Samsung Galaxy M33 5G review: Big battery yes, but… 

The Samsung Galaxy M33 5G is also a 5G phone that pushes the envelope in this price point not offering a charger. The phone has a starting price of Rs 17,999, and comes with Samsung’s own Exynos 1280 chipset. Most importantly like other phones in the M series, it continues with a 6000 mAh battery. But is that good enough to recommend this phone? Let’s find out in our review.
Samsung Galaxy M33 5G specifications: 6.6-inch LCD display full HD+ with 120 Hz 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 the 6GB/128GB and 8GB/128GB variant is priced at Rs 19,499.
Samsung Galaxy M33 5G: What’s good?  
I’ll quickly highlight the basics

Design is standard for the M series, it is bulky given the 6000 mAh battery
The fingerprint scanner is part of the power button and works accurately
It continues with a headphone jack
Yes, this is 5G ready with support for 12 bands
Dual-SIM with a microSD slot support 1TB
Runs One UI 4 with Android 12
Samsung is giving 128GB storage on both RAM variants, which is always good to see

Let’s start with the best aspect which is battery. That 6,000 mAh battery will easily last two days with moderate usage. Really push it and you will get one and half days. If you or someone in your family needs a phone where you don’t have to worry about charging every day, this is the easy pick given the battery size.
The phone sports a 6.6-inch LCD display with (2408 x 1080) resolution and 120Hz refresh rate. Samsung is offering an adaptive refresh rate, meaning it will change the refresh rate depending on the need, though you can fix it to 120 Hz as well from the settings. Still, the adaptive refresh should keep most users happy.
The phone has 6.6-inch LCD full HD+ display with 120 Hz refresh rate. (Image credit: Shruti Dhapola/Indian Express)
The display itself is good enough for most users. It is legible in sunlight, and if you are using it to watch videos on YouTube, Netflix, etc, it will do the job well.
The Galaxy M33 5G sports a quad-camera with the main camera being 50MP, while there’s a 2MP macro, 2MP depth and 5MP ultra-wide. The main camera does a fair job, especially if I compare it to the other devices in the market in a similar segment. In fact, some of the pictures taken from it make me wish we lived in a Samsung camera world. The sky would be bluer, the reds richer, and our grass greener.
The quad camera at the back of the M33. (Image credit: Shruti Dhapola/Indian Express)
There’s no doubt that the camera does tend to saturate some colours, but the overall results are very social media ready, if you are fond of such colours. The selfie camera actually does an impressive job, even though it is 8MP. In well-light environments, the pictures are pleasing, the skin does not look unnatural. But the camera struggles in Night mode, and details are blurry, both for the front and main camera.
Camera sample taken from the Galaxy M33 5G. (Image credit: Shruti Dhapola/Indian Express)
Camera sample taken from the 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 not good?  
Performance is a let down for this price. The phone works fine for basic scrolling on Facebook, WhatsApp, but if you start pushing, it does struggle. While it can run games like Alto’s Odyssey, you can see it struggle with games such as Genshin Impact and Asphalt 9. The stutter and lag is just hard to ignore, even if you are playing with the basic graphics settings. The device also got very warm during gaming sessions.  There’s also a noticeable stutter when scrolling at times on Chrome, if you have too many tabs open.
The camera’s low light performance. is not up to the mark. (Image credit: Shruti Dhapola/Indian Express)
The 25W fast charging remains a problem. That 6000 mAh battery takes a while to charge. Of course, you will have to purchase the charger separately, given Samsung isn’t shipping one in the box.
The ultra-wide and macro camera remains as unimpressive on any other device. Portraits are still acceptable. But the camera’s low-light performance 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 at times, the brand name all matter. The Galaxy M33 fits the bill for someone who needs a big battery phone, more than the standard 5000 mAh, we see these days. The device can handle the daily basic tasks such as messaging, calls, WhatsApp, and has enough on board storage. This is also ideally for someone who is not too fussy about the camera’s other features.
But if your usage involves gaming, clicking photos and videos in different lighting scenarios and your budget is in the Rs 18,000 to Rs 20,000 segment, then this is not the right pick. Samsung’s own F23, or the Redmi Note 11 or even Realme 9 series might be better suited in those cases.