phones

Ting tested: Samsung Galaxy A13 5G

Ting Staff • March 14, 2022

I’ll be honest; I’ve been looking forward to reviewing the Samsung Galaxy A13 5G for a while. Not because I expected a high-end powerhouse—it’s not that by any means. No, I was extremely curious to find out what kind of value one of the most affordable 5G phones on the market would offer. The short answer is that it offers quite a bit. Here’s a little overview of what you get when you buy the A13 5G.

Display

The first observation is that the screen is big. Fans of large displays will be pleased as it measures a generous 6.5 inches. At 720p, its resolution is noticeably lower than more premium phones, but it’s decent. It does offer a maximum refresh rate of 90Hz, which makes scrolling and animations look smoother (or you can fix it at 60Hz to save battery life). 

Thanks to the Superbowl halftime show, I chose to watch Mary J. Blige’s “Good Morning Gorgeous” on YouTube. The screen performed admirably, so streaming video on this phone won’t be a problem. The sound isn’t great thanks to the single bottom-firing speaker, but I do appreciate it has a 3.5mm headphone jack (unlike many newer phones) so I can use my favorite pair of wired headphones.

Performance

Of course, first up is the fact that this sub-$250 phone offers 5G connectivity. It operates as you’d expect, so once you’re in an area with 5G coverage, you can expect lightning-fast downloads and buffer-free HD streaming. If you’re looking for affordable 5G plans, check out the variety of data plans we offer at Ting Mobile.

As for processing power, the phone handled all the basic tasks I threw at it without any complaints. I wouldn’t recommend this phone to power users or hardcore gamers, though, who will want something with more processing power. The flipside of that is long lasting battery life. It charges pretty quickly as well—when I needed a quick top-up before heading out, it went from 25% to 50% in just 30 minutes.

Camera

The Galaxy A13 5G has a triple-lens rear camera: a 50-megapixel main lens, macro lens and depth sensor to help create those nice bokeh shots. In general, the camera actually exceeded my expectations. Outdoor shots in bright light were of excellent quality.

Well-lit indoors shots, while lesser quality, were still quite good, if a bit oversaturated. With no low-light feature, taking pictures in darker settings did not yield great results. Also, I thought the ability to launch the camera with a double click of the side button and to switch to the selfie cam using the same technique while the phone is locked was pretty cool. 

I’d say this is good for casual outdoor photographers on a budget. If you’re looking for a killer camera, low-light/night capability or a telephoto camera, you will need to spend more.

Build/design/features

The A13 5G is a solid-feeling and modern-looking phone. I would say that it’s an extremely well-built and attractive phone for the price. Samsung has included some really cool features as well. Incorporating a fingerprint sensor into the side button, for instance, was a welcome surprise at this price point. Taking into account there’s 64GB of on-board storage (decent but not great), a micro SD slot is appreciated as well.

Final thoughts

5G is beginning to show up in more affordable phones, breaking the $250 barrier with the A13 5G. Eventually, most new phones will include 5G. As a result, a good way to think when choosing a phone now is, “Hey—this phone has some cool features and 5G is a nice bonus.” The A13 5G is a great choice for smartphone users that need a slight bump in performance and feature set than what you’ll see among budget phones. As an Android user, you also have the peace of mind that you’re getting Samsung quality and reliability. The Samsung Galaxy A13 5G is available in the Ting Shop. 

Anything else you’d like to know about the A13 5G, just drop us a line in the comments below.