Samsung Galaxy A54 5G
Samsung refines the mid-range phone
The Samsung Galaxy A54 has some upgrades over the previous A53, like an all-new design and a more powerful chipset, but it’s still a pretty minor upgrade to the overall package. You don’t need to upgrade from your A53 to the A54, but if you’re just buying a new phone, go with the A54.
Samsung Galaxy A53
Still a great mid-range phone
Still a top performer in the mid-range category, the Samsung Galaxy A53 isn’t that different from the new A54, so an upgrade isn’t necessary. Plus, if you don’t mind a plastic back, the screen is larger on the A53 than the new model.
The Galaxy A-Series has long offered some of the best options when it comes to budget-friendly devices with solid performance. This assortment of phones encompasses Samsung’s mid-range and budget phones, and their performance and reliability are big reasons you’ll find a few models on ourbest budget Android phoneslist. TheSamsung Galaxy A53was one of our favorite mid-range phones from last year, and it has remained a solid option even well after its release. But how does the old stand up against the newer Samsung Galaxy A54? Better than you might think, actually.
Price, availability, and specs
The Samsung Galaxy A54 keeps the same $450 starting price as the A53 and the same storage amount — 128GB. Both models also have 256GB versions in the international market but not in the U.S. In addition, the Galaxy A54 has a model with 8GB of RAM instead of 6GB, but once again, that’s only in the international version.
Unfortunately, we haven’t seen the Galaxy A53 at much of a discount yet, but now that the A54 is widely available, that is kind of changing. However, it is impossible to find the A53 on Samsung’s website, so you’ll need to pick it up from other retailers, like Amazon.
While neither phone may compete with thebest 5G phones, both models support 5G networks, including mmWave. Just remember that this may be limited based on your network in some areas.
Design and display
The Samsung Galaxy A54 got a pretty significant upgrade in the looks department with an all-new design reminiscent of theSamsung Galaxy S23. The Galaxy A53 felt a little cheap with its plastic-back design and very pronounced camera module on the back of the device, but the A54 has ditched all that in favor of a glass back with no big camera bump sticking out. Instead, just like we see on the S-series phones this year, the only three cameras in the back of the A54 stick out separately.
Although the change in materials makes the Galaxy A54 a tad heavier than its predecessor (202g compared to 189g), it also features slightly more rounded corners than the A53, which likely makes it fit a little better in hand.
Of course, the Galaxy A54’s 6.4-inch AMOLED display makes it a tad smaller than the A53 with the 6.5-inch OLED display. The displays on both models have a 120Hz refresh rate, so on top of those rich colors and deep blacks you’ll get from the OLED screens, you’ll also get smooth scrolling and lots of sharpness. The Galaxy A54 can also get slightly brighter in sunny or other bright light conditions with a max of 1000 nits. Most people likely won’t notice too much of a difference over the 800 nits of max brightness the A53 can achieve, but it’s handy to have a screen that’s more legible when you’re chilling at the beach.
Software and performance
Samsung leads the Android market in software support for their devices after launch, and the Galaxy A54 doesn’t buck that trend. Just like the Galaxy A53 before it, you can expect the A54 to get four years of major Android updates and five years of security updates. The A53 got the same treatment and is still expected to get more Android software updates in the years to come, just like it got the Samsung One Ui 5.1 update (based on Android 13) not that long ago. Of course, by the very nature of just being one year older, the A53 will lose support just a year before the A54.
The Galaxy A54 continues the tradition of carrying a Samsung chip instead of a more popular chip from Snapdragon — this year, it’s the Exynos 1380. It is a newer chip and should perform a little better than the Exynos 1280 piloting the A53; however, the actual raw performance will likely be better and similar in practice. Typically, year-after-year upgrades on chips don’t provide a massive boost, so you should probably still expect a bit of stuttering when you’re pushing the A54 to its limit. Of course, these mid-range phones are very good at handling your day-to-day tasks with ease.
Battery life
Samsung will tell you that the Galaxy A54 and the A53 are capable of multi-day battery life, and while that’s true, it really depends on your usage. We found with light-to-moderate use, the Galaxy A53 could easily stretch its 5,000mAh battery to a full 48 hours, but on days when you start using it a lot more, you’ll find yourself needing to top up at night.
The Galaxy A54 has the same capacity as its predecessor, so chances are you aren’t going to see too much improvement on the battery life with the Galaxy A54, aside from maybe a new software efficiency or the Exynos 1380 chip proving to be a lot less power intensive than its predecessor.
Unfortunately, the new glass back on the Galaxy A54 does not provide wireless charging capabilities to the phone, so you’re able to only charge up with a USB-C cable up to 25W speeds. A little disappointing to still be charging that slow on the A54, but it is the same as the A53.
When you look at the spec sheet, you may be a little confused because it’s easy to think that the Galaxy A53 had the better camera system. The four cameras on the Galaxy A53 have always been a mixed bag. The main 64MP sensor is good and can certainly produce some great pictures, even in some low-light situations. The ultrawide 12MP sensors are usually pretty decent, offering nice photos so long as you don’t zoom in too far to crop your photos in editing. The two 2MP sensors (one for macro and one for depth), though, were always quite bad, and in fact, we don’t even think they are worth using. So what’s changed when it comes to the cameras on the Galaxy A54?
For starters, the Galaxy A54 has switched its main sensor to a 50MP sensor that took over for the 64MP cameras Samsung used to put on their phones. You may assume that the camera would be worse because 50MP is less than 64MP; however, numbers don’t tell the full story. In fact, Samsung’s 50MP shooters that we’ve seen on the S-series over the last couple of years have been fantastic and seem to produce slightly better results than the 64MP they have used in the past. Though, if you’re not super into phone photography and editing your photos a ton, you probably won’t even notice much of a difference between the two sensors.
The ultrawide sensor is the same in both models; it still suffers in some low-light situations, but overall it’s good for point-and-shoot-type shots. And, again, the 5MP macro camera is not worth using. You will notice the Galaxy A54 doesn’t have a 5MP depth sensor, but since it was so bad before, it’s really not a big deal that it’s gone off the newer model.
Do you need to upgrade?
Ultimately, the Galaxy A54 isn’t a huge upgrade from the A53, and it doesn’t offer any real ground-breaking changes that you have to have over what your A53 already offers. If you’re part of an upgrade program with your carrier, then updating can be a nice way to get a fresh phone, but don’t feel like you have to make the jump if you’re happy with what you already have.
Midrange refined
While we love the Galaxy A54’s new design and are happy the 50MP camera promises to be capable even in low-light situations, the improvements over the A53 are pretty minor for the most part. It’s not an absolute must-have upgrade if you have an A53, but if you’re looking for a new mid-range device, the Samsung Galaxy A54 offers a heck of a package.
It can be easy to get caught up in upgrading every year, especially as companies like Samsung continue to release new devices every 12–14 months. However, sticking with your A53 isn’t a bad idea, especially if you want to watch how much unnecessary cash you’re burning through.
Last year’s model is still good
Even after the launch of the A54, the Samsung Galaxy A53 is a perfectly fine mid-range phone with a great 120Hz display and a decent battery life. There’s no need to upgrade to the A54 if you don’t want, but if you’re part of the upgrade program, it could be worth a look.
