Introduction
The Galaxy A53 has big shoes to fill as the Galaxy A52 was one of Samsung's best-selling phones. Samsung had a big job on its hands to replicate that success with yet another model. It's easier said than done, but it has managed to do that.
Samsung has made several meaningful improvements to the Galaxy A53 so that it can take the baton from its predecessor and further elevate Samsung's position as a provider of great mid-range phones.
Design
The Galaxy A53 retains the spirit of the Galaxy A52 but attempts to add small refinements to the existing design. There's a similar camera arrangement but a curvier camera housing. It's enough to differentiate between the two models, though they could be mistaken from afar. The Galaxy A53 measures 74.8 x 159.6 x 8.1mm and weighs 189g.
The plastic back is completely plain with no embellishments or patterns. This allows for a clean and modern look. Samsung offers the Galaxy A53 in four new color options that include Awesome Black, Awesome White, Awesome Peach and Awesome Blue. It also retains the IP67 ingress rating from the previous model for dust and water resistance.
Specifications
The Galaxy A53 gets a substantial upgrade under the hood with the new 5G-enabled 5nm Exynos 1280 processor. It delivers significant improvements over the Galaxy A52's chipset, particularly for gaming.
Samsung is offering the device with 6/8GB of RAM and 128/256GB of storage. The device is powered by a 5,000mAh battery with support for 25W fast charging. Samsung has removed the charger from the box, so customers will have to buy one separately. The 3.5mm headphone jack has also been removed.
Display and cameras
Samsung has equipped the Galaxy A53 with a 6.5-inch FHD+ Super AMOLED Infinity-O display. The panel has a 120Hz refresh rate. The device's camera setup includes a 64MP main sensor with OIS, a 12MP ultrawide, 5MP depth and 5MP macro sensors. There's also a 32MP selfie camera.
Software
The Galaxy A53 ships with Android 12 out of the box with One UI 4.1 pre-installed. Samsung has also committed to providing four years of Android OS upgrades for the Galaxy A53 in addition to five years of security updates.
Availability and price
Samsung unveiled the Galaxy A53 during a virtual event on March 17, 2022 with pre-orders starting the same day. Prices for the handset start at $449. Pre-order customers were given the Galaxy Buds Live as an incentive. The device hit shelves April 1, 2022.