Samsung's A series is the one that comes to compete with Chinese smartphones at medium-low price levels.
The Galaxy A53 is the one that is supposed to give one of the strongest blows of the company in this market, it is not the most powerful model in the A series, with the Galaxy A73 above it.
Design: Galaxy A53 - There is water protection
It is rare to find smartphones at this price level that come with official water protection (IP67 standard), even the Shiomi 12 which costs more than double does not come with such a standard mark, but Samsung has integrated it in the Galaxy A53.
I got the device in the white version, which looks great with a matte back that hides the fingerprints.
The glass is of the Gorilla Glass 5 type, with the body of the device being plastic and this is felt mainly in the silver frame.
The weight of the device is reasonable in relation to the screen size and it stands at 189 grams, so it is convenient to carry it in your pocket.
Screen: Galaxy A53 - Not in direct sunlight
The Samsung screen also feels much more than the category of the device.
This is a 6.5-inch screen with high-quality Super AMOLED technology, with a resolution of 1080 by 2400 pixels and a high image refresh rate of 120 Hz.
This is a successful screen with a sharp display and colors that are fun to watch, what is less pleasant is the backlight of the screen, which is 800 nits, but it failed to meet the task in front of the strong Israeli sun.
Interface: Galaxy A53 - Friendly interface with call recording
The Galaxy A53 comes with the latest version of Android 12 with Samsung's interface - One UI 4.1.
Samsung has added a nice widget here called Smart Widget (or smart widget), it allows you to combine several widgets and switch between them smoothly.
This is a convenient way to combine several widgets on one screen, without taking up much space.
Samsung's interface still allows you to record calls via the dial menu, the Smart Things app for controlling smart products at home and a side menu for quick access to contacts and favorite apps.
Hardware: Galaxy A53 - having trouble meeting the task
I received for review the model with 6 GB of working memory (RAM), when there is also an 8 GB working version, it costs a little more, about another 300 shekels.
In terms of impression from the version I got, it was slow, suffered from stuttering and a not good enough operating experience.
I imagine that at least a significant part of this slowness is resolved in the 8GB version, so if you are planning to purchase this device anyway, give up the 6GB in advance.
Samsung integrates its home processor - Exynos 1280 in the Galaxy A53, it has a storage capacity of 128 GB (there is also a 256 GB version), including an option to expand the memory using a card and space for two SIM cards.
There are also powerful stereo speakers here, including support for Dolby Atmos to produce a wider and richer sound, but the speakers still tend to the metallic hue.
This model includes a 5th generation cellular connection, it has WiFi Calling support when you want to make calls over the WiFi network through the cellular operator in places without reception.
I had a troublesome problem with the device, which did not happen much, but it is worth noting, sometimes I just lost the reception and had to switch to flight mode and return from it, in order for the reception to return.
I hope this is a problem that only occurred in the version I received, but it is very worth noting.
Camera: Galaxy A53 - Successful photo results (just not at night)
While Samsung compromised on the processing power of the Galaxy A53, it did not give up on the camera.
Samsung has integrated a photo array with 4 sensors: 64 megapixels with autofocus, optical image stabilizer and f / 1.8 aperture key, 12 megapixel sensor (123 degrees), 5 megapixel macro sensor with f / 2.4 and 5 megapixel depth sensor with f / 2.4.
Samsung manages to offer a successful camera here, the resulting images are with rich colors and good sharpness, so it does not feel like they came from a smartphone from the low price category.
There is an option here for portrait / portrait photography where the background is blurred at the back, which were also good, what was less successful is the macro sensor and also the night photography which showed grainy photography results and not always clear enough.
In wide photography, the rounded edges are too wide and the image is significantly damaged from it.
The selfie camera comes with a 32 megapixel sensor with f / 2.2, the results were mediocre when the colors were in the faded direction.
Battery: Galaxy A53 - no charger
Samsung does not include a charger for the kit and it is worth noting that the cable it attaches here is USB C to USB-C, which means that chances are you have a charger head with a USB-A connection and you will have to buy a charger head at an additional cost .
By the way, last year Samsung included a charger head for the Galaxy A52, but with a USB-A connection, so if you upgrade, you will know that this head will not work for you.
Anyway, the Galaxy A53 comes with a battery with a large capacity of 5000 mAh, but it is disappointing, the smartphone barely survives a whole day, to me it held from eight and a half in the morning until around nine in the evening, when I have 10% energy left (a little more than 3 screen hours).
There is no wireless charging here, but the device supports a reasonable 25 watt wired charging.
Price: NIS 1,400
Bottom line
, the Galaxy A53 disappointed me, although it has a good camera in relation to the price, a successful screen and water resistance, but the device stutters and suffers from slowness, at least in the 6 GB version of working memory.
Posted on The Gadget Reviews
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