Samsung Galaxy A54 Review: Good Value For Money, But Stuttery Performance
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Samsung Galaxy A54 5G Intro
The Galaxy A54 5G has big shoes to fill: it's the successor to the A53 5G from last year, which was the workhorse and the go-to Samsung budget smartphone that millions of people bought.
But it has more competition now with Google taking its budget Pixel A family very seriously, and as declining prices on older flagship phones have also put pressure on Samsung to innovate.
So does the Galaxy A54 5G bring enough to the table?
Galaxy A54 5G Pros & Cons
We have been using and testing this new phone for more than a week, so let's dive deeper and see if the Galaxy A54 5G is a good enough upgrade!
What’s new about the Samsung Galaxy A54 5G
- Slightly smaller 6.4" Super AMOLED screen with 120Hz refresh rate
- Much faster Samsung Exynos 1380 processor
- Base model still has 6/128GB configuration
- 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
- Still no wireless charging
- $450 price
Table of Contents:
Samsung Galaxy A54 5G Specs
A refresh
Below, you can find the specs of the Galaxy A54 5G compared to the previous Galaxy A53, and 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 | 158.2 x 76.7 x 8.2 mm, 202 g | 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 | 6/128GB also 8/256GB outside the US *has microSD card support | 6/128GB *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
Much improved build quality and a flagship-like look
(Image Credit - PhoneArena) Save for the large borders around the screen, we like the clean look of the A54 5G
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 materials also now feel way nicer than the plain plastic we used to have on the previous model, as this here A54 5G features a glass back. The mid-frame of the phone, however, is made out of plastic.
The A54 5G also comes with an IP67 water and dust protection rating, which is great and translates to it being ablo to survive being dipped in up to 1 meter of freshwater for up to 30 minutes.
You have a variety of colors, a classic black and a white model, and then a light green and a cheerful blue version (that's the one we have for review and that you see in the photos).
Samsung Galaxy A54 5G Display
(Image Credit - PhoneArena)
The A54 comes with a flat screen that we know many people like and it is also slightly smaller screen than the previous model at 6.4 inches compared to the 6.5 inches earlier. You probably won't even notice, it's a very tiny difference.
The display looks nice and vibrant, it's a Super AMOLED panel 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 optical in-screen fingerprint scanner. It gets the job done, but it feels just a bit more clunky than the ultrasonic one in the flagship Galaxy S series as we've had a few misreads every once in a while. The most annoying thing, however, has got to be the stuttery animation with every fingerprint unlock, it's really noticeable.
Samsung Galaxy A54 5G Camera
Some pretty major improvements
We appreciate the new and cleaner camera design, but we also like that Samsung is no longer playing the game of who puts more cameras on the back of the phone, so it cuts the unnecessary depth sensor we used to have on the A53 last year and focuses on actually improving the quality of the remaining cameras.
So the new A54 5G ends up with three rear cameras: a main camera with a 50-megapixel sensor, an 8MP ultra-wide shooter, as well as a 5MP macro camera, while on the front you get a 32MP camera.
Before we jump into the image quality, we have to mention this one aspect of the camera that has gotten way worse: the viewfinder! The preview of the image you are about to capture is low resolution and grainy, a strange downgrade considering we had a nice and high-res preview on the previous model.
The actual photos, however, turn out nicer. Yes, you do have your typical Samsung processing with oversaturated colors, but the previous model took this to the extreme, and the A54 5G tones it down. Images are way sharper too, as if someone applied a clarity effect in Photoshop, but when viewed on a smaller screen this has its advantages. Night photos are also just slightly better.
Main Camera
There are two big changes coming with images captured on the new A54 5G: colors look more pleasing and images look sharper. The color improvement means that the annoying warm cast on photos from the previous model is now gone and you have a more accurate color reproduction.
The saturation is still more exaggerated than reality, but we guess that's the Samsung look.
In low light, the A54 5G is able to capture brigther photos with more detail in the shadows.
Ultra-wide Camera
The ultra-wide camera inherits the same changes in color processing and sharpness as the main camera, and those changes are particularly noticeable during the day.
Front Camera
The front camera captures photos with more pleasing colors and better defined detail, and it feels like a good upgrade over the previous model.
Video Quality
Video quality is a big step up from the previous model with better stabilization in 4K footage and also much more realistic colors, while the last year A53 model captured comically saturated tones that look unrealistic. In low light, the A54 5G captures a lot more light than its predecessor and records brighter footage, plus the older model occasionally struggles with focus.
Samsung Galaxy A54 5G Performance & Benchmarks
New Exynos chip is a big improvement, but performance is still not buttery smooth
(Image Credit - PhoneArena) The new Exynos chip is better, but it is still not a buttery smooth experience
It's interesting how Samsung switched away from its in-house Exynos chips on the flagship Galaxy S series, but sticks 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).
In real life, the A54 5G performs mostly okay, but never perfectly smoothly as the occasional microstutter is noticeable. That is one of the biggest gripes I have with this phone: while the build quality and the screen are excellent, when you start using the phone you quickly feel that it is a cheaper device with some compromises. And that doesn't have to be this way as we've used smoother phones from OnePlus and Google in this class.
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 now.
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. Good job on that front, Samsung!
Samsung Galaxy A54 5G Battery
Massive battery inside
(Image Credit - PhoneArena) Solid battery life
The A54 5G comes with a 5,000 mAh battery, the same size as the previous model. It is also larger than many of the rivals, so this is good news.
As you can see in our battery tests, the battery life on the new A54 5G has not changed much from the previous generation, but considering that phone was a very solid performer, we can't complain.
In real life, the phone lasts through even longer days with ease, and you can expect a day and a half with average use, but of course your mileage may vary if you spend too much time on say TikTok.
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.
Here are the charging rates as measured in minutes:
- in 15 mins - 27% charge
- in 30 mins - 45%
- Full charge takes 1 hours 21 minutes
Samsung Galaxy A54 5G Audio Quality and Haptics
(Image Credit - PhoneArena) The A54 5G has a pretty good sound quality, but not as good as a flagship
The A54 5G has your standard dual speaker setup with a main bottom firing loudspeaker and a secondary speaker in the earpiece, and the sound quality you get out of them is quite decent for the price.
However, decent for the price is far from perfect and the biggest issue is with the lower frequencies getting very distorted at max volume so much so that bass or drum heavy music is not very pleasing to listen and we'd rather go down a few steps in volume. Compared to the flagship Galaxy S23, you can definitely hear this difference as the S series phone has much more of that bass and sounds cleaner at max volume.
There is no 3.5mm headphone jack on the A54 5G.
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 (Galaxy phones get updates months after Google releases them). The Pixels feel a bit snappier, they have the better performing camera, but 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
(Image Credit - PhoneArena) Cheaper phones are getting better and the A54 5G is a prime example
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 improved processor, and we like what Samsung has done with the cameras. As a whole, the A54 5G feels like a much more suitable phone to daily drive than the previous edition with very few compromises. And this being a Samsung phone means it should be pretty reliable in the long run too.
The biggest annoyance remains the slightly choppy performance, you can see a bit of stutter when you unlock the phone and when you multitask, and it just doesn't feel buttery smooth. The second thing that might stop you from getting the A54 5G is that while video quality has improved, video stabilization in particular is still an issue and if you plan to record many videos, this is not the best phone to do that. The lack of a zoom camera and the portrait mode limited to just the wide cameras are the other biggest gaps.
We did not care much about the lack of wireless charging, but we know many people who will, but overall that's about all the complaints we have against the new A54 5G.
Cheaper phones are becoming better and the A54 5G is a perfect example. So now, let's see if Google can raise the stakes once again with the Pixel 7a in a couple of months!
*Disclaimer: You may notice review scores have changed on PhoneArena! Since September 20th, we have started using a new scoring system. Learn more about the new PhoneArena Smartphone Review Rating system here.
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