 mAh, and it supports 15W fast charging. It is powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 700 CPU and runs Samsung’s One UI, which is based on Android 11. This phone appears to be similar to the Galaxy A22 5G on paper. So let’s take a closer look at the smartphone’s full review.

In India, the Samsung Galaxy F42 5G is priced at Rs 20,999 for the 6GB RAM + 128GB storage variant and Rs 22,999 for the 8GB RAM + 128GB storage variant. The phone is available for purchase on Flipkart. Matte Black and Matte Aqua are the two colour options for the Galaxy F42 5G.

Along with the Samsung Galaxy F42 5G handset, Samsung provides the following in the box:

• Charging Adaptor
• USB Type-C Charging Cable
• Sim Ejector Pin
• User Manual

Before we talk in detail about the Samsung Galaxy F42 5G, let’s see what the on-paper specs look like:

• Display: 6.6″ TFT
• Chipset:  MediaTek MT6833 Dimensity 700 5G
• RAM & ROM: 6GB/128GB, 8GB/128GB
• Software: Android 11
• Rear camera: 64MP + 5MP + 2MP
• Selfie camera: 8 MP
• Battery: 5000 mAh
• Weight: 203 g
• Dimensions: 167.2 x 76.4 x 9 mm

To begin with, the Samsung Galaxy F42 5G does not resemble a regular Samsung A-Series or M-Series phone in terms of style. It is not so heavy because it has a plastic body with plastic frames. The surface is matte, and it feels nice and refreshing despite its thickness of nine centimetres.  The blue variant does not collect fingerprints or smudges, while the black variant does. This phone includes two nano sim slots and a dedicated micro-sd card slot that supports up to 1TB. It has a 64MP triple camera with night mode on the back and an 8-megapixel lens for selfies and video calls on the front display water drop layout.

The body feels strange in the hands, but this big smartphone feels light, weighing roughly 203g and measuring around 9mm thick. It sports a volume and power button on the right side, as well as a fingerprint sensor, which is placed on the side for quick access. It has a type C port, 3.5mm headphone jack, and bottom-firing speakers on the bottom.

Samsung Galaxy F42 5G has a 6.60-inch LCD 90Hz display and Widevine L1 support, so you won’t have any trouble streaming FHD+ content on OTT apps.

Samsung has employed a high-quality IPS LCD that is also visible in direct sunlight, so you will be able to use it outside to make calls or watch YouTube videos.

Samsung should have included an AMOLED panel for the price, but hello, this is Samsung, and it’s also a Galaxy F Series smartphone, so don’t expect everything from a budget Samsung smartphone.

Nonetheless, the display is great for watching videos and consuming OTT content. The handset has a refresh rate of 90Hz, which makes scrolling on the Samsung Galaxy F42 5G much smoother and faster. The smartphone has good brightness and can be used outside without any display concerns.

Overall, the LCD is satisfactory, but the price tag does not justify it. So, if you don’t mind an LCD display and only want a Samsung smartphone with 5G, this would be an excellent option to consider.

Samsung has chosen Mediatek over the Exynos 9611 this time. The MediaTek Dimensity 700 CPU powers the Samsung Galaxy F42 5G, which runs on OneUI 3.1, which is based on Android 11.

The MediaTek Dimensity 700 is a 5G processor, and Samsung has employed it here. The smartphone has 12 5G bands, which means the Samsung Galaxy F42 5G will be able to use the 5G connectivity when it comes to India.

During our use of the phone, we did not experience any call drop concerns. Casual gaming is also feasible with the Samsung Galaxy F42 5G. You can easily play games like BGMI and COD Mobile. While playing these games, I did not experience any heating or lag. However, I would not recommend using the phone to play games on high settings.

Now, the MediaTek Dimensity 700 is a good CPU that can handle practically anything an average user throws at it, so playing games or watching movies won’t be a problem.

Samsung has also well-optimized the OneUI, so there will be no software concerns in Samsung Galaxy F42 5G. It runs on Android 11. Since it has a good processor, you can see the features that Samsung offers in high-end flagship phones in this phone too. You get Samsung pay, Knox security, and One UI 3.1, which comes in Samsung’s flagship devices. You also get NFC And Secure folder option where you can use two accounts; one private and one guest. The One UI is almost clean with very little bloatware; although you get some apps like Dailyhunt,  Prime video, Dainik Bhaskar which you can uninstall. The 90 Hz refresh rate will make everything much smoother, be it gaming or watching movies on OTT platforms. 

Samsung Galaxy F42 5G has a triple camera setup on the back. A 64MP primary camera is combined with a 5MP ultra-wide camera and a 2MP depth sensor. When it comes to the 64MP primary sensor, it captures some good shots in good lighting but loses detail in low light. In short, Samsung needs to work on the camera; OTA updates may be able to resolve the issue, but I can’t promise these future updates.

It also contains a 5MP ultra-wide lens, which may be used as an add-on sensor. For ultra-wide lenses, a 5MP sensor is insufficient because ultra-wide lenses capture more area, and when there is more area, a larger sensor can perform better.

Although a 5MP sensor is fine, a 12MP sensor would’ve been better. Also, avoid using the ultra-wide lens at night; you will lose detail, and the pictures will be unsatisfactory.

There’s also a 2MP depth sensor, but the phone’s triple back camera configuration is merely for marketing purposes. Photos taken during the day, both outside and indoors, are of good quality, with enough details and colour reproduction.

The front camera on the Samsung Galaxy F42 5G is 8MP which is capable of taking decent selfies. I loved the fact that the smartphone does not modify or change the colour tone, even though it is not the best in its class. There is no artificial layer applied to photos taken with the phone, so they have a real colour tone. When taken in daylight, selfies look great. However, the image quality and details are not the same in low-light situations.

Both cameras can record videos at a resolution of up to 1080p@30fps, although neither has optical image stabilisation.

In short, when shooting videos using the Samsung Galaxy F42 5G, the results will be shaky. Also, the video quality isn’t fantastic; details are lost, and there’s a problem with dynamic range. As a result, don’t expect truly excellent video quality.

A 5000mAh battery powers the Samsung Galaxy F42 5G. It’s not as big as the F41’s 6000 mAh battery, but it’ll get the job done. A 15-watt charging adapter is included with the phone. Samsung claims that the phone has fast charging capability, but it isn’t so fast. It’s possible that you’ll have to wait over two hours for the phone to fully charge.

The smartphone can easily last a day or more once completely charged. This is for a typical user that watches 4-5 hours of online video per day, makes calls, and performs day-to-day tasks.

This is where things get a little problematic because it only has one bottom-firing speaker, which is just OK. Don’t expect great or even good audio quality from Samsung Galaxy F42 5G.

The good news is that the smartphone includes a secondary noise cancellation microphone, so you won’t face any issues while making calls on the Samsung Galaxy F42 5G.

You can unlock the device with the fast side-mounted fingerprint scanner, which is located on the power button and is quite quick and accurate, as well as using the face unlock feature.

Accelerometer, Fingerprint Sensor, Gyro Sensor, Geomagnetic Sensor, Light Sensor, and Proximity Sensor are among the phone’s sensors.

When it comes to connectivity, the smartphone has Bluetooth v5.0, Dual-band Wi-Fi, and a blazing fast 5G with 12 band connectivity, making it future-ready.

Pros

• MediaTek Dimensity 700 SoC
• 12 5G Bands
• 3.5mm Audio Jack
• Dedicated micro-SD card slot
• Large Display
• Long Battery

Cons

• No Stereo Speakers
• Only 15W charging support
• LCD Display
• Plastic Body