Design
A purple smartphone came to the review. However, under certain lighting it can become gray or even bluish - the color is pleasant, discreet. From the first seconds, the Samsung Galaxy A54 surprises with an unexpectedly solid weight of 202 grams and large dimensions for a gadget with a 6.4-inch screen. However, in the pocket and the middle palm, the smartphone fits normally. But the frames around the perimeter of the display could be smaller.
The back cover is glossy - prints are erased without any problems, but they would not appear at all on a matte surface. The front camera is in a separate hole, and not a waterdrop notch, as in the younger A-series devices, and is surrounded by a silver border. The side faces are made of plastic, they are rounded and do not dig into the palm. The front and back panels are finished with Gorilla Glass 5 glass. The camera lenses on the back side are not in a heavy artsy block, but simply protrude from the body. The appearance of the smartphone seems very neat. However, buyers of Samsung flagships may be upset - from afar it is difficult to distinguish between the inexpensive A54 and the top-end S23, the approach to design and layout of elements is too general.
At first glance, you can’t call the device particularly practical. There is no audio jack, the SIM slot is combined, stereo sound is implemented by a bunch of dedicated and additional speakers. But the smartphone is protected from dust and moisture according to the IP67 standard. You can take it in the shower, answer a call in the rain, or take a picture of children frolicking in an inflatable pool in the country - no harm will come.
Screen
The Samsung Galaxy A54 boasts a high-quality display with a 6.4-inch Super AMOLED matrix and a resolution of 2340x1080 pixels. The screen supports a refresh rate of 120 Hz, so when scrolling through the social media feed and the settings menu, the animations are smooth. True, 120 Hz is not supported in games, or we played the wrong thing, but you don’t expect anything else from a mid-range smartphone. But the matrix itself is very worthy.
Firstly, there is a high brightness - 1000 nits, albeit in automatic mode. Everything is visible on the street: the text of the message in Telegram, a funny picture from a colleague, a fresh video on YouTube. And the sun is no problem. Secondly, the display of the Samsung Galaxy A54 has a good oleophobic coating. Finally, there is a color rendering adjustment: in one mode, the coverage is noticeably wider than DCI-P3, and in the other it is as close as possible to sRGB. The calibration is good, there is no care in excessively warm or cold shades. In the settings, you can activate Always On Display, as it should be with an AMOLED matrix. The fingerprint scanner is located under the screen, during the test there were no complaints about its work.
Camera
This is the strength of the Samsung Galaxy A54. Optical stabilization, well-tuned software, a 50 MP module and an f/1.8 lens make the main camera of the smartphone very competitive. Perhaps one of the best in the class, because the quality of the photos is at a high level. The gadget shoots high-contrast footage with a wide dynamic range, excellent detail and accurate white balance. Unless the color reproduction is saturated a little more than necessary, but in most cases this only improves the result. There is no optical zoom, but the digital one is surprisingly good.
With additional modules, the situation is as follows: the ultra-wide copes well, although it loses detail relative to the main module, but does not turn yellow, and the sharpness at the edges of the frame remains satisfactory. The 5 megapixel macro sensor also takes better pictures than most 2 megapixel "plugs" in Chinese devices. Although these are auxiliary cameras, it’s not a shame for them, by the standards of the class they are worthy.
Video capabilities also did not let us down. The Samsung Galaxy A54 shoots in 4K at 30 fps, both on the main and on the front camera.
The penetrations are smooth due to optical stabilization, focusing does not slow down, and switching between cameras is also available right during the recording process. Samsung smartphones have always been good at making videos, and even the mid-range gadget is no exception.
Performance, software and sound
While Samsung flagships are switching to Snapdragon processors, mid-range smartphones remain faithful to the branded Exynos. So the Galaxy A54 was equipped with an Exynos 1380 chip, which contains eight cores (four Cortex-A78, four Cortex-A55) and a Mali-G68 MP5 video accelerator. In practice, it's not bad at all: demanding games run with medium settings, there is no throttling, and there are no problems with heat dissipation. Our copy has 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB of built-in memory. From wireless communications, we note the presence of Bluetooth 5.3, support for Wi-Fi 6 and an NFC module for paying with a smartphone in stores.
The Android 13 operating system with the One UI shell is installed here. The experience of interacting with it is positive: everything is clear, there are enough basic settings and options for fine-tuning. Third-party software can be removed without difficulty, there are no crookedly translated menu items, the colors of the icons are pleasant, the animations are smooth - take it and use it.
Stereo speakers cope with their work confidently, but we cannot call the sound the best in the class. There is enough volume reserve, but the quality “at the maximum” is far from ideal. You can attribute this to the implementation of stereo sound - we recall that the role of the second speaker is performed by the speaker.
autonomy
The battery capacity of 5000 mAh is the gold standard for the middle class, but in practice, the battery life of different smartphones may vary. Samsung engineers did their job well: Galaxy A54 lasts 1.5 days without recharge. And if you use the power saving options, refrain from playing games, watching videos and reducing the refresh rate to the standard one, the charge will last for two days.
On average, we got about 7 hours of screen time, while not trying to save battery much and using the smartphone as usual. Of course, the included AoD affects the energy consumption, but it's much more convenient with it than without it.
But for the lack of a charger in the kit, we put a minus, because competitors do not save on this. In addition, the charging power is only 25W, which is too modest for a mid-range smartphone in 2023. I would like to see 33 W, and better - 67, so as not to get bored at the outlet.
Specifications
DISPLAY
6.4", Super AMOLED, 2340x1080, up to 1000 nits, 120Hz
CHIPSET
CPU Exynos 1380
GPU Mali-G68 MP5
RAM
AND STORAGE
6 GB
128 GB
CAMERA
main - 50 MP (f / 1.8, OIS) + 12 MP (viewing angle 123 °, f / 2.2) + 5 MP (f / 2.4) front - 32 MP
BATTERY
5000 mAh
DIMENSIONS AND WEIGHT
158.2 x 76.7 x 8.2 mm
202 g
PECULIARITIES
stereo speakers, IP67 protection, no charger included, in-display fingerprint scanner, microSD support
Test results
ANTUTU
502 386
GEEKBENCH 6
single-core - 1009
multicore - 2795
AUTONOMY
up to 1.5 days of work in mixed mode
about 6.5-7 hours of screen time (auto brightness, refresh rate 120 Hz)
Results
The Samsung Galaxy A54 pleases with a high-quality display with a good margin of brightness, water resistance, a comfortable shell and good autonomy. And in terms of shooting photos and videos, it easily outperforms many competitors in its class. Best-seller? Perhaps, but there is enough reason for criticism.
For some reason, the back cover is glossy rather than the practical matte of its predecessor. The bezels around the display are thick, there is no adapter included, and the charging power is only 25 W - this is not enough for the middle class. The SIM tray is combined, the quality of the stereo speakers is average. All this seems like a trifle, but lubricates the overall impression, and the smartphone is more expensive than its counterparts. Samsung Galaxy A54 looks more like a transitional model - perhaps all the shortcomings will be corrected in the future A55.
The device is recommended for purchase if you like the One UI interface, you trust the brand and want to get a mid-range phone protected from dust and moisture with a good screen.
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