Galaxy A53 Galaxy A53 is the 2022 version of Samsung's most popular range. After a massive update in 2021 that included Galaxy A52, the Galaxy A52, the Korean brand has made minor improvements to its mid-range model. Does it merit its $449 price tag? Who should be considering buying this Galaxy A53? Continue reading for the full review of NextPit.
Good
- Excellent AMOLED display
- Excellent performance
- A decent battery life
- The most reliable software support available in the industry
Bad
- Slow charging
- No headphone jack
- The price that is not competitive
Samsung Galaxy A53 in a concise summary
Galaxy A53 Galaxy A53 was announced in March 2022, alongside its predecessor, the Galaxy A33, and succeeded the Galaxy A52 line in 2022. It has roughly the same specs as the 5G model and models A52, featuring a 6.5-inch AMOLED display that has a 120 refresh rate and 5G support due to its octa-core processor as well as a quad-camera unit that has a 64-megapixel main shooter, 12MP ultra-wide and two 5MP sensors for macros and depth-sensing.
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New to Galaxy A53 Galaxy A53 is a bigger capacity battery of 5000 mAh, which is the same 4500 mAh unit that was introduced in 2021, even though the width was reduced by 8.4 to 8.1 millimeters (the other dimensions have the same 0.3-millimeter reduction) The new Exynos 1280 model designed and manufactured by Samsung with the elimination of the headphone socket and the charger out of the box.
The phone launched at an MSRP of $449.99. However, it can be purchased for $100 less at a similar price to its predecessor, the A52 5G.
Screen and design Screen: If it's not broken, don't fix it.
If you compare it to its predecessor, it isn't easy to distinguish when compared to the Galaxy A53. Samsung retained the same style and design as the A52 models and the same camera centered with a fluid and bright 6.5-inch AMOLED display and the same camera bump at the back, a common feature between generations.
What I liked:
- Bright AMOLED screen.
- Fast 120 Hz refresh rate.
- Beautiful matte finish in the back.
- IP67 rating.
The things I did not love about HTML0:
- It is mostly the same as the A52 series. It's the same as the A52 series.
- Samsung's AMOLED screens are a very well-known product that has an excellent contrast ratio, vibrant colors, and a good brightness, even in outdoor usage. The A53's display is identical to the A52's. The animations displayed on the screen are smooth because of the 120 refresh rate. However, a similar can be stated about the screen on the 5G A52.
The build quality is excellent and in line with its competitors. Also, Samsung has even cut 0.3 millimeters off every dimension of the A52 despite having a larger battery. Similar to the A52 models that are available, Samsung's Galaxy A53 has an IP67 rating for dust and water resistance.
Performance: A good performance of the Exynos 1280
The Galaxy A53 is the first smartphone equipped with the Samsung Exynos 1280 mid-range processor. The SoC provides decent performance, especially when playing games, comparable to its main competitors, including Snapdragon 778 and Density 900. Snapdragon 778 as well as the Density 900.
What I liked:
- More than enough efficiency for daily tasks.
- Performance in competitive games and benchmarks.
- Stable and not overheated.
My experience with HTML0: love about HTML0:
- Multithreaded synthetic performance comes in lower than its competitors.
- Samsung is not up to par in the area of the game overlay.
It is not a secret that current intermediate SoCs are more than capable of handling regular apps like YouTube, Netflix, Facebook, WhatsApp, and others, and the Exynos 1280 is not different. Apps load fast; interface animations are smooth and without excessive heat.
Performance in gaming was high-end, even though it has only two cores with high performance compared to the four cores found in the Snapdragon 778 (which is why it does much better in Geekbench's multi-core test). Even better, Galaxy A53 performed well in 3DMark's stress test. Galaxy A53 showed a solid performance in 3DMark's Stress test that simulates a lengthy gaming session. It also tries to spot overheating or issues with throttling, something it did not have in the A53.
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In real-world gaming like Call of Duty Mobile and Genshin Impact, the Samsung Galaxy A53 could perform as expected, offering steady performance even in low or medium graphical settings. This includes the option of a faster framerate in CoD: M when you reduce the number of visual possibilities. It cannot compete with top-of-the-line phones in terms of image quality, but it does offer impressive performance in its market segment. The only thing missing is an improved game overlay comparable to the game overlays offered by Oppo/OnePlus or Xiaomi.
A familiar camera module
The camera module of Galaxy A53 Galaxy A53 has the same specifications as its A52 predecessors, including a 64-megapixel main sensor that features phase-detect autofocus (PDAF) as well as optical image stabilization (OIS) as well as a 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera that has 123@ field of view and a pair of 5 MP sensors to take macro photography and depth sensing.
What I liked:
- Excellent image quality in daylight photos.
- Amazing photos of nighttime.
- Optical Image Stabilization (OIS).
- Macros can be decent.
My experience with HTML0: love about HTML0:
- There is no zoom lens.
- It is the same as the A52.
In general, pictures in the daytime were quite good, with the usual color processing Samsung is known for, with boosted contrast levels. Like my colleague Benjamin Lucks found during his A52 review, I noticed some differences in the colors from the wide and ultra-wide cameras, the latter with slightly washed-out results.
With no dedicated camera with a telephoto lens, A53 uses zooming digitally for close-ups with the typical results. Results that go up to 2x are typically good; however, taking it any further such as the 5x zoom images shown below, mark in photos lacking clarity.
After testing several phones with 2MP macro cameras, the 5 MP camera features provided in Samsung's Galaxy A53 are very welcomed. The produced photos were not jaw-droppingly impressive as most shots were too noisy, but a bit of persistence (and solid hands) can result in pleasing images.
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For nighttime performance, it is the A53 that replicates the features of the A52 but with an extra level of detail in the right circumstances. Personally, in the majority of cases, I was able to find the results a little different from the normal mode.
For selfies it's you can't go wrong with the Galaxy A53 did well with its 32-megapixel camera, with similar specs to the A52 -with both the standard and wide-angle settings, with excellent detail and the color reproduction. In addition, the Portrait mode performed exactly as it should with excellent subject separation.
In essence, the camera capabilities that come with Samsung's Galaxy A53 are mostly identical to those of the A52. That is unfortunate, particularly since Samsung has decided not to offer a zoom lens on the 2022 Galaxy A-line, not even on the A73 available in just the markets of a handful.
Long battery lifespan, long charging times
Samsung Galaxy A53 Samsung Galaxy A53 is powered by a battery of 5,000 mAh (500 more mAh than the one found in the A52). The capacity enhancement was achieved even with the diminution in dimensions. In contrast, Samsung no longer includes the charger inside the box.
What I liked:
- Batteries can last for two days of continuous usage.
- The battery's capacity increased concerning the A52 while reducing its overall capacity.
My experience with HTML0: love about HTML0:
- 25-watt charging isn't as speedy anymore.
- There's no charger included in the box.
- No wireless charging.
I admit that I am rather pessimistic about the Galaxy A53, but the Exynos 1280 proved itself capable performance-wise and battery consumption. The A53 lasted roughly two days on a single charge, with some heavy game downloading (14 GB for Genshin Impact!), light social media and messaging use, and a brief GPS/camera tour.
However, Samsung insisted on not improving the charging capabilities of its mid-ranger, but it still offers up to 25W "fast" charging. Based on an Oppo Find the X5 Lite/Reno 7 with 5G, I was not dissatisfied by charging speeds nearly 4x slower than the Galaxy A53, using either an Anker PowerPort III 65W or Samsung EP-TA20 (20W) charger.
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Samsung Galaxy A53 technical specifications
I will also list some additional points that might be of interest to those in the NextPitcommunity However, and they aren't worth a separate paragraph:
- Galaxy A53 Galaxy A53 includes NFC support and is compatible with Google Pay for contactless payments.
- After resetting the device, The operating system showed 29.97 GB of space.
- The packaging of the review unit contained a USB-C-to-USB-C charging cable and SIM tools for opening the tray.
- The software version used at the time of testing was A536BXXXU1AVCC (April 2022 patch for security).
- Samsung promises to release four major OneUI/Android updates and five years of security updates.
Final decision
- The Galaxy A53 does not repeat the major changes made through A52. A52 generation, and it's difficult to recommend it to people who use A52s, the Galaxy A52, or A52s. However, for those who are loyal to Samsung and still using the renowned Galaxy A51 or older, the 2022 update will be a welcome one.
- Similar to what was seen in parallel to what happened with the iPhone SE 2022, The Galaxy A53 seems like a processor upgrade over the A52 and A52 5G models, offering more power and similar battery life but not offering the same speed as the Snapdragon 778 found for Samsung's A52s.