Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
Samsung has always kept the industry keen with its flagship S series line-up, the range-topping smartphone that can do just about anything you put in front of it. However, with every new generation, these smartphones are increasingly intelligent, and with that, their prices increase. Now, not everyone wants to pay flagship prices, but most people still want flagship-grade quality, and this is what makes the Samsung A series so impressive.
The A-series line-up has been a staple of Samsung releases since its initial debut in 2014. They have come a long way from the original Samsung Galaxy A3, all the way to last year's superb Samsung Galaxy A52 5G, and now the successor and topic of today's discussion: Samsung Galaxy A53 5G.
The latest Samsung Galaxy A53 5G was released in March this year and is a significant improvement on the Samsung Galaxy A52 5G of 2021.
Build & Display
The Samsung Galaxy A53 comes with a 6.5inch full HD display, all housed inside a plastic and glass frame. The front of the handset is finished with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 and the plastic back has a matte finish. The overall build of the device is superb for a handset in its price range. When we compared this side by side with the OnePlus Nord CE 2, which is similarly priced, the Samsung was the clear winner in terms of robustness and general feel. While the OnePlus Nord CE 2’s gloss plastic finish was a brilliant design principle, we feel that Samsung’s simplistic approach is much better.
The display on the Samsung Galaxy A53 5G is similar to that of the Samsung Galaxy A52 5G, with the Super AMOLED, 120hz panel with 800 nits of brightness for those rare sunny outdoor moments we British people treasure. Last years Samsung Galaxy A52 5G was the first A-series Samsung device to feature an always-on display, something that was previously reserved for the S series flagship devices. However, Samsung has been swift to revoke this feature and return it exclusively to its flagships, as this is not a feature of the Samsung Galaxy A53 5G. While by no means a deal-breaker, an always-on display is something we love to see on mid-range smartphones.
Camera
The camera on the Samsung Galaxy A53 5G specification wise is the same as its predecessor. The device features a 64MP main wide-angle lens, a 12MP 123° ultrawide lens, a 5MP depth and macro lens. Its video recording capabilities are similarly matched to last year’s model, but as our recent blog comparison between the OnePlus 10 Pro and OnePlus 9 Pro's camera has shown, AI enhancements can make all the difference to a camera regardless of whether its specs are the same or not. We took the camera out to our usual spot to see how it performs against not just its previous model, but the OnePlus Nord CE 2 and we can honestly say the camera is sharp and produces clean images. One thing worth noting, however, is that in daytime shots, some colours were misrepresented with a lot of saturation and depending on your preference, you'll either love the vibrancy or want something that can capture accurate colours rather than AI-enhanced. Our video test on the device is as we expected: strong optical image stabilisation, clear depth and a smooth image. Overall, the camera has improved, and for a mid-range handset, we didn't expect anything more.
Battery
One key talking point around the Samsung Galaxy A53 5G is its impressive 5000mAh battery. Now, this is a 500mA upgrade over the Samsung Galaxy A52 5G. The Samsung Galaxy A53 5G is capable of 25W fast charging and manages 0-50% in around 35 minutes. During GSM arenas battery life endurance testing, they managed to get a solid 113 hours out of the Samsung Galaxy A53 5G.
The Samsung Galaxy A53 5G is easily one of the best mid-range smartphones of 2022 and compliments the rest of Samsung’s 2022 lineup. The real question is whether any future devices this year can put the Samsung Galaxy A53 5G to shame? Let us know what you think in the discussion box below, and if you want to see our review of the Samsung Galaxy A53 5G head over to our YouTube channel where you can find us unboxing even more smartphones.
