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Samsung Galaxy A72 Battery test: Segment-leading autonomy

This device has been retested in the latest version of our protocol. Overall, sub-scores and attributes are up to date. For detailed information, check the What’s New article
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The Samsung Galaxy A72 arrived on the market in March 2021 and is part of our High-End ($400-$599) segment. Let’s take a look at how well it performed in our Battery protocol tests.

Key specifications:

  • Battery capacity: 5000 mAh
  • 25W charger (included in box)
  • 6.7-inch, 1080 x 2400, 90 Hz OLED display
  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G chipset
  • Tested ROM / RAM combination: 128 GB + 6 GB

About DXOMARK Battery tests: For scoring and analysis in our smartphone battery reviews, DXOMARK engineers perform a variety of objective tests over a week-long period both indoors and outdoors. This article highlights the most important results of our testing. (See our introductory and how we test articles for more details about our smartphone Battery protocol.)

Test summary

Scoring

Sub-scores and attributes included in the calculations of the global score.


Samsung Galaxy A72
131
battery
151
Autonomy
160

221

150

195

139

198

104
Charging
97

224

112

212

109

205

156

194

Key performances

Charging Time
2 days 21h
Battery life
Charging Time
0h58
80% Charging time
Charging Time
1h51
Full charging time
Quick Boost
3h13 autonomy
after 5-minute charge
Please be aware that beyond this point, we have not modified the initial test results. While data and products remain fully comparable, you might encounter mentions and references to the previous scores.

Pros

  • Excellent autonomy at both default and calibrated settings
  • Very low battery drain at night and when idle
  • Efficient charger, optimized for low residual power drain

Cons

  • Long charging time
  • Disappointing quick boost charging results

In the very competitive High-End segment, the Samsung Galaxy A72’s specifications are a bit behind those of its competitors, as it does not support 5G and comes with only 25W fast charging (vs. 65W and 67W for its rivals).

We compared the Samsung Galaxy A72’s battery performance in several key categories with two other devices in our High-End segment, the Oppo Reno6 and the Xiaomi 11T; battery capacity, tested charger, display type, and resolution, and processor specifications for all three devices are shown in the table below.

Samsung Galaxy A72 Oppo Reno6 5G Xiaomi 11T
Battery capacity 5000 mAh 4300 mAh 5000 mAh
Charger

25W

65W

67W

Display type OLED OLED OLED
Display resolution 1080 x 2400 1080 x 2400 1080 x 2400
Chipset Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G MediaTek Dimensity 900 MediaTek Dimensity 1200

Autonomy (81)

How long a battery charge lasts depends not only on battery capacity but also on other aspects of the phone’s hardware and software. The DXOMARK Battery autonomy score is composed of three performance sub-scores: (1) Stationary, (2) On the go, and (3) Calibrated use cases. Each sub-score comprises the results of a comprehensive range of tests for measuring autonomy in all kinds of real-life scenarios. 

Light Usage
102h
Light Usage
Active: 2h30/day
Moderate Usage
69h
Moderate Usage
Active: 4h/day
Intense Usage
41h
Intense Usage
Active: 7h/day

The Samsung Galaxy A72 takes top score for overall Autonomy in its segment.

Stationary

Samsung Galaxy A72

89

104

Vivo Y72 5G
Best: Vivo Y72 5G (104)

A robot housed in a Faraday cage performs a set of touch-based user actions during what we call our “typical usage scenario” (TUS) — making calls, video streaming, etc. — 4 hours of active use over the course of a 16-hour period, plus 8 hours of “sleep.” The robot repeats this set of actions every day until the device runs out of power. 

The Samsung Galaxy A72 lasted some 3 hours longer than its competitors in our TUS tests. It shows outstanding behavior at night, losing no battery charge, whereas the Oppo Reno6 5G lost 2% and the Xiaomi 11T lost 1.67% at night on average.

Typical Usage Scenario discharge curves

On the go

Samsung Galaxy A72

76

96

Samsung Galaxy M51
Best: Samsung Galaxy M51 (96)

Using a smartphone on the go takes a toll on autonomy because of extra “hidden” demands, such as the continuous signaling associated with cellphone network selection, for example. DXOMARK Battery experts take the phone outside and perform a precisely defined set of activities while following the same three-hour travel itinerary for each device.

Again ahead of its competitors, the Samsung device put in a particularly strong showing in call and navigation.

Autonomy for on the go use cases (full charge)

Calibrated

Samsung Galaxy A72

73

100

Samsung Galaxy M51
Best: Samsung Galaxy M51 (100)

For this series of tests, the smartphone returns to the Faraday cage and our robots repeatedly perform actions linked to one specific use case (such as gaming, video streaming, etc.) at a time. Starting from an 80% charge, all devices are tested until they have expended at least 5% of their battery power.

Rounding out its Autonomy performance, the A72 performed better overall in our calibrated tests than its rivals.

Autonomy for calibrated use cases (full charge)

Charging (71)

The DXOMARK Battery charging score is composed of two sub-scores, Full charge and Quick boost. Full charge tests assess the reliability of the battery power gauge; measure how long it takes to charge a battery from zero to 80% capacity and from 80 to 100%; and measure how long and how much power the battery takes to go from an indicated 100% to an actual full charge. With the phone at different charge levels (20%, 40%, 60%, 80%), Quick boost tests measure the amount of charge the battery receives after being plugged in for 5 minutes. 

Wired
Wired
43%
in 30 min
0h58
0 - 80%
1h51
Full charge

In contrast to its Autonomy performance, the Samsung Galaxy A72’s charging performance is far behind its competitors’ and below the average for our entire database.

Full charge

Samsung Galaxy A72

68

121

Black Shark 5 Pro
Best: Black Shark 5 Pro (121)

Power consumption and battery level during full charge

With a maximum charging power of 25W, it takes the Samsung Galaxy A72 57 minutes 51 seconds to go from 0 to 80%, more than twice the amount of time for the Oppo and Xiaomi devices; further, it takes the Samsung much longer than the others to achieve a full charge.

Time to full charge

Quick boost

Samsung Galaxy A72

72

111

Realme GT Neo 3
Best: Realme GT Neo 3 (111)

The Samsung Galaxy A72’s results in our 5-minute quick boost charging tests were particularly disappointing, as it gained in the best case (20% power remaining) 3 hours 18 minutes of autonomy, while the Oppo Reno6 5G’s best case offered 11.5 hours (at 20% power remaining) and the Xiaomi 11T’s provided 8 hours (at 60% power remaining).

Samsung Galaxy A72 Oppo Reno6 5G Xiaomi 11T
Autonomy boost (hh:mm) 20%3:18 11:35 7:55
40%3:05 10:12 7:53
60%3:11 7:12 8:03
80%2:37 5:32 4:45
Percentage boost 20%7 %24.7 %16.9 %
40%6.5 %21.8 %16.8 %
60%6.7 %15.4 %17.2 %
80%5.5 %11.8 %10.1 %
Energy consumed 20%1836 mWh5060 mWh4110 mWh
40%1719 mWh4457 mWh4087 mWh
60%1777 mWh3151 mWh4174 mWh
80%1460 mWh2417 mWh2466 mWh

Efficiency (92)

The DXOMARK power efficiency score consists of two sub-scores, Charge up and Discharge rate, both of which combine data obtained during robot-based typical usage scenario testing, outdoor mobility testing, charging evaluation, and power measurements, and then take into consideration the device’s battery capacity.

Charge up

Samsung Galaxy A72

65

105

Nubia RedMagic 7 Pro
Best: Nubia RedMagic 7 Pro (105)

The Samsung Galaxy A72 comes in behind its Oppo and Xiaomi rivals for charge up efficiency. However, it has an efficient adapter that is optimized for low residual power drain after achieving a full charge, whether the smartphone is attached (trickle charge) or detached (no load, but charger still plugged into outlet).

Discharge

Samsung Galaxy A72

102

121

Apple iPhone 13 Pro
Best: Apple iPhone 13 Pro (121)

The A72 does not lose any battery charge at night, and its discharge current is low in every use case except video streaming and playback.

Conclusion

Although it overall behind the Oppo Reno6 5G and the Xiaomi 11T, which both offer a better charging experience, the Samsung Galaxy A72 battery has the best autonomy in its segment.

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