Samsung Galaxy A53 5G Review: Outshone by the Samsung A52s 5G

Samsung’s A-series phones have been quite popular, the last year’s A52 proved to be a hit.

Following up on the A52, Samsung launched the A53 5G in Nepal in April 2022. Samsung A53 5G price in Nepal is Rs. 57,499 for the 8/128GB variant.

Is it as good as the Samsung Galaxy A52s in terms of value? I have used the Samsung A53 5G for more than a month and I’ll tell you all about it in this review.

Samsung Galaxy A53 5G Review

Design

• 159.6 x 74.8 x 8.1 mm
• 189 g

Samsung Galaxy A53 5G is a beautiful phone which looks exactly like the Samsung A52/A52s. But, there’s a subtle difference in the camera module, there’s a subtle curvature on the edges.

Yes, it rocks the same plastic back but I have no complaints against it. The material is pretty good and the finish is really good. Plus, you still get IP67 dust and water resistance.

The overall build quality of the A53 5G is really nice and it is a good-looking phone as well.

The volume rocker and the power button are placed on the right. On the bottom, it has a dual sim slot, a mic, a USB-C port, and a speaker. The fingerprint sensor is placed underneath the display and it works well without any problems.

Display

• 6.5 inches Super AMOLED
• 120Hz
• 1080 x 2400 pixels

Samsung Galaxy A53 5G has the same 6.5-inch Super AMOLED panel as the Samsung A52s. It is a 120Hz panel with a screen resolution of 1080 x 2400 pixels and Gorilla Glass 5 protection.

The 120Hz AMOLED panel is very good for the price.

Though an upgraded AMOLED display would have been nice, A53 5G’s display is a good one. The colors look vibrant and the brightness is really good at 800 nits. Furthermore, it also supports Widevine L1 DRM which enables FHD playback in streaming apps like Netflix.

Talking about the high refresh rate smoothness, the display feels buttery smooth at 120Hz. It is not an adaptive refresh rate. So, you can either set the display at 120Hz or at 60Hz. However, even in 120Hz mode, the refresh rate will drop to 60Hz in certain apps like the camera app.

Camera

• Rear Camera: 64 MP, f/1.8, 26mm (wide), 1/1.7X”, 0.8µm, PDAF, OIS
  • 12 MP, f/2.2, 123˚ (ultrawide), 1.12µm
  • 5 MP, f/2.4, (macro)
  • 5 MP, f/2.4, (depth)

• Front Camera: 32 MP, f/2.2, 26mm (wide), 1/2.8″, 0.8µm

Samsung Galaxy A53 5G has a quad-camera setup including a 64MP main sensor, a 12MP ultrawide sensor, a 5MP depth sensor, and a 5MP macro sensor.

NORMAL PHOTOS

The main camera of the A53 5G captures 16MP photos by default. The images have good detail with saturated color. The color profile seems to be a bit more saturated than expected from Samsung.

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Likewise, the dynamic range is really good and the images look sharp.

ULTRAWIDE PHOTOS

The ultrawide sensor is a 12MP sensor that has one of the best FOVs at 123˚. The ultrawide images are sharp enough and look appealing but they do not look extraordinary. Also, the ultrawide images look more natural than the images from the main camera.

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LOW LIGHT PHOTOS

The A53 5G captures good details in low light. The light sources and shadows are handled properly and the exposure is balanced as well. With Night Mode, the images do not get a major boost. It does help to lift details in shadows but the photos end up looking softer.

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PORTRAIT & MACRO PHOTOS

The portraits from the A53 5G are quite good with good edge detection and good enough background blur. Likewise, the 5MP macro sensor is one of the best in the segment. The macro photos have good enough detail and balanced exposure.

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FRONT CAMERA

On the front, there is a 32MP selfie camera. It captures photos with good color and nice details however the skin tone was inconsistent. However, the auto hdr works really well which helps to keep highlights under control.

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VIDEOS

For videos, it can capture up to 4k 30fps from the main and ultrawide camera. The 4k videos look sharp with plenty of details and vibrant colors. The colors from the ultrawide camera look much more natural than the main camera.

In case of stabilization, it is only available at 1080p with both main and ultra-wide cameras. The 1080p videos have a smooth pan and it can easily handle jitters as well. The video stabilization is really good for a mid-range phone.

Performance

• Exynos 1280 (5nm)
• Octa-core (2×2.4 GHz ARM Cortex-A78 & 6×2 GHz ARM Cortex-A55)
• ARM Mali-G68 GPU
• 128GB 8GB RAM

Samsung A53 5G uses the same Exynos 1280 chipset which is used in a much cheaper Samsung M33 5G.

ALSO READ: Redmi 10 Review: The Best Performing Budget Phone?

In benchmark tests, the Samsung A53 5G is behind the Samsung Galaxy A52s in Antutu, GeekBench, and 3D Mark Wild Life. Thus, the Snapdragon 778G chipset is superior to the Exynos 1280.

In daily life usage, the phone runs smooth but I did encounter lags while opening apps and switching between apps. I think this is due to the new chipset, the Exynos 1280 doesn’t feel optimized.

GAMING

For gaming, we tested COD Mobile, Genshin Impact, and PUBG Mobile on the Samsung A53 5G. COD Mobile can be played at ‘Max’ fps with a ‘Low’ graphics setting. Likewise, you can play at ‘Medium‘ Graphics at the ‘Very High’ fps setting.

At Max fps, COD Mobile runs smoothly with average fps of 59 without any issues. There were no frame drops and stutters as well.

For Genshin Impact, I tested it on default ‘Low’ settings. Genshin Impact runs decently on the Samsung A53 5G. I was getting average fps of 27.1 with frequent frame drops and occasional stutters.

For PUBG Mobile, A53 5G can play it at ‘Smooth’ graphic with ‘High’ frame rate option and it can play up to ‘HD’ graphic with ‘High’ frame rate option. I was getting an average FPS of 29.8 in both settings.

Battery

• Non-removable Li-Po 5000mAh battery
• 25W Fast Charging Support

The Samsung A53 5G has a good battery even with a 5000mAh battery. With moderate usage, I was getting around 7-8 hours of screen-on time.

You can expect the Samsung A53 5G to last at least a day and a half with moderate usage. Likewise, it does support 25W fast charging but it doesn’t ship with any kind of charger in the box.

OS & Others

• Android 12
• One UI 4.1
• Stereo Speaker

Samsung A53 5G runs on Android 12 with One UI 4.1 out of the box.

It is a standard One UI experience that we expect from Samsung’s high-end phones. It has all the new features like ‘Color Palette’ and updated camera UI. Furthermore, it will receive 4 years of major OS upgrades and 5 years of security updates.

Moving on to the speaker, it is a very good one for the price. It is loud enough and has a decent thump at the low end. The highs and mid-tones are also good, it’s a good speaker at this price range. Similarly, the side-mounted fingerprint sensor is fast and responsive.

Should You Buy Samsung Galaxy A53 5G?

Samsung Galaxy A53 5G is a good phone but I have mixed feelings about it. Its biggest problem is the Exynos 1280.

The Exynos 1280 is a downgrade when compared to the Snapdragon 778G chipset used in the Samsung A52s. Moreover, the chipset fails to maintain smoothness even during basic tasks.

Except for this, A53 5G is a good phone but it is not necessarily an upgrade over the A52s. Plus, the A52s has a lower price tag and comes with a charger in the box. Thus, the A53 5G has to live under the shadow of its own predecessor.

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What do you think about the Samsung Galaxy A53 5G? If you have any questions, please let me know in the comments!

Also, watch our review video of the Samsung A53 5G in Nepali.