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Review: Samsung Galaxy A53 5G (8GB+256GB)
Review: Samsung Galaxy A53 5G (8GB+256GB)

Review: Samsung Galaxy A53 5G (8GB+256GB)

For our review we will be checking on the latest mid-range phone from the leading tech giant Samsung with its all-new Galaxy A53 5G.

The Samsung Galaxy A53 5G is priced at PHP22,990 now available in all Samsung experience stores nationwide and its online e-commerce partners on Lazada and Shopee.

So, let’s find out if the Galaxy A53 5G could be the perfect phone for you. 

Unboxing

This time the Galaxy A53 5G’s retail box is now simplier, much thinner and compact than the other bulkier packaging boxes out there.

For the type of material, they’ve used the same thick cardboard and clad in an all-white color.

You’ll see just a few elements that are printed on the box like the models name, brandings, few info about the phone and an image of the A53 5G.

Opening the box you will be greeted with the phone itself, and then another smaller cardboard box holding its included accessories.

Everything out of the box it contains the following the Galaxy A53 5G unit, Samsung Care+ flyer, Quick Start Guide and USB-C to USB-C Cable.

Well that’s pretty much of it, it doesn’t come with a power adapter, protective case or even a SIM Ejector Tool.

Design and Build Quality

You can choose between four available colorways in Awesome Blue, Awesome Black, Awesome White and our review unit in Awesome Peach.

The back cover of the Galaxy A53 5G is made of durable plastic material with a nice matte finish that helps reduce fingerprint marks.

The back panel transitions seamlessly up from the flat back and around the cameras, giving it an elegant finished appearance, which Samsung calls this design as Ambient Edge.

The Galaxy A53 5G has quad-camera setup housed in a rectangular camera module found on the upper left corner with a Samsung branding at the bottom.

The camera bump does not stick out but blends in smoothly in the back making it stylish.

It has rounded corners making them look nicer and makes it more comfortable to hold.

All together at the bottom side, you will find the USB-C port, SIM card tray, a microphone and speaker grille. While on the top they’ve added another microphone up there.

Volume rockers and sleep/power button on the right side while the left side is cleared out of any buttons.

On the front the large display on the A53 5G is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5 and has a small punch hole design for the front facing camera.

The bezels around the display are thin except for the bottom chin that is slightly raised.

For extra protection, the Galaxy A53 5G has an IP67 rating against dust and splashes of water.

Display

The screen on the Galaxy A53 5G comes with a FullHD+ 6.5-inch Super AMOLED Infinity-O display with supports of a 120Hz refresh rate, 2400 x 1080 resolution and 800 nits of maximum brightness.

With the 800 nits the display is bright, sharp, colors are so rich and using the phone even during direct sunlight is not a problem at all.

If you want to save more battery you can choose the 60Hz refresh rate. But with the 120Hz refresh rate scrolling on the display and movement of the images are much smoother and pleasing to the eyes.

Hardware

The Galaxy A53 5G is equipped with Samsung’s own Exynos 1280 octa-core processor built on the 5nm process with clock speeds of up to 2.4GHz.

You also get 8GB RAM with additional virtual memory of 2GB up to a maximum 8GB RAM allowing more apps for the phone to stay open in the background.

You get a massive 256GB storage expandable up to 1TB using a MicroSD. For ita GPU it has ARM Mali-G68.

With all these nice internal specs built on the A53 5G tasks like web browsing, watching videos, updating social media, playing games and navigating the UI were perfectly smooth and void of any issues.

Our benchmark results using Geekbench5, 3DMark and PCMark for the Samsung Galaxy A53 5G.

As for sound quality, the stereo speakers on the A53 5G are now louder than before with impressive clarity and sound stage.

The voice, treble and mids sound rich and clean while the bass is just barely there. For us it makes the A53 5G a great phone to watch your favorite videos, listen to your favorite music and play games.

You also get Dolby Atmos and Dolby Atmos for Gaming technologies that provides a more realistic audio experience.

You may have to buy or use your Bluetooth earphones more often on the Galaxy A53 5G, as it does not have the 3.5mm audio jack.

Camera

On the camera department, the Galaxy A53 5G is equipped with a quad camera setup comprising of a  64MP main camera which is supported by Optical Image Stabilization, 12MP ultra-wide lens and a pair of 5MP for the depth and macro camera.

For your selfies, you get a 32MP front facing camera at the top center.

There are plenty of shooting modes you can choose from the camera app. By default you have four modes ready to use with photo, video, portrait, and fun.

Then you have another 10 additional shooting modes such as a panorama, macro, food, PRO, PRO video, single take, slow motion, super slow-mo, hyperlapse and night mode in case you need to capture photos during low light conditions.

But one of the more unique shooting mode options it has is simply called Fun. It works just like a Snapchat filter, simply identify a nearby face and choose which filter you want to apply.

Overall, the A53 5G takes good photos. Consistency between the main and wide-angle cameras is acceptable, lowlight performance is decent without too much noise present on the images.

The photo editor now offers a set of editing tools to enhance, edit or add more creative style to your images and have fun with it.. It has the AI eraser tool to quickly remove photobombers or unwanted objects in your shots. Spot color can choose the colours you want to highlight on the photo or turn it into black and white. Lastly, you have these style filter effects that can transform your photos either in watercolor, color pencil, comic, line art, oil paint and more.

For videos, the Galaxy A53 5G can capture videos with resolutions of 4K, 1080p and 720p with available frame rates either 30 or 60 frames per seconds. It is also equipped with optical image stabilization for a more smooth and finer details even during low light.

Now, here are some sample photos and videos taken using the Samsung Galaxy A53 5G.

Our hands-on video review of the Samsung Galaxy A53 5G

Game Performance

The Galaxy A53 5G can play your favorite mobile games from Call of Duty, Mobile Legends Bang Bang, PUBG and other graphically demanding mobile games. So far, we encountered no lag issues or delays while playing on the phone except for the back panel that gets a slightly warmer feel after playing for long periods of time. You can turn on the Dolby Atmos gaming for a nicer immersive audio experience.

Software

The Galaxy A53 runs with Samsung’s One UI version 4.1 based on Android 12.

It has some few pre-installed apps that I mostly used like Facebook, Spotify, Netflix, Lazada, Shopee, Google tools, Microsoft tools and Samsung’s very own proprietary apps.

The edge panel is located within the mid top right on edge of the display which lets frequently used apps for you to access at a moment’s notice. You’re also able to customize it by either adding your favorite apps or delete the apps you don’t want.

We liked how very simple, intuitive and well-organized the One UI as it runs flawlessly and easy to find your way around it. It also offers a great customization feature from changing its color palettes, wallpaper, lockscreen, homescreen and more.

Plus, when it comes to updates, Samsung guarantees 4 years of major software updates, so there is no need to worry.

Connectivity and Biometrics 

For biometrics it packs an optical in-display fingerprint sensor hidden on the screen that sits at the very low end on the display and a face recognition as well. Both biometrics are accurate and unlocks fast.

For its connectivity, It uses a hybrid SIM card slot and works well on network band provisions for 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G ready. It uses a USB-C port, Bluetooth 5.1, NFC and Wi-Fi Direct.

Battery

Battery on the Galaxy A53 5G is beefed up equipping it with a 5000mAh capacity and can support up to 25W fast charging.

Charging the phone after 35 minutes gave us a 50% charge on the battery. It took us around 1 hour and 46 minutes to fully charge the phone.

The phone can last up to a whole day for heavy user even when the refresh rate is turned on at 120Hz. Meanwhile, for light user the Galaxy A53 can last you a day and a half or probably two days if you set the display at 60Hz refresh rate. In general the battery life of the galaxy a53 5g is pretty decent.

What We Like

  • Design and Build Quality
  • Sharp and Vibrant AMOLED Display
  • 120Hz Refresh Rate
  • Versatile Quad Camera Setup
  • Up to 4K Video
  • Great Battery Life
  • 25W Fast Charging Feature
  • 8GB RAM and 256GB Storage
  • Expandable Storage up to 1TB
  • Decent Stereo Speakers
  • IP67 Rating
  • Samsung Knox
  • Price

What We Want

  • 5mm Jack
  • Dual SIM Card Tray
  • Power Adapter Included

Conclusion

 Overall, for us the Samsung Galaxy A53 5G is a solid all-around mid-range phone today!

I liked the general aesthetics of the Galaxy A53 5G its stylish, very well built and still can deliver exceptional performance whether it’s for work or play.

It has a smooth120Hz refresh rate coupled with a vibrant AMOLED display. It also boasts of a great battery life and an awesome, smooth and feature-rich One UI 4.1 experience based on the latest Android 12. It also potentially makes better use of its quad camera setup and produces better photos especially during good bright conditions while low light can produce decent quality.

As for its internal hardware, there’s nothing to complain as it is equipped with the lates Exynos 1280 chipset, 8GB RAM and a large 256GB storage that you can further expand it up to 1TB via MicroSD.

You also had some few shortcomings on the Galaxy A53 5G but still it won’t ruin the overall experience as it’s packed with a lot of good built-in features on this phone.

If you have the budget and prefer a reliable mid-range phone from a well trusted brand then by all means we would recommend the Samsung Galaxy A53 5G.

Samsung Galaxy A53 5G Full Specifications

  • Price: PHP22,990
  • Colors: Awesome Blue, Awesome Black, Awesome White, Awesome Peach
  • Display: 6.5-inch FHD+ sAMOLED
  • Resolution: 1080×2400 pixels
  • Color Depth: 16M
  • RAM: 8GB
  • Storage: 256GB (Expandable 1TB via MicroSD)
  • Processor: 5nm Exynos 1280 Octa-core 2.4GHZ, 2GHz
  • Rear Camera: 64 OIS Quad Camera+12MP+5MP+5MP
  • Front Camera: 32MP
  • Video: UHD 4K @ 30fps
  • Battery 5000mAh
  • Connectivity: USB-C, Bluetooth 5.1, NFC, Wi-Fi Direct
  • Location Technology: GPS, GLONASS,Beidou, Galileo, QZSS
  • Sensors: Accelerometer, Fingerprint Sensor, Gyro Sensor, Geomagnetic Sensor, Hall Sensor, RGB Light Sensor, Virtual Proximity Sensing
  • SIM: Dual-SIM SIM1+Hybrid (SIM or MicroSD)
  • Network: 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G
  • Weight: 189grams
  • Dimensions: 159.6×74.8×8.1mm
  • Box Contents: Galaxy A53 5G unit, Samsung Care+ flyer, Quick Start Guide and USB-C to USB-C Cable.

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About The Author

Raymund Ravanera is an accomplished and experienced graphic designer with almost 20 years of creative expertise working in the graphic design industry. He loves the latest gadgets, food and movies. Currently, he owns and manages megabites.com.ph, an online technology and lifestyle blog since 2015.

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