Hands on: Samsung Galaxy Ace Plus review

Hands on: Samsung Galaxy Ace Plus review
Galaxy Ace Plus - old name, new phone

It's been a relatively quiet MWC 2012 for Samsung since the company decided to hang fire on the Samsung Galaxy S3 and ditched its press conference but it has managed to bring a few phones that we hadn't yet seen.

Not least the Samsung Galaxy Ace Plus, which launched at this year's CES and brings a bit of an update to the handset with the Ace name.

Where the original Samsung Galaxy Ace offered Android 2.2, a 3.5-inch screen and an 800MHz processor, the Galaxy Ace Plus comes with Gingerbread (Android 2.3), a 3.65-inch screen and a 1GHz processor.

Samsung galaxy ace plus

So when it comes to looks, the two are very similar. The Ace Plus comes with 'metallic points of interest' that may well be metallic to look at but are actually very plasticky to touch and attract fingerprint smudges like nobody's business.

Samsung galaxy ace plus

The 3.6-inch screen isn't bad, although it suffers the same smudge-based woes and images and text have a tendency to look a little pixelly.

Samsung galaxy ace plus

This being a Gingerbread phone, there are a few buttons to play with. Samsung insists on putting the power/sleep button on the side of the handset which confuses us no end, and there's a home button and volume slider too.

Samsung galaxy ace plus

On the back you'll find a 5MP camera and a smart but uninspiring mesh-effect back plate.

Samsung galaxy ace plus

The Galaxy Ace Plus is not the slimmest handset we've seen this MWC but it's not too chunky for a mid-range Android.

Samsung galaxy ace plus

TOPICS
News Editor (UK)

Former UK News Editor for TechRadar, it was a perpetual challenge among the TechRadar staff to send Kate (Twitter, Google+) a link to something interesting on the internet that she hasn't already seen. As TechRadar's News Editor (UK), she was constantly on the hunt for top news and intriguing stories to feed your gadget lust. Kate now enjoys life as a renowned music critic – her words can be found in the i Paper, Guardian, GQ, Metro, Evening Standard and Time Out, and she's also the author of 'Amy Winehouse', a biography of the soul star.

Latest in Samsung Galaxy Phones
Samsung Galaxy S25 from the front
The Now Bar on Samsung One UI 7 is about to get a lot more useful – and could soon match Live Activities on iOS
The Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge on display the January 22, 2025 Galaxy Unpacked event.
A fresh Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge leak hints at a 2K display and a titanium frame
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 in Paris in front of the Louvre pyramid
I switched to a Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 five months ago and I haven’t looked back – here are five things you need to know before buying a foldable phone
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 in Paris in front of the Louvre pyramid
5 things I want from the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7
The Samsung Galaxy S21 series of phones lying face down.
Samsung announces One UI 7 is coming to older phones after all, but the launch is still a mess
The Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge on display the January 22, 2025 Galaxy Unpacked event.
A fresh Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge benchmark leak has eased my worries about its performance
Latest in News
DeepSeek
Deepseek’s new AI is smarter, faster, cheaper, and a real rival to OpenAI's models
Open AI
OpenAI unveiled image generation for 4o – here's everything you need to know about the ChatGPT upgrade
Apple WWDC 2025 announced
Apple just announced WWDC 2025 starts on June 9, and we'll all be watching the opening event
Hornet swings their weapon in mid air
Hollow Knight: Silksong gets new Steam metadata changes, convincing everyone and their mother that the game is finally releasing this year
OpenAI logo
OpenAI just launched a free ChatGPT bible that will help you master the AI chatbot and Sora
An aerial view of an Instavolt Superhub for charging electric vehicles
Forget gas stations – EV charging Superhubs are using solar power to solve the most annoying thing about electric motoring