Final spring, Samsung introduced a trio of Galaxy A-series telephones that had been all destined for US retailers’ cabinets. This yr, it’s promising only one new mannequin for US prospects: the Galaxy A53 5G. It provides some modest upgrades, which is okay as a result of the A52 5G was a extremely good telephone. However its finest new characteristic is a $50 cheaper price tag, which at $449 for 128GB of storage, places it juuuuust beneath Apple’s $479 iPhone SE with 128GB. Perhaps that’s a coincidence! Most likely not! Additionally debuting immediately is the Galaxy A33 5G, coming to markets exterior the US with largely comparable specs.
The A53 5G’s most notable {hardware} change is the change to Samsung’s new Exynos 1280 5nm processor. The model of the A52 5G bought within the US included a Qualcomm processor, so utilizing the house-brand chip represents a shift in technique, perhaps to accommodate a cheaper price level. Or perhaps it’s the entire chip scarcity scenario. In any case, it’s paired with 6GB of RAM, which is a wholesome quantity of reminiscence for a midrange telephone.
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Picture: Samsung
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Picture: Samsung
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Picture: Samsung
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Picture: Samsung
There’s an even bigger battery on the A53 5G, too — as much as 5,000mAh from 4,500mAh within the earlier mannequin. Battery efficiency was already good within the A52, so Samsung’s declare of two full days on a single cost within the new mannequin appears believable.
Nearly the whole lot else on the telephone is carried over from the earlier era, beginning, after all, with 5G — probably simply low and mid-band, although I weirdly couldn’t get Samsung to verify this previous to the embargo lifting. There’s additionally the identical 6.5-inch OLED 120Hz panel, IP67 water resistance, a stabilized 64-megapixel primary digicam with a 12-megapixel ultrawide, and 25W quick wired charging (there’s nonetheless no wi-fi charging). These had been all actually good specs for a midrange telephone final yr, they usually proceed to face out in 2022’s mannequin.
Samsung has promised 4 years of OS updates and 5 years of safety updates
The Galaxy A33 5G appears virtually similar to the A53 5G however has a barely smaller 6.4-inch OLED with a prime refresh price of 90Hz. It additionally makes use of completely different digicam sensors, with a lower-res 48-megapixel primary digicam, although it nonetheless consists of picture stabilization. In any other case, specs are largely the identical, together with its IP67 ranking and 5,000mAh battery.
There’s additionally yet one more enchancment to those fashions that you just gained’t discover on both spec sheet. For sure units, Samsung has promised 4 years of OS updates and 5 years of safety updates — the A53 5G and A33 5G will probably be included. That’s among the many finest help insurance policies for Android flagship telephones and positively the most effective you’ll discover for a midrange telephone. It’s simply wanting Apple’s observe document of supporting six- or seven-year-old telephones with new software program variations, however for lots of people, these 5 years is likely to be simply sufficient.
Replace March seventeenth, 1:15PM ET: Added particulars in regards to the Samsung Galaxy A33 5G, which can launch exterior of the US.
