Samsung has updated its mid-range phones for 2023 and that means there's a new Galaxy A device. Sitting a tier down from the Galaxy S models, the Galaxy A54 5G comes in to update and replace the Galaxy A53 5G.
These popular devices offer access to much of the Samsung goodness of the company's top-tier flagships but at a fraction of the price. But what has changed since the previous iteration of this phone and which should you buy?
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Samsung Galaxy A54 5G
The Galaxy A54 adopts a design similar to Samsung's flagship, boosts the power and the camera for a more compelling option. It's more expensive, but it's more attractive.
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Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
Samsung's 2022 mid-range phone offers a great display, good camera and plenty of power, backed with decent battery life - and all at a great price. But it's now bettered in most areas.
Price and availability
- Galaxy A54: From £449
- Galaxy A53: From $449 / £399 / €449
The Samsung Galaxy A54 5G comes in at a slightly higher price than the Galaxy A53 5G, launching just that little more expensive than the phone it replaces. It's still a lot cheaper than the Galaxy S23 (you can find a comparison to that phone here), but with deals on the Galaxy A53 5G now it's a year old, it looks even better value.
But before you make your decision, be sure to read through the rest of the comparison so you can see exactly what you'll get for your money from the new phone.
Design and build
- Galaxy A54: 158.2 x 76.7 x 8.2mm, 202g, IP67, Glass rear
- Galaxy A53: 159.9 x 74.7 x 8.1mm, 189g, IP67, Glastic rear
There's been a big shift in design between these two devices, with the Galaxy A54 looking pretty much identical to the Galaxy S23+. It has the same overall design, most notable in the arrangement of the cameras around the back.
Each lens sits independently on the rear of the Galaxy A54, rather than sitting on a raised island as was the case for the Galaxy A53. As we said, the Galaxy A54 now looks like the flagship, so if you want a phone that looks higher quality, then the Galaxy A54 does that.
The phone is pretty much the same size, but the other change is that it has a glass rear. It's a Gorilla Glass 5 back panel, coming in four colours, compared to the plastic finish of the Galaxy A53. Again, it's an upgrade in quality.
Both, however, offer IP67 ratings, so you'll get dust and water protection on these phones.
Display
- Galaxy A54: 6.4in, Super AMOLED, Full HD+, 120Hz
- Galaxy A53: 6.5in, Super AMOLED, Full HD+, 120Hz
The Galaxy A54 5G moves to a slightly smaller display but only fractionally so. It is still an Infinity-O Super AMOLED display - using a punch hole for the front camera - and the resolution and refresh rate are the same on both devices.
That means that both offer a 120Hz refresh to keep your content smooth, while there's the same resolution on both devices, delivering 2400 x 1080 pixels.
The only real difference is in the brightness: the Galaxy A54 is a brighter display, peaking at over 1000 nits, so it's 25 per cent brighter than the previous model. This should make its performance better outdoors in brighter conditions.
Hardware and performance
- Galaxy A54: Exynos 1380, 8GB RAM, 128/256GB storage + microSD, 5000mAh
- Galaxy A53: Exynos 1280, 6GB RAM, 128GB storage + microSD, 5000mAh
The Samsung Galaxy A54 5G takes last year's hardware platform and moves it forward a step. It's running the new Exynos 1380, an evolution of the hardware in the Galaxy A53. It's still built on a 5nm architecture - the same as the Exynos 1280 - but Samsung is claiming a 20 per cent CPU boost and 26 per cent GPU boost over the 2022 device.
That's not the only performance upgrade that the phone gets: it now comes with 8GB RAM instead of 6GB. Both start with 128GB storage and both support microSD cards up to 1TB for easy and cheap storage expansion, but the Galaxy A54 also offers a 256GB variant.
The battery capacity remains much the same at 5000mAh, designed to give you a good long battery performance, while charging is at 25W on both devices.
Cameras
- Galaxy A54: 50MP main, 12MP ultrawide, 5MP macro, 32MP front
- Galaxy A53: 64MP main, 12MP ultrawide, 5MP depth, 5MP macro, 32MP front
There's a shakeup with the cameras on the Galaxy A54. At first glance you might think that Samsung has reduced its offering, but it's actually an enhancement - yes, less is more.
The big change is to the main camera, moving to a 50-megapixel main sensor, down from 64-megapixels on the Galaxy A53. But the new sensor is both larger and offers larger pixels, so it should be a better performer when it comes to low-light shooting. That sees the pixels move from 0.8µm to 1.0µm, while it moves from a 1/1.7in sensor to a 1/1.56in sensor. The OIS performance is also boosted too.
The ultrawide camera is likely to offer much the same performance on both phones, but the depth sensor has been removed. This isn't a great loss - when was the last time you saw a flagship phone with a depth sensor? The macro will likely also be the same on both phones.
Elsewhere, both devices have a 32-megapixel front facing camera.
Conclusions
The big change for the Samsung Galaxy A54 5G is how it presents itself. With a design that's close to the Galaxy S23+, this is a mid-range phone that looks a little more desirable. If you have flagship phone envy, then the Galaxy A54 looks better than ever - while also having a more premium build than the A53.
There is a performance bump and while the display on the Galaxy A54 is fractionally smaller, its greater brightness might boost outdoor performance, but it's otherwise much the same as the Galaxy A54.
Finally the main camera should be better positioned for low-light shots, with a new sensor that's larger. While the rest of the camera remains the same, the new model is expected to be slightly better.
All this comes with a slight price bump, but offering an experience that's going to be close between these devices. If what your phone looks like matters to you, the Galaxy A54 5G is the clear choice, but it's likely that there will be some great deals for those who would be happy to take the older phone.