Samsung is more and more specializing in the Galaxy A sequence, and for good purpose. The sequence accounted for almost two-thirds of Samsung’s world gross sales final 12 months, and that quantity is simply set to extend as increasingly clients shift to inexpensive 5G-enabled telephones.
The Galaxy A52 stood out for its worth, long-term software program updates, and dependable {hardware}, and Samsung is constructing on that in 2022 with the Galaxy A53. The telephone does not differ an excessive amount of from its predecessor, with Samsung as an alternative specializing in just a few areas. The important thing modifications embody a bigger 5000mAh battery that lasts properly over a day, up to date inside {hardware} that is extra energy-efficient, and the promise of longer updates.
That stated, it misses out in just a few areas: there is no 3.5mm jack or a bundled charger this time. Samsung is as an alternative betting on the $450 value level — $50 lower than its predecessor — as a key promoting level, so let’s have a look at what the Galaxy A53 has to supply, and if you happen to ought to take into account the telephone if you happen to’re in search of an improve in 2022.
Samsung Galaxy A53 5G: Pricing and availability
Samsung unveiled the Galaxy A53 5G on March 17, and the telephone is now up for pre-order in world markets. In contrast to final 12 months — the place we had 4G and 5G variations of the Galaxy A52 — the Galaxy A53 is out there in a single choice globally, and it comes with 5G connectivity as commonplace.
The Galaxy A53 prices $450 within the U.S. and £399 ($525) within the U.Ok., with pre-orders in each areas netting a free Galaxy Buds Reside. Samsung has trade-in gives in North America and the U.Ok. that go as much as $205 for buying and selling in your present telephone. The Galaxy A53 will hit retailer cabinets beginning April 1.
Over in India, the Galaxy A53 is out there in two configurations, with the 6GB/128GB mannequin debuting at ₹34,499 ($452) and the 8GB/128GB model coming in at ₹35,999 ($472). Whereas that is on par with what the telephone retails for within the U.S., it’s significantly costlier than the ₹26,499 ($348) that the A52 debuted ultimately 12 months. Nonetheless, the A52 was a 4G-only system, and the A53 has the requisite 5G bands for India.
Samsung Galaxy A53 5G: Design
Final 12 months, Samsung launched a brand new design aesthetic on the Galaxy A52 that included an oblong chassis with flat sides and pastel colours. This 12 months, the Korean model is not making any broad modifications, with the Galaxy A53 retaining the identical design albeit with just a few tweaks.
The flat sides and boxy design means the Galaxy A53 is not as snug to make use of because the A52.
The edges are actually totally flat with no curves on the entrance or again, and the digital camera island has a seamless design that appears prefer it’s rising naturally from the chassis. Whereas it is not as dramatic because the Find X5 Pro, it appears to be like good nonetheless.
Samsung is as soon as once more providing a polycarbonate again with a matte end that feels nice to the touch, and it has an added bonus of stopping smudges.
The important thing design change is across the mid-frame, the place Samsung goes with a shiny end decked out in chrome. The Galaxy A52 additionally had the identical end, however the sides have been coated the identical shade because the again, giving the design a extra cohesive look.
The chrome sides make the Galaxy A53 look a bit cheesy, however my largest concern with the design is the flat sides; I am not a fan of this aesthetic, and the shortage of any curves means the A53 is not as snug to carry and use although it’s 0.3mm thinner than the A52. You will positively need to spend money on a case if you happen to’re within the A53.
Aside from that, the fundamentals are unchanged right here; you will discover the facility and quantity buttons on the fitting, and there is a SIM card tray that holds both two SIM playing cards or a SIM alongside a microSD card.
The buttons and SIM tray are made out of recycled post-consumer supplies, and so they’re not as tactile as those on the A52.
Samsung Galaxy A53 5G: Display screen
There actually is not a complete lot to speak about with the display. The Galaxy A53 has the identical 6.5-inch AMOLED display as final 12 months’s A52 5G, and it goes as much as 120Hz. The max brightness can also be unchanged at 800 nits, and it will get sufficiently shiny outside that it wasn’t a problem for me. And overlaying the display is a layer of Gorilla Glass 5.
Whereas the display misses out on among the niceties that you will discover on the Galaxy S22 Extremely — like HDR10+ and dynamic scaling — it excels on the fundamentals. You get vibrant colours, the 120Hz mode is enabled out of the field, you’ll be able to tweak the colour steadiness to your tastes, the always-on mode has lots of configurability, and also you get schedulable darkish mode.
With the A53 that includes a thinner chassis, there is no 3.5mm jack on the system. That stated, you get first rate stereo sound, and that makes watching movies and enjoying video games a bit extra immersive.
Samsung Galaxy A53 5G: Efficiency
Whereas Samsung is utilizing Qualcomm-based {hardware} in additional components of the world this 12 months, that is restricted to the Galaxy S22 sequence. In an fascinating transfer, the Galaxy A53 comes with the Exynos 1280 because the default choice globally, together with in North America.
The Exynos 1280 contains two Cortex A78 cores that hit 2.40GHz alongside six Cortex A55 cores at 2.0GHz and a Mali-G68. It’s a 5nm half, and the node shrink over final 12 months’s 8nm Snapdragon 720G/750G means the A53 is that rather more environment friendly. Add in an even bigger 5000mAh battery, and you will see noticeable good points in day-to-day use.
| Class | Samsung Galaxy A53 5G |
|---|---|
| Working system | Android 12 |
| One UI 4.1 | |
| Show | 6.5-inch 120Hz AMOLED |
| 2400×1080 (20:9) | |
| Gorilla Glass 5 | |
| Chipset | Exynos 1280 |
| 2 x 2.40GHz Cortex A78 | |
| 6 x 2.0GHz Cortex A55 | |
| Mali-G68, 5nm | |
| RAM | 6GB/8GB |
| Storage | 128GB/256GB |
| MicroSD slot | Sure |
| Rear digital camera 1 | 64MP f/1.8 |
| 0.8um pixels, PDAF, OIS | |
| 4K at 30fps | |
| Rear digital camera 2 | 12MP f/2.2 wide-angle |
| 1.12um pixels, 123-degree FoV | |
| Rear digital camera 3 | 5MP f/2.4 macro |
| Rear digital camera 4 | 5MP f/2.4 portrait |
| Entrance digital camera | 32MP f/2.2 |
| Mounted focus | |
| 4K at 30fps | |
| Connectivity | 5G Sub-6, Wi-Fi ac |
| Bluetooth 5.1, NFC | |
| Audio | USB-C, stereo audio system |
| Battery | 5000mAh |
| Charging | USB-C 2.0 |
| 25W wired charging | |
| Water resistance | IP67 |
| Safety | In-display reader (optical) |
| Colours | Black, White, Blue |
| Dimensions | 159.6 x 74.8 x 8.1mm 189g |
| Worth | $450 (U.S.), £399 (UK), ₹34,499 (India) |
I do not give lots of weight to artificial benchmark scores, however provided that the Exynos 1280 is an unknown amount, I put the Galaxy A53 to the take a look at.
I pitted the A53 towards the Galaxy A52 to get an outline of how the {hardware} has advanced over the course of a 12 months, and the Nord 2 to get a way of the way it holds up for gaming. The Dimensity 1200-powered Nord 2 is without doubt one of the best mid-range phones for gaming, so it is sensible to try how the Galaxy A53 fares on this regard.
| Class | Galaxy A52 | Galaxy A53 | OnePlus Nord 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| CrossMark (General) | 438 | 510 | 645 |
| Productiveness | 452 | 551 | 653 |
| Creativity | 437 | 472 | 664 |
| Responsiveness | 400 | 533 | 570 |
| Geekbench 5.1 (single-core) | 559 | 743 | 803 |
| Geekbench 5.1 (multi-core) | 1703 | 1929 | 2405 |
| 3DMark Wild Life (rating) | 1044 | 2335 | 4227 |
| 3DMark Wild Life (FPS) | 6.25 | 14.02 | 25.3 |
| 3DMark Wild Life Excessive (rating) | 316 | 642 | 1294 |
| 3DMark Wild Life Excessive (FPS) | 1.9 | 3.8 | 7.75 |
Proper off the bat, it is evident that the Galaxy A53 is considerably extra highly effective than its predecessor. Through the use of an analogous set of Arm cores because the Dimensity 1200 (albeit clocked decrease), the A53 is ready to maintain its personal towards the Nord 2.
The Mali-G68 GPU additionally fares properly towards the A52, with the A53 delivering a 2x improve throughout the board. It is nonetheless not fairly on par with the Nord 2, however that is as a result of the Dimensity 1200 is a gaming powerhouse. For context, the Pixel 5a — the Galaxy A53’s fast rival — scores decrease in all 3DMark checks.
The Galaxy A53 is quicker than its predecessor, however it is not designed for intensive gaming classes.
As for real-world utilization, the Exynos 1280 holds its personal for many day by day duties, together with Chrome looking, scrolling by means of Twitter and Instagram, and enjoying the occasional recreation. Nonetheless, this is not a chipset constructed for intensive gaming, and that is noticeable in video games like Name of Responsibility: Cell or PUBG Cell. Each video games go right down to medium settings, and there’s an occasional jitter whereas enjoying.
Moreover, there’s an infinitesimal lag when navigating the UI, notably when launching or closing an app — it is virtually as if the chipset cannot sustain with the 120Hz panel. In fact, this might simply be a case of Samsung not optimizing the Exynos 1280 for the display, and given the potential of the {hardware}, the A53 is not as fluid accurately.
The Galaxy A53 comes with 6GB of RAM with 128GB of storage as commonplace, and you will additionally discover a model with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage in choose world markets.
With Samsung basically reusing many of the similar components as final 12 months, the telephone misses out on Wi-Fi 6 connectivity. You get Bluetooth 5.1, NFC, and the standard set of sensors, however for a mid-range telephone in 2022 to not have Wi-Fi 6 is a obtrusive omission.
Samsung gives Sub-6 5G connectivity for the worldwide variants of the Galaxy A53, with 5G bands altering primarily based on the area. The remainder of the options are unchanged from final 12 months; you get an optical in-screen reader that is correct (if a bit gradual at instances), and the vibration motor is sort of good for this class. It does not fairly handle to ship detailed suggestions just like the one on the Galaxy S22 Ultra, however it’s a first rate choice nonetheless.
Samsung Galaxy A53 5G: Battery
As for the battery, the 5000mAh unit ensures the Galaxy A53 lasts over a day even with heavy use. I obtained properly over 5.5 hours of use over the course of 18 hours, and the battery by no means went beneath 20%.
The telephone retains the identical 25W quick charging commonplace because the A52, with a full cost taking up 80 minutes — considerably greater than its rivals. Nonetheless, with the likes of Xiaomi now providing 120W charging tech on this class and Realme standardizing 65W charging, Samsung is not anyplace near the lead right here.
Battery life is noticeably higher than final 12 months, however there is no charger within the field this time.
That stated, it takes simply over half-hour to hit a 50% cost on the A53, and the comparatively modest charging tech ought to ship higher battery longevity. What’s extra annoying is the truth that you do not get a charger within the field with the A53.
This wasn’t the case final 12 months, and Samsung’s choice to not embody any equipment within the field is a little bit of a letdown. I perceive the model not desirous to bundle a charger on its flagship telephones, however it is not sensible right here.
Rounding out the battery aspect of issues, the Galaxy A53 lacks wi-fi charging. It is not astonishing, contemplating we’ve not seen many mid-range telephones function a Qi coil on the again, so that you’re restricted to plugging within the system to cost it up.
Samsung Galaxy A53 5G: Cameras
Samsung is utilizing a well-recognized quad-camera array on the again that features a 64MP main lens with OIS, a 12MP wide-angle lens with a 123-degree subject of view, and twin 5MP macro and portrait lenses. As well as, there is a 32MP digital camera on the entrance with a fixed-focus lens, and it could possibly shoot 4K video at as much as 30fps — the identical as final 12 months.
Whereas the digital camera configuration hasn’t modified, Samsung notes that it’s utilizing new sensors on the Galaxy A53. The brand new {hardware}, mixed with the software program algorithm tweaks that Samsung launched with One UI 4.1, makes the A53 stand out from its predecessor.
The digital camera interface itself hasn’t modified all that a lot — if you happen to’re coming from one other Galaxy telephone, you’ll discover the UI to be very acquainted. All of the capturing modes are simply accessible, you get toggles for HDR, timer, flash, and filters, and you’ll simply change between the assorted lenses.
The Galaxy A53 does a fantastic job in daylight conditions, delivering photographs with glorious dynamic vary, shade vibrancy, and distinction ranges. There’s minimal noise in daylight photographs, and as is the case with all Samsung telephones, colours are usually oversaturated.
However what makes the A53 stand out is its low-light prowess; the telephone does a a lot better job than its predecessor on this space. There are cases the place you miss out on finer particulars because the highlights and shadows are turned down to attenuate noise ranges, however on the entire, the telephone holds its personal on this class.
The devoted evening mode does a fantastic job bringing out particulars in scenes with little to no lighting, however the draw back is that it’s restricted to the first lens — it does not work on the wide-angle module.
On that be aware, the 12MP wide-angle lens is not fairly pretty much as good because the 64MP main shooter. There’s lens distortion on the edges, it does not produce the identical shade steadiness, and the photographs are missing intimately. The lens struggles to take photographs in low mild, and the shortage of an evening mode means you will be restricted to the first lens.
Equally, the 5MP macro lens is current solely to spherical out the specs sheet; it does not supply something significant right here.
General, the Galaxy A53 does a fantastic job on this class. It is not as easy to shoot because the Pixel 5a — there are just a few points with focusing and dialing in on a topic — it’s higher than what we obtained final 12 months.
Samsung Galaxy A53 5G: Software program
On the software program entrance, the Galaxy A53 comes with One UI 4.1 primarily based on Android 12 out of the field. Samsung just lately introduced that it might ship four Android OS updates to its flagships and mid-range telephones, and the Galaxy A53 is included within the listing. That implies that the telephone will get the Android 16 replace as soon as it’s obtainable someday in 2025.
Make no mistake right here — the Galaxy A53 will get extra software program updates than every other mid-range telephone.
That offers the Galaxy A53 an unassailable benefit within the mid-range class. There actually is not one other system that may get anyplace near the identical variety of updates because the A53, and it is clear that Samsung is betting on long-term updates as a differentiator.
As for the interface itself, One UI 4.1 does not deviate an excessive amount of from a visible standpoint, with Samsung as an alternative specializing in including all of the options Google launched in Android 12.
There is a shade picker mode that lets you choose accent colours primarily based on the present background, recording indicators when the digital camera or mic are in use, and a privateness dashboard that allows you to see what knowledge is being accessed by companies within the background.
In brief, you will really feel instantly acquainted with One UI 4.1 if you happen to’re coming from an older Samsung telephone. Samsung’s dialer and messages are set as default out of the field, however you now have the power to change to Google’s choices.
Each different Android producer has switched to Google’s telephone dialer and Android Messages as commonplace with Android 11, and whereas Samsung is not fairly following swimsuit, there’s not less than the choice of utilizing Google’s alternate options right here.
The largest draw back on the software program entrance is the bloatware — you will discover lots of it right here.
Whereas Samsung has many options to supply with One UI 4.1, there are just a few annoyances. It feels just like the Korean model was intent on including as a lot bloatware as attainable on the system, and because of this, you will must pay explicit consideration whereas establishing the telephone lest you put in much more crud that you simply will not use.
The bloatware varies by area, and whereas it may be uninstalled or disabled, Samsung actually must do higher right here.
On that be aware, One UI 4.1 continues to serve advertisements, principally from the Galaxy Retailer and Samsung’s inventory apps. As quickly as I arrange the telephone, I obtained an advert for the Galaxy Z Fold 3, and I do not perceive the logic behind serving advertisements for different telephones to clients who simply purchased a tool. That is one other space that Samsung wants to handle as a result of the advertisements detract from what’s an in any other case glorious interface.
Samsung Galaxy A53 5G: The competitors
The mid-range section has lots of fascinating choices in the intervening time, and Google’s Pixel 5a is an apparent alternative if you happen to’re inquisitive about a brand new telephone in 2022. The Pixel 5a has an OLED panel, and whereas it misses out on a excessive refresh price display, it wins in different areas. The cameras, particularly, are incredible, with the telephone capable of ship flagship-class photographs.
The Snapdragon 765G is displaying its age, although, and the Pixel 5a is not fairly as quick because the A53. That stated, the 4680mAh battery ensures the telephone lasts over a day with ease. As well as, the Pixel 5a launched with Android 11 out of the field and can get three Android OS updates, lagging behind the A53 on this space. However if you would like the very best digital camera on this class and bloat-free software program, it’s the apparent alternative.
Outdoors the U.S., Realme’s GT Neo 3 is an efficient various to Samsung’s mid-range providing. The telephone was simply unveiled in China and will make its option to world markets within the coming weeks, and it’s basically the Nord 3 with a special label.
The GT Neo 3 has a 120Hz AMOLED display, MediaTek’s glorious Dimensity 8100 platform, a 50MP digital camera that ought to take nice photographs, and a 5000mAh battery with 80W quick charging. It runs Android 12 out of the field and can get two assured Android OS updates.
In the event you do not need to wait, the Nord 2 continues to be a great various in 2022, however you will must take care of gradual software program updates and a buggy UI.
In the event you’ve used Samsung telephones for some time and do not need to change to a special model, the Galaxy A52 is an efficient alternative — offered you could find it on sale. The Galaxy A52 launched with Android 11 and can get three OS updates, so if you happen to’re okay with lacking out on two Android updates, it can save you some money by going with Samsung’s 2021 mid-range bestseller.
Samsung Galaxy A53 5G: Must you purchase it?
You can purchase this if:
- You desire a mid-range telephone with long-term software program updates
- You want a telephone with a vibrant display and quick 120Hz refresh
- You are in search of dependable cameras that take nice photographs in any lighting
- You need all-day battery life with heavy use
You should not purchase this if:
- You want a telephone for gaming
- You desire a telephone that is snug to make use of one-handed
- You do not need to spend further for a wall charger
Samsung is enjoying it secure with the Galaxy A53. The telephone does not differ an excessive amount of from its predecessor when it comes to design. Nonetheless, it has significant upgrades in different areas: the Exynos 1280 is noticeably quicker, and the 5000mAh battery lasts longer. You are additionally getting a vibrant AMOLED display with 120Hz refresh, cameras that take nice photographs in any situation, and IP67 mud and water resistance.
The important thing differentiator for the Galaxy A53 is the software program — by guaranteeing 4 Android OS updates, Samsung is setting the usual on this space. In consequence, you will not discover a mid-range telephone from one other producer that comes near the Korean model.
That stated, the Galaxy A53 has its share of drawbacks: the design is not as ergonomic as final 12 months, the Exynos 1280 runs into points in demanding video games, there is no 3.5mm jack, and you do not get a charger within the field.
However the professionals considerably outweigh the cons right here, and the Galaxy A53 is a superb all-around choice if you happen to’re seeking to improve to a 5G-enabled mid-range telephone in 2022.
Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
With up to date {hardware}, a bigger battery that lasts over a day, a vibrant 120Hz AMOLED display, and standout cameras, the Galaxy A53 is a incredible all-around package deal. Throw in 4 Android OS updates and also you get the mid-range telephone to beat proper now.
