strong middle class with room for improvement

The Samsung Galaxy A5x series includes one of Samsung’s best-selling phones every year. Unfortunately, the Galaxy A53 did not completely convince me last year, hopefully the Galaxy A54 can. In this review you will find out whether this phone can outperform its predecessors.

Samsung Galaxy A54

The Samsung Galaxy A54 belongs to Samsung’s popular Galaxy A series. That range includes budget and midrange phones with a good price-quality ratio. Samsung manages to achieve a good price-quality ratio for phones in the A5x series every year. But to keep that up is like keeping the Michelin stars for a top restaurant. Very difficult. How many stars does the Samsung Galaxy A54 get? You can read that in this review.

Specifications

	Samsung Galaxy A54 5G
Dimensions	76.7 x 158.2 x 8.2mm
Weight	202 grams
Housing	Gorilla Glass 5 (front and back, plastic frame
Screen	6.4 inch FHD+ Super AMOLED, 1080 x 2340 pixels, 120 Hz
Processor	Exynos 1380
Random access memory	8GB
Storage memory	128GB / 256GB
Rear cameras
Ultra wide angle camera	12MP with f/2.2
Wide-angle camera	50 MP with f/1.8 and OIS
Macro camera	5MP with f/2.4
Front cameras
	32MP with f/2.2
Battery	5,000 mAh, 25W fast charging
Software	Android 13, OneUI 5.1
Update Policy	Four Android upgrades and five years of security updates
To colour	Awesome Lime, Awesome Black, Awesome Violet, Awesome Silver
Extras	IP67, 5G, Bluetooth 5.2, stereo speakers, microSD slot, fingerprint scanner in the screen
MSRP	489 euros / 539 euros

Samsung Galaxy A54: the pluses

1. Big and clear screen

The Samsung Galaxy A54 has a 6.4-inch FullHD screen with a resolution of 1080 x 2340 pixels. The AMOLED panel has a refresh rate of 120 Hz and a fingerprint scanner is incorporated. The screen is a pleasure to work with, everything looks nice and vibrant.

However, the fairly thick screen edges around it are striking and the refresh rate is not adaptive. That means it won’t automatically adjust to your usage. That can affect the battery life, but later in this review you will see that is not the case.

2. Durable and beautiful design

The Galaxy A54 looks modern, despite the screen edges and I can only be positive about the build quality. The phone has a glass back and that really feels better than the plastic of the predecessor, since it has. The frame of the phone is still made of plastic. The phone is also a fraction smaller and therefore more compact. Easier to operate with one hand, but make sure it doesn’t fall. The back is pretty smooth.

The camera island of the Samsung Galaxy A53 has made way for three slightly protruding separate cameras on the Galaxy A54 and it looks sleeker. The phone is now also less angular. As a result, the design of the A54 is much more in line with the phones in the premium Galaxy S23 series.

All in all, the design of the Samsung Galaxy A54 is sleek and modern and there is a choice of different colors. So something for everyone.

3. Strong battery life

The battery life of the Galaxy A54 is very strong. The 5000 mAh battery can easily last a whole day with normal use. If you play a lot or use your data bundle to provide your laptop with internet on the go, you can go a day ahead without having to top up. Unfortunately I was not able to meet Samsung’s claim of two days, but then again I am not a ‘regular’ user.

The super handy Edge window on the Galaxy A54

4. Strong main camera

In terms of cameras, the Galaxy A54 differs from its predecessor, and that’s a good thing. The Galaxy A54 has three cameras, the A53 has four. Samsung has chosen to omit the depth sensor. That is not a problem at all because the other lenses are perfectly capable of estimating depth. The cameras of the Samsung Galaxy A54 are versatile, even with one less. The device has a 50-megapixel main camera, a 12-megapixel wide-angle camera and a 5-megapixel camera for taking macro photos. On the front is a 32 MP selfie camera.

The camera app on the Galaxy A54

The photos taken with the main camera and wide-angle camera of the Galaxy A54 look good. Yes, you see the typical oversaturated Samsung colors, but fortunately the A54 5G holds back a bit. The photos therefore have a more accurate color reproduction than the photos taken with the A53. Images are also much sharper, the sharpening algorithm does a good job. Night photos are also slightly better.

Photos taken in less good lighting conditions are unfortunately less sharp and quite grainy. Focusing can also be a bit faster. Sometimes you just miss that one moment because the camera still has to get ready.

The camera app is easy to use and offers many customization options and modes for photos and videos. There is the Fun mode for the selfie camera, a food mode, portrait mode and slow motion.

Photos taken in daylight

Photos taken in less good lighting conditions

Wide angle camera, main camera, 2x zoom

Macro photos

5. Excellent update support

Samsung is the leader in the update policy of Android phones. The Galaxy A54 will receive four new Android versions and security updates for five years. So you are in the right place in terms of software and security with this smartphone.

• March 2023: Launch Galaxy A54 with Android 13
• Late 2023: Android 14
• Late 2024: Android 15
• Late 2025/early 2026: Android 16
• Late 2026/early 2027: Android 17
• Security updates through Spring 2028

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Samsung Galaxy A54: the negatives

1. Performance is somewhat disappointing

The Samsung Galaxy A54 5G comes with an Exynos 1380 chipset, which is the successor to the Exynos 1280 that is in the Galaxy A53. The 1380 is again somewhat more powerful and more energy efficient than its predecessor. I was hoping for an improvement since I unfortunately had to list the performance with the negatives when reviewing the Galaxy A53. Unfortunately, that is also the case for the A54.

The phone generally responds well, but never really smoothly. This was especially noticeable when playing Last Fortress at the highest possible graphics setting. The phone would sometimes close the game or freeze completely during gameplay. It also heats up. It then took a few seconds to close the game from the recent apps only to have to restart it again. That in itself is not very surprising because the Galaxy A54 is a phone in the middle segment. Still, there are phones in this segment, such as those from OnePlus and Google, that do better in that area.

The settings menu on the Galaxy A54

2. Less strong selfie camera

The selfie camera performs the least well of the three in my opinion. The sharpness is missing in photos, except in the Fun mode.

3. Lots of extra apps included

Samsung is known for putting a lot of its own and third-party apps on its phones. Many of those apps allow you to choose not to install them when setting up the phone. Still, there’s a lot left over that most people won’t use. Think of Samsung’s Bixby, AR zone and Samsung Global Goals. Samsung works closely with Microsoft, so you will find OneDrive and Outlook on the phone, among other things. Furthermore, apps such as Disney + and Nextdoor are pre-installed. Fortunately, you can delete most apps.

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4. Fast charging could be faster

The phone, like the Galaxy S23, also has support for 25W fast charging, which allows the device to be fully charged in about 2 hours. Nowadays 2 hours is not too fast anymore, and I would have liked to see higher speeds. But for now, Samsung does not want to tinker with this. The company has indicated that super fast charging is not good for a phone’s battery.

The Game Launcher on the Galaxy A54

Conclusion

The Samsung Galaxy A54 has been given a fresh and modern makeover, making the phone completely contemporary. And much more similar to the more expensive S-series phones. The middle class has a nice clear screen and good cameras on the back. However, two aspects stand head and shoulders above the rest. Those are the battery life and the update support. At the end of the day and after several years, the A54 is still good.

You will, however, notice some delays in daily use and have to remove a lot of apps that you do not use. And if selfies are your thing, then you have to take the less sharp pictures for granted.

All in all, the Samsung Galaxy A54 is a solid mid-range device with a modern look. Overall, the Galaxy A54 is slightly better than the Galaxy A53, so the phone offers great value for money, although it is a few tenners more expensive. Are you still unsure and would you like to know more about the exact differences between the A53 and the A54? Then check our comparison.

Alternatives to the Samsung Galaxy A54 are the Samsung Galaxy A53 (from 428 euros), the Sony Xperia 10 IV (from 461 euros), the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE (from 501 euros), the Redmi Note 12 Pro (from 300 euros), the Xiaomi 12 (from 489 euros) and the Motorola Edge 30 (from 338 euros).

Buy Samsung Galaxy A54

The Samsung Galaxy A54 is available in the colors Awesome Violet, Awesome Silver, Awesome Lime and Awesome Black for a suggested retail price of 489 euros. For this you get 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage. The variant with 256 GB costs 539 euros.

Buy Samsung Galaxy A54

With its premium glass finish, minimalist camera and vibrant colors, the Galaxy A54 5G is as stunning as ever with a seamless and graceful body.

From 489 euros

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