Samsung Galaxy A54 5G Intro
The Galaxy A54 5G is a refresh of one of the most popular budget phones on the market.
But with new challengers on the market like the Google Pixel A series, as well as declining prices on higher-end older phones, does the Galaxy A54 5G bring enough to the table?
The A54 5G has to find an answer to the more powerful chips used in rivals and it comes with the new Samsung Exynos 1380 processor, plus it now comes in a base model with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage, but also a more powerful version with 8GB RAM and 256GB storage. It also supports a microSD card slot, a rarity these days, and it has a welcome IP67 water and dust protection rating. And the camera also get a welcome upgrade.
*This article is based on preliminary information about the Galaxy A54 5G such as leaks and rumors as the phone is not yet officially announced. Samsung is said to debut the phone on March 15th.
What’s new about the Samsung Galaxy A54 5G
- 6.4″ Super AMOLED screen, FHD+ resolution, 120Hz refresh rate
- Samsung Exynos 1380 processor
- Base model has 6/128GB configuration, or you can get a 8/256GB
- Triple rear cameras, but third one is a macro camera
- Has a MicroSD card slot
- IP67 water and dust resistance
- 5,000mAh battery with 25W charging
Table of Contents:
Samsung Galaxy A54 5G Specs
Slight refresh
Below, you can find the specs of the Galaxy A54 5G compared to the previous Galaxy A53, and you can see that the changes mostly revolve around an upgraded chip and a revamped camera system.
| Specs | Samsung Galaxy A54 5G | Samsung Galaxy A53 5G |
|---|---|---|
| Size and Weight | unknown | 159.9 x 74.7 x 8.1 mm, 189 g |
| Display | 6.4″ Super AMOLED 120Hz refresh rate Full HD resolution |
6.5″ Super AMOLED 120Hz refresh rate Full HD resolution |
| Processor | Exynos 1380 | Exynos 1280 |
| RAM, Storage and Prices | 6/128GB — $500 expected price 8/256GB — unknown *has microSD card support |
6/128GB — $450 price at launch (currently at *has microSD card support |
| Software | One UI 5.1 on Android 13 | One UI 5.1 on Android 13 |
| Cameras | 50MP main cam with OIS 8MP ultra-wide 5MP macro – 32MP front cam |
64MP main cam with OIS (f/1.8) 12MP ultra-wide (f/2.2) 5MP macro cam (f/2.4) 5MP depth cam (f/2.4) 32MP front cam |
| Battery Size | 5,000 mAh | 5,000 mAh |
| Charging Speeds | 25W wired charging no wireless charging |
25W wired charging no wireless charging |
Samsung Galaxy A54 5G Design & Colors
Cheerful colors and Galaxy S-like look
The Galaxy A54 5G adopts a similar design to the premium Galaxy S series: the cameras on the back of the phone are elevated, each in its own enclosure, and it’s a better look than the camera island we used to have previously.
The mid-frame of the phone, however, is still rumored to be made out of plastic.
You have a variety of colors, a classic black and a white model, and then a light green and a blue version are nice to see.
Samsung Galaxy A54 5G Display
The A54 comes with a slightly smaller screen than the previous model at 6.4 inches compared to the 6.5 inches on the previous model. A small difference indeed, but it does help reduce the overall footprint of the phone and it is just a bit more compact.
The display is still Super AMOLED with a 1080p Full HD resolution, which is just as good as the regular S23 model, and you also have 120Hz fast refresh rate, but no adaptive refresh rate on this budget phone, while the premium S series do refresh adaptively.
One disadvantage of the A54 display, however, are the huge borders around the screen and you do have that “chin” on the bottom, so aesthetically, it’s not the most pleasing look.
For biometrics, you have an in-screen fingerprint scanner, we are yet to test how it works, but previous models were quite reliable even if a tiny bit on the slower side.
Samsung Galaxy A54 5G Camera
New and improved main camera, and Samsung has nixed the useless depth sensor
Apart from that new camera design, what’s new in the Galaxy A54 5G is the actual number of cameras you have on the back. The previous model had four of them and the new model has three, as it has lost the depth sensor, which does not seem to be of much use anyway.
We are yet to test the camera in more detail, so bookmark this page and check back a bit later for the actual photo and video samples, and a breakdown of the quality.
Samsung Galaxy A54 5G Performance & Benchmarks
New Exynos chip
It’s interesting how Samsung switched away from its in-house Exynos chips on the flagship Galaxy S series, but stick with them in the budget series, so the A54 5G features a newer and slightly more powerful Exynos 1380.
The improvement that this new chip brings can be clearly seen in the GeekBench scores that measure CPU performance, where the new chip scores about the same in single-core speeds, but a nearly 50% improvement in multi-core performance. In fact, the multi-core performance of this chip is on par with the one from the Pixel 6a and its first-gen Tensor chip which is nice to see.
Still, this is not quite the fastest phone in its class: the Pixel 6a still has a nearly 25% faster single core speeds and the upcoming Pixel 7a is expected to grow that lead even further. Rivals from OnePlus also have faster chips, not to mention the iPhone SE 2022 edition which is significantly faster than Android budget phones (but it makes other compromises).
When it comes to RAM and storage, you have a 6/128GB base model and a 8/256GB version, which makes sense considering the improvements in the camera and how you may record more 4K video on the A54.
Samsung Galaxy A54 5G One UI and Android version
The Galaxy A54 5G runs on One UI 5.1 on top of Android 13, which is a mostly familiar look and feel.
Like other Samsung phones, the A54 comes with the advantage of long software support. You get 4 years of major Android upates (so you will get Android 14, Android 15, Android 16 and Android 17), and 5 years of security updates.
No other Android phone maker quite matches this for this class of devices, so this is a major selling point for the A54.
Samsung Galaxy A54 5G Battery
Massive battery inside
We are happy to see the same 5,000 mAh battery inside the A54, a size that is larger than many of its rivals, so this phone will deliver the goods in battery life.
We are yet to run our independent battery tests, but do come back to this article in a couple of weeks, when the results should be ready and you will see a lot more specifics about the battery life of the A54.
Samsung Galaxy A54 5G Charging Speeds
The A54 supports the same charging speeds as the previous generation at 25 watts when charging via a wire and it does NOT support wireless charging.
There is also no charger included in the box, which is something that you should be aware of. We recommend a standard 25W Samsung charger, those are extremely reliable and go for around $25 on Amazon.
Samsung Galaxy A54 5G Audio Quality and Haptics
We still have nothing to share about the loudspeaker quality on the Galaxy A54 5G or its haptics, but we will be updating this section with real-world experience over the next couple of weeks, so come back then to find out more.
Samsung Galaxy A54 5G Competitors
The biggest competitor to the Galaxy A54 5G is without a doubt the Google-made Pixel 6a, and when it launches, the next generation Pixel 7a. The Pixel A series come with a cleaner version of Android and day one updates that many people prefer, they feel a bit snappier, they have the better performing camera, but they do lack the longer software support that Samsung provides and battery life is not quite as good.
On the Apple side, the iPhone SE 2022 edition is the obvious rival, but we actually would recommend the iPhone 11 or iPhone 12 which go for a slightly higher price and would give you a bigger screen size and longer battery life. Apple has the advantage of a richer ecosystem, wireless charging support, faster chips and longer software support, but you do pay more for that.
Samsung Galaxy A54 5G Summary and final verdict
At the end of the day, the Galaxy A54 5G is a fresh coat of paint to a successful product that is seeing heated competition.
We like the new design styling, we appreciate the new processor that finally feels adequate and not as jerky as before, and we like what Samsung has done with the cameras.
What do you think about the Galaxy A54 5G? Is it a good-enough upgrade, or would you rather go with the Google Pixel A series, an iPhone or something completely different?
