The Galaxy S22, as spectacular as it could be, continues to be a handset reserved for the plumpest of wallets. When you can’t abdomen the value however don’t wish to scrimp on options, then Samsung might have addressed that exact drawback with the Galaxy A53 5G.
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In what appears to be like like a great-value various, the A53 5G joins the ranks of Samsung handsets costing half the value of its flagships. It isn’t the most affordable in its roster, however the A53 5G nonetheless packs in loads of options for comparatively little cash.
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Samsung Galaxy A53 5G overview: What it’s good to know
Launching alongside the marginally cheaper A33 5G, that is Samsung’s first try at cracking the mid-range market in 2022. So far as specs go, nonetheless, it’s simply as effectively outfitted as any fashionable smartphone, with a handful of surprises dotted alongside the way in which.
To start with, you’re getting a 120Hz FHD+ AMOLED show for nearly half the value of the Galaxy S22, and it’s greater, too, at 6.5in to the S22’s 6.1in. Samsung’s mid-range Exynos 1280 chipset could be discovered inside, promising massive efficiency enhancements in contrast with the earlier A52 5G, and this works alongside 6GB of RAM and 128GB of expandable storage.
The A53 5G comes with a complete of 4 rear cameras, with the spotlight being the first 64MP (f/1.8) lens. That is accompanied by a 12MP ultrawide plus a 5MP depth and a macro digicam. It additionally occurs to be one among Samsung’s most cost-effective 5G handsets and it comes with Android 12 pre-installed.
Samsung Galaxy A53 5G overview: Worth and competitors
You get all that for the comparatively low value of £399. That’s the kind of value that makes you surprise why Samsung determined to cost nearly double the value for the Galaxy S22 – particularly after they’re not that dissimilar in terms of options.
However that is what we’re coming to anticipate from mid-range smartphones in 2022 and there are many choices at round this value. The Realme 9 Professional Plus, as an example, is our favorite and comes with an identical set of options, though it’s powered by a special chipset – the MediaTek Dimensity 920.
The newest iPhone SE (2022) is £70 greater than the Samsung and likewise an honest various. It incorporates Apple’s flagship A15 Bionic chipset, which nothing comes near for efficiency, but it surely isn’t probably the most engaging telephone and poor battery life lets it down.
There’s loads of alternative for much less cash, too. The Redmi Notice 11 Professional 5G is £80 cheaper, and is maybe the best-value smartphone on cabinets immediately, outfitted with a succesful Snapdragon 732G processor, 120Hz OLED display and 67W quick charging.
To not point out that Samsung’s personal Galaxy A33 5G additionally will get in the way in which a bit. It’s a 5G-capable mid-ranger however for a similar value because the Redmi (£329) it shares the A53’s Exynos 1280 chipset, with the one downsides being a 90Hz refresh price and barely weaker cameras.
Samsung Galaxy A53 5G overview: Design and key options
The A53 5G’s design is actually eye-catching however there are hints, on nearer inspection, that it isn’t fairly as lavish because the Galaxy S22. It’s an enormous handset, with a 6.5in show and slender bezels, and I notably favored the way in which the rear digicam housing blends neatly with the remainder of the telephone.
Regardless of the plastic development, it doesn’t really feel cheaply made, and it additionally comes with IP67-rated water and dirt safety. The chrome-tinted edges are a pleasant contact, and the telephone is available in 4 “Superior” flavours: Superior Black, Superior White and the brand new Superior Blue and Superior Peach colors. I used to be despatched the white mannequin for testing, which you’ll see within the footage dotted round this overview.
A small gap punch notch sits on the high of the A53 5G’s show, which homes the 32MP selfie digicam, plus there’s an ultrasonic fingerprint scanner embedded beneath the display, which can be utilized for unlocking the telephone and authorising contactless funds. This labored effectively in my checks.
In actual fact, the one actual draw back is that the Galaxy A53 5G doesn’t have a 3.5mm headphone jack. When you’re after a Samsung that helps wired audio connectivity, you’ll should go less expensive and get the Samsung Galaxy A13 as a substitute.
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Naturally, the A53 5G comes with Android 12 from the get-go, with Samsung’s OneUI 4.1 pores and skin positioned on high. New UI and settings additions for this yr embody additional themes and color palettes, in addition to new privateness controls, together with a inexperienced indicator within the top-right nook of the display that seems at any time when an app is utilizing your digicam or microphone.
Samsung Galaxy A53 5G overview: Show
As for the show, that is yet one more Tremendous AMOLED quantity, with an adaptive refresh price of as much as 120Hz and an FHD+ (1,080 x 2,400) decision. The display to physique ratio is roughly 85% and the show has a not-so-bad pixel density of 405ppi.
Samsung’s screens usually favour saturation over outright color accuracy, and the identical is true with the Galaxy A53 5G. The general high quality is slightly good, although, particularly if you happen to swap off the default Vivid mode and allow the telephone’s Pure show setting as a substitute.
On this mode, the Samsung Galaxy A53 5G achieved a mean Delta E (color variance) rating of 1.18, which is miles higher than the A52 5G. It additionally covers 93.7% of the sRGB color area, with a complete quantity of 96%. There are just a few discrepancies in pink tones, however all the pieces else is bang on the cash.
Brightness can also be considerably improved, with a measured peak luminance of 706cd/m² with the auto-brightness setting engaged. It’s an OLED display, too, so distinction is successfully excellent.
The one concern is that the A53 5G isn’t licensed for HDR playback, though rivals such because the Realme 9 Professional Plus aren’t HDR-compliant, both. What this implies is there’s an opportunity that films and TV reveals won’t look nearly as good as they may, however the vibrancy of the OLED show covers for this lack admirably.
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Samsung Galaxy A53 5G overview: Efficiency and battery life
Internally, Samsung’s mid-range Exynos 1280 makes its first look, an octa-core half constructed on a 5nm fabrication course of with a most clock pace of two.4GHz.
The A53 5G additionally will get 6GB of RAM, with 128GB of inner storage that’s expandable by an extra 1TB by way of microSD. Samsung’s mid-ranger additionally comes with the identical “RAM Plus” mode because the S22, which when enabled allocates both 2GB, 4GB or 6GB of onboard storage for use as digital reminiscence. In concept, this could assist enhance multi-app efficiency and split-screen multitasking, though I didn’t discover any distinction in my checks.
On that be aware, it’s truthful to say that the Galaxy A53 5G did slightly effectively within the Geekbench 5 single- and multicore CPU processing benchmarks, but it surely doesn’t stretch out a lead over its rivals. It matched the efficiency of the Poco X4 Professional 5G and Realme 9 Professional Plus and, typically use, all the pieces feels remarkably snappy, but it surely’s nonetheless no match for the iPhone SE’s A15 Bionic.
The A53 5G is an honest performer within the GFXBench Manhattan 3 checks, too, offering a 40% enchancment over the earlier A52 5G within the onscreen benchmark. Video games ought to run considerably sooner because of this, though don’t anticipate to be pumping out sufficient frames to get probably the most out of the show’s most 120Hz refresh price.
The telephone’s 5,000mAh battery, nonetheless, is its greatest function. It has 25W quick charging assist, which in my testing charged the telephone from zero to 50% in round 35 minutes, and there’s assist for Samsung’s adaptive power-saving function, which mechanically switches on the power-saving mode when the cost falls under 50%.
One of the best information is that the battery delivers distinctive stamina. Lasting 21hrs 57mins in our video rundown take a look at, the A53 5G is overwhelmed solely by the Realme 9 Professional Plus, which lasted 25hrs 17mins.
Samsung Galaxy A53 5G overview: Cameras
The Galaxy A53 5G makes use of the identical mixture of cameras because the earlier mannequin, with a quad-camera array on the rear, consisting of a 64MP (f/1.8) predominant digicam with OIS, 12MP (f/2.2) ultrawide, 5MP macro and 2MP depth sensor.
As earlier than, the A53 captures lower-resolution pixel-binned photos by default however the place the telephones differ is with a brand new multi-frame image-processing algorithm, which now combines 12 footage into one picture each time you press the shutter. There are a handful of recent portrait bokeh and lighting results to mess around with, too, however these are minor adjustments.
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The excellent news is there’s nonetheless an terrible lot to love when it comes to picture high quality. Whereas I don’t nonetheless have the A52 5G for comparability, I used to be impressed with the A53’s element seize, its good use of HDR and its well-judged exposures. Even in dimly lit environments, images seemed remarkably detailed, with barely a whiff of seen noise.
Portrait photos are among the many greatest I’ve seen on a telephone at this value, with crisp outlines round topics and successfully blurred backgrounds. The one factor I didn’t like – and this is a matter that plagues all Samsung telephones – is that colors are a bit too saturated for my style.
The telephone’s ultrawide photos are additionally a bit weak. The advantage of squeezing extra stuff within the body comes with the caveat of a rise in grain and a noticeable lack of element. There’s additionally a 2x zoom toggle, however that is purely digital and doesn’t provide a lot in the way in which of magnification.
Fortunately, video seize is great. Footage is capped at 4K decision at 30fps – you need to allow 1080p in order for you a smoother 60fps body price – and it appears to be like nice, with largely shake-free panning.
Samsung Galaxy A53 5G overview: Verdict
The Galaxy A53 5G is a remarkably well-rounded rival to this yr’s high-priced flagships. In case your sights are set on the Galaxy S22 however you don’t have the funds to purchase one, then the A53 5G is each bit the subsequent neatest thing.
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It merely brings a lot to the desk that I’d be mad to not give the Galaxy A53 5G a Greatest Purchase award. It’s not excellent however, at this value, nothing ever is and, moreover, it will get fairly darn shut.
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