The Samsung Galaxy A53 has recently been launched and it has emerged as one of the best budget smartphones available in the market.
Despite some cost-cutting measures being taken during its manufacturing process, the device still boasts a range of impressive features including 5G connectivity, a smooth user experience, and a sleek design.
The Samsung Galaxy A53 falls into the mid-range smartphone category but offers a compelling feature set at its price point, along with dependable performance and user-friendly interface.
It was officially announced on March 17, 2022, along with the Galaxy A33.
The Samsung Galaxy A53 can be considered as a ‘lite’ version of the Galaxy S22, or as we like to call it, the ‘Baby S22’. The Galaxy A series is known to bring many of the Galaxy S features to a more affordable price range, and the Galaxy A53 serves as a prime example of this concept. It’s like a superhero in training!
While the camera quality of the A53 may not match that of the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, it still takes bright and vibrant photos that are perfect for sharing on social media platforms like Instagram.
All in all, the Samsung Galaxy A53 is a more affordable alternative to Samsung’s premium smartphones, and it’s just as cool as a cucumber!
The Galaxy A53 goes head-to-head with the likes of the Pixel 5a for the title of best budget Android phone, and emerges as the superior option in many ways.
Jordan Palmer (Tom’s Guide)
Let’s talk about Samsung Galaxy A53 Review Simplified right now.
Table of Contents
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Great value for money
- 120Hz Display
- Good cameras for price
- Expandable storage
Cons
- Charging speed is slow
- Plastic build
- Mediocre performance
Design
The Samsung Galaxy A53 boasts a sleek and stylish matte finish on the back panel. While it may not be made of diamonds and gold, the use of plastic in its build keeps the price tag low without sacrificing style.
It’s available in four colors that’ll make you want to dance: blue, black, white, and peach. Each color option is ready to rock with that matte finish on the back.
The Galaxy A53 is a medium-sized device, perfect for those with average-sized hands, unless you’re a giant. Sorry, giants.
But the good news is that the device does come with an in-display fingerprint scanner, which is a rare treat for phones at this price point. And don’t worry, the camera bump on the back is subtle and won’t get in the way of your OOTD shots.
You may be disappointed to hear that there’s no 3.5mm headphone jack, but the device more than makes up for it with its IP67 rating, meaning it’s totally dustproof and water-resistant at a depth of up to a meter for 30 minutes.
In a nutshell, the Samsung Galaxy A53 is like a refined, upgraded version of its predecessors, but with a new Exynos 1280 chipset that just needs to be as good as the Snapdragon 778G 5G, not even better. And if it does, then it’s a win-win for everyone, as every other feature of the Galaxy A53 is carried over from the previous model, making it a fantastic package that’s sure to make you smile.
Display
The Samsung Galaxy A53 has a screen that will make your eyes dance with joy!
It’s a 6.5-inch Super AMOLED display with a FHD+ resolution, a 120Hz refresh rate, and can get super bright at 800 nits. It’s like having a mini movie theater in your hand, but with better snacks (you bring your own).
Now, the bezels around the screen are a bit chunky, but that’s okay because it keeps the price down. Just pretend you’re in a black and white movie and the bezels are the old-fashioned border.
The colors on the screen look amazing in both the Vivid and Natural modes, so you can have a blast watching your favorite shows and movies, or just browsing cute cat videos.
The display on the Samsung Galaxy A53 is similar to that of the A52, but with a lighter touch. Maybe Samsung made some tweaks or maybe it’s because the A52 has been used for a while.
Either way, the screen is a blast to use and it’s perfect for all your streaming, scrolling, and downloading needs.
Cameras
The Samsung Galaxy A53 features a camera setup that is comparable to its predecessor, the A52s. This type of setup, which includes a wide-angle lens, an ultrawide lens, a macro lens, and a depth sensor, has become a standard in the smartphone industry.
The Galaxy A53 needs to show that its camera is just as good, or even better than other phone cameras such as the Pixel 5a and the 2022 iPhone SE.
The A53 has four cameras in total. The main camera is 64MP and there are also 12MP ultra-wide, 5MP macro, and 5MP depth cameras. The front-facing camera is 32MP.
Samsung didn’t change the camera app on the A53, so it will look familiar to people who have used Samsung phones before.
The Samsung Galaxy A53 also takes great night photos. We took a few shots in the dark and were pleasantly surprised by how much detail was still visible. It’s not quite as good as the iPhone, but hey, it’s still better than a lot of other phones in its price range.
They call it the budget phone, but it’s not budget when it comes to its camera skills!
Some budget phones pretend to have good cameras by sticking a 2MP macro or depth lens on their specs list, but the Samsung Galaxy A53 isn’t one of those pretenders. The macro camera takes great close-up shots without any weird edge distortion, and the depth camera knows how to blur the background just right.
Photo
A Samsung phone typically produces vibrant and eye-catching photos with its camera, as expected. The phone’s image processing enhances the brightness to create attractive but unnatural-looking images that may take some getting used to.
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The main camera’s 16MP shots are satisfactory but noticeably different and perhaps overly bright when compared to the A52. Although the detail is good, the colors may appeal to you if you prefer a more vivid and colorful look. On the other hand, the Samsung Galaxy A53 has a comparatively subdued color palette but offers a more realistic representation of the scene.
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The photos taken with the 12MP ultra-wide camera are decent, but not particularly noteworthy. The defining characteristic of these photos is the noticeable softness throughout the frame. It’s not the worst, but it’s definitely noticeable.
On the brighter side, the colors look much more natural compared to the main camera and might be preferred. However, this also means that there is not much consistency between the two cameras.
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The 5MP macro camera is capable of producing excellent close-up shots that are rich in detail and have pleasing colors.
However, it has a fixed focus and a limited depth of field, which means you need to be patient and take a few tries to get the right shot.
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The front camera, like most Samsung phones, has a narrow and wide mode.
The selfie quality is generally good, with sufficient detail and acceptable noise levels. And despite occasional inconsistencies in skin tones, like a moody teenager, the front camera has both Auto HDR and Scene Optimizer to save the day.
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The Samsung Galaxy A53 provides a good amount of detail with minimal noise in low-light conditions.
Due to the fewer colors present in these low-light shots, the increased saturation applied by the A53 may not be as noticeable. But we can’t ignore that most lights in these photos look like they’ve been soaking up too much sunshine, giving a subtle touch of yellow to the photos.
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The Night mode on the Samsung Galaxy A53 takes its time, using longer exposures, stacking and processing to capture those moody low light moments.
While this may be acceptable if it greatly improved the photo quality, it unfortunately comes at the cost of sharpness. The Night mode appears to turn off the sharpening tool, making the photos appear too cozy for their own good.
Undeniably, the improvement in detail is a positive aspect, and it appears that the new chipset in the Galaxy A53 has helped in achieving this outcome while taking photos.
Video
The Galaxy A53 boasts the capability to capture 4K resolution videos at 30 frames per second on its main camera, ultrawide camera, and front-facing camera.
The videos recorded by the main camera demonstrate decent quality, with remarkable detail and minimal noise. However, it should be noted that the color reproduction appears to be slightly more saturated than that of its predecessor, the Galaxy A52s. This could vary based on individual preferences.
And, like a superhero, the Samsung Galaxy A53 has a pretty steady hand, keeping videos smooth and shake-free. The image stabilization function of the A53 performs admirably, similar to that of the A52.
The audio quality of the recorded videos is also noteworthy, with clear audio recorded by the microphones.
In low light conditions, the main camera of the Samsung Galaxy A53 can capture 4K videos with satisfactory detail, despite some expected noise and limited containment of light sources. The ultrawide camera, on the other hand, may struggle in low light conditions, although the recorded videos are still usable to a certain extent.
Performance
The Samsung Galaxy A53 is a mid-range smartphone that packs a punch with its 6GB of RAM, which is more memory than a forgetful elephant! With 128GB of internal storage, you’ll have plenty of room to store all your cat videos and TikTok dances.
But, if that’s not enough, you can always expand it by a whopping 1TB with a microSD card, because who says you can’t have too much storage?
The Samsung Galaxy A53 also comes with a special feature called “RAM Plus”, which is like adding a personal assistant to your phone. It helps keep everything running smoothly, even when you have 50 tabs open and you’re trying to find that one embarrassing tweet from 2012.
The Exynos 1280 system-on-chip may not make the Galaxy A53 the fastest phone on the block, but it still gets the job done in everyday use. It’s like your favorite pair of sneakers, they may not be the coolest, but they’re comfortable and reliable.
And, let’s not forget about its performance in the Geekbench 5 CPU processing benchmarks. The Galaxy A53 did pretty well, like a student who got a B+ on their exam but still brags about it. It may not be the star of the class, but it’s still a solid choice in its price range.
GeekBench Score: Single Core
GeekBench Score: Multi Core
The benchmark scores for the Galaxy A53 might say one thing, but in reality, it’s a different story when it comes to gaming. Let’s just say, playing Minecraft on this phone is like trying to ride a unicycle while juggling flaming knives – it’s a bit of a wild ride! You might see some frame drops here and there, but hey, at least you’ll never get bored.
But don’t worry, the Samsung Galaxy A53 shines in other areas. Browsing the web, using social media, and doing everyday tasks are like a smooth sail on a calm sea. Thanks to its speedy 120Hz display, scrolling and animations are buttery smooth, without a glitch in sight.
So the Galaxy A53 may not be the best gaming phone out there, but it still holds its own in everyday use. Think of it like your friend who’s great at sports but not so good at video games – they still have plenty of other talents!
Battery Life and Charging
The Samsung Galaxy A53 has a big battery of 5,000mAh. This large battery capacity is beneficial as it can provide ample power to support the 5G connectivity and vibrant screen.
You may be asking, “Will it last me the whole day?” Well, we put it to the test and it did last a whole day – we were impressed! Of course, if you’re a heavy user and love taking a million photos or navigating like a pro, it may not last you a full day. But hey, who wants to be inside all day anyway?
Samsung boasts a 2-day battery life, which we think is possible if you’re a moderate to light user. During our tests, the phone was able to juggle tasks like a circus performer, without draining the battery too much.
But here’s the real kicker, if you’re a light user and don’t mind a slightly less smooth display (60Hz instead of 120Hz), you might even be able to stretch that battery life to a day and a half or even two! Who would have thought Samsung’s claim was actually accurate?
The 25W fast charging is like a caffeine shot for your phone, in my testing, it charged the phone from 0 to 50% in a jiffy, which is 35 minutes. And, there’s this adaptive power-saving feature that kicks in when the battery is running low and helps it last longer.
But here’s the catch, there are competitors out there with even faster charging speeds, like 40W! So, don’t be surprised if your phone charges faster than you can finish your coffee. And, on the flip side, there’s no wireless charging, but hey, all jokes aside, we can’t complain at this price point!
Operating System
Samsung has done a fantastic job with the Samsung Galaxy A53’s software – it’s like they hired a software magician! The One UI 4.1 is the same one you’ll find on the Galaxy S22, so the device is running on Android 12 like a boss. That means it’s packed with customization features, better privacy, and security.
With Android 12, you can now theme your phone like a boss! Just pick a wallpaper, and watch as the colors magically spread throughout your device.
The software operates seamlessly on the Samsung Galaxy A53, making navigation through the menus and features effortlessly. The UI is so well-organized, you’ll feel like you have a personal tour guide in your pocket.
Samsung is known for its long-lasting software support, and the A53 is no exception. You can expect four software upgrades and five years of security patches. This is great if you keep your phone for a while.
We all know that some phone brands love to fill our phones with bloatware, but Samsung isn’t shy either. As users we had to do a bit of cleaning up when we first got the Samsung Galaxy A53 – it was like having a digital spring cleaning!
TL;DR
As one of the top entry-level smartphones on the market, the Samsung Galaxy A53 has notable itself.
It comes in four different colors and is a medium-sized gadget, making it ideal for those with average-sized hands unless you’re a giant.
The A53’s display is similar to the A52’s, but with a lighter touch.
The screen is fun to use and ideal for all of your downloading, scrolling, and streaming requirements.
The brightness of A53 photos is enhanced by its’ image processing to produce appealing but unnatural-looking photographs that could require some getting used to.
If you like a more vibrant and colorful appearance, you might like the colors of the primary camera.
The Samsung Galaxy A53’s selfie quality is typically decent, with enough detail and tolerable noise levels.
The primary camera’s videos are of decent quality, with impressive detail and little noise.
Even while the Galaxy A53’s Exynos 1280 system-on-chip isn’t the fastest smartphone on the market, it nevertheless performs satisfactorily in daily usage.
In 35 minutes, the Samsung Galaxy A53 can be charged from 0% to 50%.
The One UI 4.1 is identical to the one on the Galaxy S22, so it has a ton of customization options as well as improved privacy and security.
Source: RadioTimes, TechRadar, GSM Arena, Tom’s Guide, ExpertReview
