Samsung Galaxy A53 5G First Impressions: Is This Mild Upgrade Worth a Look?

Samsung's Galaxy A52s (Review) was a capable mid-range device but with the price tag of a premium smartphone. Despite its problem-free overall performance, I found it hard to recommend to anyone other than Samsung fans, in my review. Things don't seem to have changed much with its successor, the Samsung Galaxy A53 5G. This new smartphone offers a slightly refreshed design over the Galaxy A52s 5G, a bigger battery, and an Exynos SoC instead of a Qualcomm one. Everything else seems to be the same, including a relatively high price tag. Is this mild upgrade worth a look? I've used the Samsung Galaxy A53 5G for a while, and here are my first impressions.

Samsung's Galaxy A53 5G has a 6.5-inch Super AMOLED display with a 120Hz maximum refresh rate

The Samsung Galaxy A53 5G has just been launched in India at Rs. 34,499 for the variant with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. The 8GB RAM variant is priced at Rs. 35,999 and has the same amount of storage. Since the price difference between the two isn't much, it would make sense for most people to go for the 8GB variant.

Samsung sent me the 8GB variant in the Light Blue finish. The back panel of the Galaxy A53 5G looks very similar to that of the Galaxy A52s 5G and even has the same design for the camera cutouts. The matte-finish back is made of polycarbonate and so is the frame. The overall design seems inspired by the recent Galaxy S22 series, with less rounded sides. Samsung has retained the Galaxy A52s' IP67 rating in the Galaxy A53 5G, which is good to have and makes this phone stand out among the competition when it comes to features.

Samsung's Galaxy A53 5G runs One UI 4.1 which is based on Android 12

The Samsung Galaxy A53 5G has a 6.5-inch Super AMOLED panel with a 120Hz refresh rate, which should be good for gaming. While the phone features a slightly chiselled look, the display's borders at the top and bottom are noticeably thick.

The packaging of the phone has changed. The box is now a lot flatter, like what you get with the premium Galaxy S series, as the Samsung Galaxy A53 5G does not come with a charger. There's only a charging cable with Type-C ports at both ends and a SIM ejector tool inside.

The phone runs Samsung's One UI 4.1 based on Android 12. There are plenty of preinstalled third-party apps and several Samsung-branded ones as well. We'll talk more about these in our full review.

The Samsung Galaxy A53 5G, like the Galaxy A52s 5G, has stereo speakers. There's a Type-C USB port on the bottom and a tray next to it which can hold two nano-SIMs and a microSD card for storage expansion. The phone has a 5,000mAh battery and supports up to 25W fast charging.

The Samsung Galaxy A53 5G has four rear-facing cameras
 

The cameras on the Samsung Galaxy A53 5G remain seemingly unchanged over what you get with the Galaxy A52s 5G. There's a 64-megapixel primary camera with optical stabilisation (OIS), a 12-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera with a 123-degree field of view, a 5-megapixel macro camera, and a 5-megapixel depth camera. A 32-megapixel camera on the front takes care of selfies.

One of the main changes with the Samsung Galaxy A53 5G over its predecessor is Samsung's switch to an Exynos SoC. This smartphone uses a new Exynos 1280 SoC which is also expected to show up in other Samsung smartphones this year. The previous Samsung Galaxy A52 and Galaxy A52s 5G had Qualcomm-powered SoCs, so it will be interesting to see how the Exynos one compares. This will also be one of the factors that decides the Galaxy A53 5G's overall value, keeping in mind its premium price tag. So, stay tuned for our full review, which will be out soon.