Samsung announced the Galaxy A53 and Galaxy A33 during an event on 17 March, succeeding the popular and excellent Galaxy A52 5G, and the Galaxy A32 5G, respectively.

The Galaxy A33 5G sees a big update compared to its predecessor, making it very similar to the Galaxy A53 5G. If you're wondering which you should buy, we've got you covered. Here are the differences between the Galaxy A33 5G and Galaxy A53 5G.

Design

  • Galaxy A33 5G: 159.7 x 74.0 x 8.1mm, 186g
  • Galaxy A53 5G: 159.9 x 74.7 x 8.1mm, 189g

The Samsung Galaxy A33 and Galaxy A53 are very similar in terms of design, though there are a couple of slight differences. Both feature a raised camera bump on the rear with a quad-lens setup, while the front of the two devices see minimal bezels - the A53's are marginally slimmer. 

The Galaxy A33 has a matte frame and it comes with a waterdrop notch, while the Galaxy A53 has a punch hole camera at the top of its display and a glossy frame. Both are offered in the same colour options and both devices are IP67 water and dust resistant.

The Galaxy A33 is the slightly smaller of the two devices, measuring 159.7 x 74.0 x 8.1mm and weighing 186g, while the A53 measures 159.9 x 74.7 x 8.1mm and weighs 189g, so we are talking a fraction of a millimetre here.

Display

  • Galaxy A33 5G: 6.4-inch, Full HD+, Super AMOLED, 90Hz
  • Galaxy A53 5G: 6.5-inch, Full HD+, Super AMOLED, 120Hz

The Samsung Galaxy A33 5G features a 6.4-inch Full HD+ Super AMOLED display and as we briefly mentioned, it features a waterdrop notch at the top, which Samsung calls an Infinity-U display.

The Galaxy A53 5G has a 6.5-inch display - so a little bigger than the A33 thanks to the slimmer bezels - and it too is a Super AMOLED panel with a Full HD+ resolution. That means the A33 5G technically offers the sharper display, squeezing in a few more pixels per inch, but this isn't something you would notice with the naked eye.

The biggest difference between the two displays is that the Galaxy A53 has that punch hole camera cutout at the top, rather than the waterdrop, and it offers a 120Hz refresh rate compared to the A33's 90Hz refresh rate.

Hardware and specs

  • Galaxy A33 5G: Exynos 1280, 6GB RAM, 128GB storage, microSD, 5000mAh
  • Galaxy A53 5G: Exynos 1280, 6GB RAM, 128GB storage, microSD, 5000mAh

Both the Samsung Galaxy A53 5G and the Galaxy A33 5G run on Samsung's Exynos 1280 chipset and they both offer 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. Crucially, there is microSD support in these models though - something the flagship Galaxy S22 range doesn't offer.

In case their names didn't give them away, the Galaxy A33 5G and A53 5G are both 5G capable

Battery capacity is the same on the two models too, with a 5000mAh cell under the hood, and both offering 25W fast charging. It's worth adding here that both models also offer an under display fingerprint sensor in terms of biometrics and both have stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos too.

In terms of software, the A33 and A53 will deliver the same user experience with both devices running on Android 12 with One UI 4.

Camera

  • Galaxy A33 5G: Quad rear (48MP main, 8MP ultra wide, 2MP depth, 5MP macro), 13MP front
  • Galaxy A53 5G: Quad rear (64MP main, 12MP ultra wide, 5MP depth, 5MP macro), 32MP front

The Samsung Galaxy A33 5G and the Galaxy A53 5G both have a quad rear camera setup, with a main sensor, ultra wide sensor, depth sensor and macro sensor on board. 

It's this area that marks the biggest difference between the devices though, with the A33 opting for a 48-megapixel main camera with f/1.8 aperture, 8-megapixel ultra wide camera with f/2.2 aperture, 2-megapixel depth camera with f/2.4 aperture and 5-megapixel macro camera with f/2.4 aperture.

The Galaxy A53 meanwhile, has a 64-megapixel main camera with f/1.8 aperture, 12-megapixel ultra wide camera with f/2.2 aperture. 5-megapixel depth camera with f/2.4 aperture and a 5-megapixel macro camera with f/2.4 aperture.

Neither of the two devices offer optical zoom, though they both offer optical image stabilisation on their main cameras. 

On the front, the A33 5G has a 13-megapixel snapper with f/2.2 aperture, while the A53 5G has a 32-megapixel snapper with f/2.2 aperture.

Price

The Samsung Galaxy A53 5G is slightly more expensive than the Galaxy A33 5G. It costs £399 in the UK, while the Galaxy A33 5G costs £329 in the UK.

Conclusion

The Samsung Galaxy A53 5G and A33 5G are very similar in their offerings. The Galaxy A53 5G offers a slightly more premium design with its glossy frame and punch hole camera, and it also offers a fractionally larger display with a higher refresh rate and a more capable camera system on the front and rear.

The two devices offer the same hardware though in terms of processor, RAM and storage capabilities, and they are also 5G capable, whilst offering the same battery capacities too. 

The Samsung Galaxy A33 5G is a little cheaper, but for that saving you get a 90Hz display instead of 120Hz, a matte frame instead of glossy and slightly lower resolution camera sensors. There's really not a huge amount in them so the decision is likely to come down to your budget and whether the A53's bump in some features are important to you.