FEATURES 7/10
Samsung phones are traditionally well built and long-lasting, but not all of them are equally good value. However the Samsung Galaxy A53 5G is now our mid-priced hero, performing strongly in the areas that matter the most to ordinary users, and selling for a sensible price. It replaces the excellent A52 5G, and still sports the generous, bright, and frankly superb, 6.5 inch AMOLED screen with high 120 Hz refresh. This display easily outshone phones costing twice the price.
The processing speed takes a step back from the scorcher that was the Samsung Galaxy A52 5G, but for normal operations you’d barely notice it. We have lost the headphone jack, but we still have removable MicroSD storage, which we think is a smart play in this category.
Welcome upgrades are the slightly bigger 5 000 mAh battery, which genuinely lasts for two days of typical mixed usage, and a new feature that allows the phone to use a few gigabytes of its storage memory as extra RAM. Samsung are not the first to do this but, thankfully, the A53 doesn’t seem to suffer from the same stutters that dogged competing phones with this feature.
CAMERAS 7/10
The camera set-up is almost unchanged from the A52: a 64 MP main shooter and a 12 MP wide angle, but the macro camera has been upgraded from 2 to 5 MP. The main camera produces quality 16 MP photos and the app includes a high resolution option, without pixel binning, and a pro mode with full manual controls.
BUILD 7/10
It certainly feels like a classic Samsung phone with a classy plastic frame and body, and solid build with tough Gorilla Glass 5 on the front. At 189 g, it’s one of the lighter mid-range phones. It’s also almost the only phone in this price band with IP67 waterproofing. The unusual matt texture of the back panel gives it some personality and also makes it that bit easier to hang on to.
PRICE 8/10
It’s not the most exciting handset, but it’s the solid all-round performance using tried-and tested tech that helps it over-deliver against the low price. You get consistently sharp and colourful photos, excellent battery life with 25 W fast charging, and durable construction. For the price it has no obvious weak spots.
6.5” AMOLED screen @120 Hz. 6 GB RAM, 32 MP front / 64 MP + 12 MP wide + 5 MP macro + 5 MP depth rear cameras, 128 GB storage, 5 000 mAh battery, 189 g, R7 000
While the Samsung Galaxy A53 5G supports basic 25 W fast charging, there is no charger supplied in the box.
