The best phone you could buy in 2021 is not the best phone you could buy right now, but the one that has the best features. The company iterating on the A52 5G to make it the top of its class was easy to imagine. The A53 5G is the same as its predecessor. A bigger battery and a more efficient processor are some of the changes made by the company. They feel like window dressing. The phone feels like a step back.
Let's start with what hasn't changed. The A53 has a display with a 2,400 by 1,080 resolution, 800 nits of peak brightness and a 120Hz refresh rate. That screen is the main reason to buy the A53, it makes everything from scrolling through social media to watching videos enjoyable. It doesn't offer a variable refresh rate like some of the more expensive phones, but that isn't much of an issue. Even with the display set to 120Hz, I could use it for a couple of days and still use the 5,000mAh battery.
The A52 5G has the same quad-camera system as the A53. The main sensor has an f/1.8 lens and optical image stabilization. On a sunny day, the camera and software capture photos with saturated colors. It is also good at highlighting detail in high contrast scenes. When there isn't a lot of light, the main camera struggles to produce images with a noticeable amount of noise, but that's something you see on a lot of mid-range phones.
The main camera of the A53 has a 5-MP depth sensor. One of the better macro modes I have used on a midrange device is included in the A53, thanks to an interface that makes it easy to ensure you have nailed the focus on your subject. The 32-MP selfie camera has enough light to take flattering photos. You can adjust the amount of smoothing that is applied by tapping the magic wand icon at the top.
The 12-MP ultra-wide camera feels like an unimportant item. It does a decent job of capturing scenes that are too big for the main lens, but there is a noticeable drop in quality due to its lower resolution. The cameras on the A53 are not great at adjusting for color temperature. Many of the shots I took were green or purple. They were easy to fix with an editing app, but not everyone has the patience for that.
The A53 has a capable camera system, but I think it's a missed opportunity. The A52 5G was already behind the curve. It offered flexibility, but phones like the Pixel 5a could take better photos. The A53 doesn't do anything to better position the company against the competition in the market and it's likely to feel even more outdated when the Pixel 6a comes out.
The phone's exterior has changed, though. The company has made the A53 8.1mm thick. The jack was removed at the same time. At least the company is helping ease the transition by giving away a free set of Buds when you buy the A53 through its website. The A52 5G was unique because it had the headphone jack.
The A52 5G's finish was not addressed by the external tweaks, which makes them even more disappointing. The back of the phone is made of a material that is magnets for fingerprints and smudges. The phone is boring black in the US.
If the A53 was fast, I could overlook the removal of the headphones and leaving the camera as is. One of the main reasons we didn't recommend the A52 5G was Mediocre performance, and the one notable update the A53 brings to the table is a new chipset. The most disappointing thing about the phone is the fact that it has its own chip.
It is not much of an upgrade over the A52 5G. When I tried to switch between apps, the A53 would stall and stutter. The camera app was slow to launch and operate, with a delay between my pressing the shutter button and the camera firing. It was worse when I tried to play games.
I saw a drop in the frame rate in games like League of Legends: Wild Rift and Genshin Impact, even though the Exynos 1280 offers up to 33 percent faster graphics. I think the A53's performance problems are related to the phone only having 6GB of RAM. In the US, there is no 8GB variant from SAMSUNG.
The A53 comes with the latest version of OneUI, along with four years of platform updates and five years of security fixes. That's among the best support you can find on a device at this price, and it should be applauded for this. I don't think you will want to keep this phone for that long. Within a year, I can see myself getting fed up with the slow processor.
The A52 5G costs more than the A53 at $450. That may seem like a bonus, but the phone doesn't have wireless charging anymore and it doesn't have a wall charger. The company's 25W power adapter costs an extra $20 The company is currently offering up to $100 off the A53 if you trade in your existing device.
If you want the best display for under $500, the A53 is a good purchase, but there are better options. The Pixel 5a has a cleaner version of Android, faster updates, and a more consistent camera.
If you have an extra $100 to spend on a phone, you should consider the S21 FE. It was overpriced at $700. Nowadays, you can find it for about $550. It has a much faster processor. It is possible to keep the S21 FE for longer than the A53.
It would be easier for me to recommend if they had done more to future-proof the A53. With a camera that feels stuck in the past, and a phone that you'll be happy with for years to come, you're better off spending your money on a phone.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
