The Samsung Galaxy A54 5G smartphone was launched as the successor to the Galaxy A53 5G two weeks ago. It has a better screen, faster Exynos 1380 5nm SoC, and improved cameras while retaining the same battery. However, it is more expensive. This review explores whether the Galaxy A54 5G is a good upgrade compared to the Galaxy A53 5G.

Design and Display:

The phone boasts a 6.4-inch Infinity-O Super AMOLED display with Full HD+ resolution of 1080×2340 pixels and a density of about 402 PPI. With 1000 nits brightness, a 25% improvement from its predecessor, the display is vivid and easily legible in bright sunlight. The AMOLED panel ensures true blacks and excellent color reproduction, while Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protects the screen from scratches.

One of the standout features of the display is its 120Hz refresh rate, which provides a smooth and responsive user experience with fluid animations and scrolling, as well as immersive gaming. The Eye comfort shield reduces blue light emissions, and there is a dark mode as well. Users can choose from Vivid or Natural screen modes, or manually set the white balance to their liking.

As for button placement, the power button and volume rockers are located on the right side, while the left side is empty. The bottom of the phone houses the primary microphone, USB Type-C port, and loudspeaker grill, while the top features the secondary microphone and hybrid dual SIM slot. However, the phone lacks a 3.5mm audio jack, and while the sides may look metallic, they are actually made of plastic.

Camera:

The Galaxy A54 captures high-quality images with its 50MP sensor that outperforms its predecessor, the A53. Its daylight shots offer excellent detail, dynamic range and exposure, and you can improve dynamic range further by enabling HDR mode. The 12MP ultra-wide camera takes good shots in daylight. Macro shots at 2X magnification with the main camera are also decent, and the dedicated macro camera mode is usable when kept 3-5cm from the subject. Live focus has good edge detection, and the low-light performance is good, further improved with Night mode, which requires a steady hand as it takes two to three seconds to process.

The 32-megapixel front camera takes good shots, and its wide-angle mode captures 12-megapixel resolution images after pixel binning, while the normal mode takes 8-megapixel images. Live focus mode’s software blur has good edge detection.

Video recording on the Galaxy A54 can reach a maximum of 4K resolution at 30 fps from both front, rear and ultra-wide cameras. The rear camera can also shoot 1080p 60fps videos, but stabilization only works when it’s enabled in the settings at 30fps. Normal stabilization works with both the ultra-wide and main cameras, but only the main camera has OIS, which has been improved compared to the previous generation. Video digital image stabilization (VDIS) has also been improved. The Super steady mode uses the ultra-wide camera to capture 1080p 30fps video, which is smooth too.

Performance:

The the Galaxy A54 operates on Android 13 and is equipped with the most recent Samsung One UI 5.1, providing numerous new features like AI-based Photo Remaster that enables you to eliminate shadows and reflections, dynamic weather widgets improvements, and more. Samsung has committed to providing the A54 5G with four OS updates and five years of security upgrades, putting it on par with flagship models.

The Device maintenance option provides the ability to manage your device’s battery life, storage, RAM usage, and security from a single location. Our device has 256GB of storage, with 218GB available, and 8GB of LPDDR4x RAM, with roughly 4.4GB free when default apps run in the background.

Additionally, there is a RAM Plus function that uses the phone’s internal memory to increase the RAM by an additional 8GB, in addition to the existing 8GB of RAM, which is enabled automatically.

In addition to the standard set of utility apps and Google apps, the smartphone includes Facebook, Netflix, Spotify, and Microsoft apps like Office, Outlook, OneDrive, and LinkedIn. When setting up the phone, you can choose whether or not to install apps. Samsung Wallet is also available through NFC, as well as Samsung Pass, Secure Folder, Bixby Voice/Vision, Samsung Cloud, and Samsung Knox support. While the phone does not contain advertisements, it does periodically display notifications for new Samsung products.

Battery:

The Samsung Galaxy A54 5G comes with a 5000mAh battery that provides over 6 hours of screen on time with daily use mostly on Wi-Fi and occasionally on 5G with 1 and a half days of use in 120Hz refresh rate. You can increase the battery life with adaptive battery saving and other options, but it may affect the performance.

While the phone does not come with a charger in the box, it supports 25W charging. With the official 25W fast charger, it takes about 1 and a half hours for 0 to 100%, and 0 to 50% took about 40 minutes. This charging time is less compared to the competitors.

Conclusion

Overall, the Samsung Galaxy A54 5G is a decent mid-range smartphone with a premium glass rear and an updated design that is similar to the flagship Galaxy S23 range. It has IP67 support and a punchy, bright 120Hz AMOLED display, although it lacks any HDR support.

The main 50MP camera is a significant upgrade with a larger sensor, larger pixel size, and an enhanced OIS that improves performance in well-lit and low-light conditions, offering plenty of light and detail for the price tag.

Overall, the Samsung Galaxy A54 5G is a solid all-rounder that performs well in most areas, although it may not be as exciting or innovative as other mid-range options available in 2023. The phone is priced at RM 1,899 and offers IP67 ratings and good battery life.

For more information, visit Samsung Malaysia’s official website at https://www.samsung.com/my/smartphones/galaxy-a/galaxy-a54-5g-green-256gb-sm-a546elgdxme/buy.