The Samsung Galaxy A53 5G was my most disappointing device of last year. I'd anticipated a great battle between the A53 and the Google Pixel 6a — with the A53 offering a fantastic display and impressive battery, while the 6a countered with its raw performance and camera capabilities — all for the same $450 price tag. Instead, Samsung’s mid-range model was plagued by lag at every turn, making it painful to complete even the simplest tasks like pulling down the notification shade or taking a photo. Even for the price, it was hard to recommend a phone so prone to stalling harder than a pug walking up a steep hill.

One year later, Samsung looks to improve upon last year’s shortcomings with the Galaxy A54 5G. It sports a premium build, brighter display, and beefier processor, but did Samsung do enough to provide the performance we expect at that price?

Price and availability

In the United States, Samsung offers the Galaxy A54 5G for $450 in one configuration: 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. All three major carriers are running promotions on the A54, and that's likely to continue all year.

Unlike last year, two colors are available, with a choice between Awesome Black and Awesome Violet; if you're looking for the Awesome Lime or Awesome White variants, you're limited to importing through a site like Amazon. While the US version is unlocked to work on all three major carriers, imported models may have limited compatibility — make sure to double-check compatibility!

Design, hardware, what's in the box

As soon as I picked up the Galaxy A54 5G, I fell in love with its design. The A53 is no slouch regarding build quality; however, the A54 takes it to the next level. Gorilla Glass 5 covers the front and back of the phone, which is a noticeable departure from last year's model. Samsung has also done away with the camera hump and brought the A54 in line with its new, sleeker design language, mirroring the standalone camera lenses on the S23 series.

The Galaxy A54 uses a matte plastic frame, but it's solid and doesn't take away from the sturdy feel in hand. You'll find the SIM card/microSD card slot and a microphone at the top of the phone. There is nothing on the left side of the device, while the right side houses the volume rocker and power button.

Speaking of the buttons, Samsung has improved its feel this year, as each press feels less mushy than on the A53. The bottom rail of the A54 houses the USB-C port, the main Dolby Atmos-tuned speaker, and another pair of microphones. And for the second year in a row, Samsung has omitted the 3.5mm headphone jack.

I don't know if it's a result of the Dolby Atmos tuning, but the speakers of the A54 sound excellent. Paired with the earpiece, both speakers get loud, producing rich sound without distortion at higher volume levels. As an added bonus, speakerphone quality is above average. The phone calls sound crisp on the A54, regardless of which speaker I use.

The A54 has a simple and elegant flat-back design featuring three rear-facing cameras, while the LED flash is flush with the back glass. The A54 is also IP67 water and dust resistant.

Samsung kept a rather confusing design element from the A53: a reflective ring around the selfie camera that caught my eye more than I would like while in dark mode and watching videos. It doesn't seem to serve a purpose and is more of a distraction than anything.

Much like other manufacturers in 2023, Samsung offers a rather pathetic unboxing experience. Opening the box, I was greeted with the device, a SIM tool, a USB-C to USB-C charging cable, and the usual set of papers. Pretty soon, companies are going to give you the phone in a sandwich bag with a piece of hanger wire to pry open the SIM tray.

Display: How good does it look?

Samsung is known for its stellar OLED displays, and the Samsung Galaxy A54 is no exception. It sports an absolutely stunning 6.4-inch Super AMOLED display refreshing at 120Hz. Don't let the 1080p resolution fool you — this is an excellent panel. Last year's display was good, but the A54s make the colors jump off the screen.

Speaking of colors, Samsung has turned the saturation level all the way up on the A54. While I felt it was dialed down on the S23 Ultra, the display on the A54s fondly reminds me of the punchy hues on the S21 Ultra and this year's OnePlus 11. As a result, games like "Pokemon Go" look fantastic. In addition, movies on Netflix are able to take advantage of the sharp contrast to maintain the mood of darker scenes.

At 1000 nits, the Galaxy A54's display gets plenty bright, and I had zero issues seeing it in direct sunlight. The brightness level is a noticeable step up from last year's model. In addition, the A54 has an 82.9% screen-to-body ratio, so there are noticeable bezels, but I wasn't bothered by them. It's a flagship-quality panel, and I found myself admiring it each time I unlocked the phone.

Software: What does it run?

The Galaxy A54 5G runs Android 13 with One UI 5.1 out of the box. I like what Samsung has done with its software over the last few years — One UI 5.1 is clean, well-optimized, and intuitive. Its design is also sleek and modern without burdening hardware and hampering performance. The animations are smooth, and I'm pleased with how well Android 13 runs here.

Whether you love or hate them, Samsung's apps are once again pre-installed on the Galaxy A54. Some Google apps — such as Messages, which serves as the default texting service — are bundled directly, but other apps like Samsung's Internet Browser are still the default for the web. If you haven't tried the Samsung browser in a while, it's worth another shot. In fact, I preferred it to Google Chrome in most situations. As for the rest of its software, Samsung does a good job of walling them off in its own folder. For apps like Bixby and the AR Zone, I wouldn't mind seeing those become optional downloads.

Die-hard Samsung fans will be disappointed with the absence of DeX. I'm not surprised though, as Samsung has been stingy by not even including it on the Galaxy Z Flip 4. You'll need to pick up one of the company's flagship Galaxy S23 series devices to get DeX, which is a trade-off in price that most customers are unlikely to make.

Performance: Does it lag?

I can't tell you how many times I wanted to throw my Galaxy A53 5G out of a window last year. If I dared to pull down the notification shade right after unlocking the phone, it would grind to a halt. As AP's Taylor Kerns correctly pointed out in the A53 review, I could count at least two Mississippis (one Mississippi, two Mississippi) from when I hit the shutter on the camera to when I received any sort of feedback that I'd captured a photo. It was a long enough pause that I started to wonder if I even touched the shutter.

I had the A53 in mind as I approached the A54 — which put me on red alert — but to my surprise, things turned out better than expected. The new Exynos 1380 processor powers the Galaxy A54. While last year's Exynos 1280 featured two Cortex-78 and six Cortex-A55 cores, the 1380 includes four of each. The result is higher benchmark scores and, more importantly, significantly improved real-world performance.

Don't get me wrong: no one will confuse the A54 as having flagship power. For example, since it's still an Exynos chipset, the phone will sometimes run a little warm when downloading apps or playing games. But although I suffered through the occasional slowdown when unlocking the device, the overall experience was positive.

Multitasking is a breeze on the A54. I was able to scroll through scores on ESPN and watch YouTube in picture-in-picture at the same time. Swiping in and out of apps is smooth and responsive. In addition, scrolling through Twitter and Instagram feeds feels as smooth as you’d hope for from a phone in this price range.

While I wouldn't consider buying the Galaxy A54 based on its performance alone, I wouldn't disqualify it either. And after last year, performance improvements are a big step in the right direction.

Gaming: What can you play?

I tested all the usual suspects on the Galaxy A54 5G, starting with everyone's favorite, "Genshin Impact." Genshin ran slightly better than expected, but I was limited to the low graphics setting. If I turned it up higher, I got the overlocked warning and experienced gameplay slowdowns. But even with the slowdowns, it was still playable.

"Asphalt 9: Legends" initially decided to load on the default graphics settings, but I was able to play on high settings without dropping frames. "Call of Duty" Mobile played just as well on medium settings, and I enjoyed having that colorful display for games.

"Pokemon Go" had zero issues performing well on the A54. The game was silky smooth and took full advantage of the 120Hz display — not that it helped with my curveballs.

Battery Life: How long does it last?

The 5,000mAh battery in the Galaxy A54 is the same size as last year's but with slightly better performance. I consistently managed to get 6 to 6.5 hours of screen-on time with the A54. I also kept the display brightness at close to 90% and didn't do a lot to conserve power, so I was pleased that the A54 could make it through an entire day of use.

Charging speeds are limited to 25W, so topping off in a hurry isn't an option; I was able to charge from 20% to 100% in just under two hours. Unfortunately, despite the swap to a glass back, wireless charging is not available on the A54.

Camera

The Samsung Galaxy A54 5G utilizes three rear-facing cameras: a 50MP main sensor with OIS, a 12MP ultra-wide, and a 5MP macro lens. The 5MP depth sensor from the A53 is nowhere to be found, but I won't be shedding any tears, as the 32MP sensor on the front of the device handles selfies.

Overall, I'm pleased with the camera system on the A54. Photos in good lighting are sharp, with good color and deep contrast. In addition, the main sensor manages to capture intricate details in images in direct sunlight without blowing them out.

Selfies from the A54's 32MP front camera are surprisingly crisp. I was also happy with the performance in portrait mode for both the front and back cameras. Processing was done quickly, and edge detection was fairly accurate.

If there is a weakness in the camera system on the Galaxy A54, it's night photography. In low light, the photos are noisy. However, after a few tries, you can get a fairly decent image — just don't look too closely for detail.

As expected, there is a noticeable drop-off in image quality when switching between the 50MP main sensor and the 12MP ultrawide. I enjoy having the extra versatility of the ultrawide but be prepared for softer, darker images. That said, we're all better off pretending the macro lens isn't even there — the images produced are grainy and look like something my Treo 750 would've taken.

Without a telephoto lens, zoom is reproduced digitally. As a result, there will be no moon photo controversy with the A54. Even at a modest 5x zoom, I couldn't tell if I were taking a picture of the moon or something I'd need the Men in Black to handle.

The Galaxy A54 is capable of filming video up to 4K30. I was able to capture over 12 minutes of footage without any heat warnings from the system or app crashes. The phone got a little warm after about six minutes, but not warm enough for concern. Video stabilization also worked well, even filming at 4K30.

Competition

Right now, the Google Pixel 6a remains the main competitor to the Galaxy A54 5G. OnePlus has some impressive Nord offerings for less money, but the Pixel 6a is arguably the standard for devices under $500.

Samsung and Google have different philosophies about what should go into a mid-range phone. Samsung believes that, with the A54, we should have a great display, premium build, expandable storage, and a best-in-class software experience.

Meanwhile, Google thinks we should have the raw performance of a flagship and the best camera in the category. I know there will be people who favor the Pixel UI, but it looks like the winner of a 5th-grade design competition to me. (Yes, I realize that's up to personal preference.) Ultimately, your decision will be swayed by the features that matter most to you, but I enjoy having such competent devices available for under $500.

It's also worth mentioning the upcoming Google Pixel 7a. With rumors suggesting a Tensor 2 chipset, 90Hz display, and wireless charging, the Pixel 7a should serve as a worthy challenger to the A54.

Should you buy it?

If you are a Samsung fan who would rather endure the pain of a Pauly Shore movie marathon than buy a Pixel, absolutely pick up the Galaxy A54. You'll be thrilled with this year's offering due to a brighter display, significantly improved performance, and a premium build. In my opinion, OneUI 5.1 is still the software champ, and the A54 runs it well.

If you don't have any brand loyalty or can wait a bit, it's worth seeing what the Pixel 7a offers. Either decision you make is the right one, as we will finally get the mid-range prize fight between Samsung and Google that I wanted to see last year. While the A53 was a huge letdown, the Galaxy A54 does more than enough to pick up the pieces and justify a $450 price tag.