Last spring, Samsung announced a trio of Galaxy A series phones that were all destined for US retail shelves. This year, it is promising a new model for US customers: the Galaxy A53 5G. It offers some modest improvements, which is good because the A52 5G was a really good phone. But its best new feature is a sub-$50 price tag, which, at $449 for 128GB of storage, puts juuuuust under Apple’s $479 iPhone SE with 128GB. Maybe it’s a coincidence! Probably not!
The most notable change to the A53 5G hardware is the switch to Samsung’s new Exynos 1280 5nm processor. The 5G version of the A52 sold in the US included a Qualcomm processor, so using the house-brand chip represents a change in strategy, perhaps to accommodate a lower price. Or maybe any chip shortage situation. Either way, it’s paired with 6GB of RAM, which is a good amount of memory for a mid-range phone.
There’s a bigger battery on the A53 5G too – up to 5,000mAh from 4,500mAh in the previous model. Battery performance was already good in the A52, so Samsung’s claim of two days on a single charge in the new model seems plausible.
Just about everything else on the phone is carried over from the previous generation, starting, of course, with 5G – probably just low and mid-band, although I weirdly couldn’t get Samsung to confirm that until the release was lifted. ’embargo. There’s also the same 6.5-inch 120Hz OLED panel, IP67 water resistance, a stabilized 64-megapixel main camera with an ultrawide 12-megapixel and 25W fast wired charging (still no wireless charging). They were all really good specs for a mid-range phone from last year, and they continue to stand out in the 2022 model.
There’s also a bigger improvement that you won’t find on the spec sheet. For some devices, Samsung promised four years of OS updates and five years of security updates, and the A53 5G will be included. It’s among the best support policies for flagship Android phones and definitely one of the best you’ll find for a midrange phone. It’s fair to Apple’s track record of supporting six or seven years of phones with new software releases, but for many people, those five years might just be enough.
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