Goldilocks zone: Samsung Galaxy A54 test

The Samsung Galaxy A54 5G is a mid-range smartphone, overtaking the A53 5G in terms of brightness and processor performance. It also produces some pretty beautiful photos.
If you don’t own its predecessor, the new version is worthwhile in some respects.

New shell – strong core

Samsung adapts the design of the Galaxy A54 to its S series. This is especially noticeable by the missing camera hump. The three lenses now protrude individually on the back. Besides black and white, the smartphone is available in purple and light green.

The matt frame on the plastic case looks classy. Despite the material used, it looks well made. The Galaxy A54 has a glass finish on the back. This looks nice, but is extremely susceptible to fingerprints. The smartphone is protected against dust according to IP67 and against fresh water up to a depth of one metre for 30 minutes. It’s quite light at 202 grams.

The 6.4-inch OLED display of the Galaxy A54 5G offers a high-contrast image with rich colours and deep darkness. Outstanding quality for a mid-range smartphone, using the 19, 5:9 aspect ratio. That’s a little bigger than I’m used to. Visually, I do prefer this wider display. In return, it’s less compact in my small hand. The phone offers Full HD resolution and a maximum refresh rate of 120 hertz. Furthermore, brightness maxes out at 1000 nits.

A better processor, in theory

Samsung includes its current mid-range Exynos 1380 processor in the Galaxy A54. Using Geekbench 6, I can compare its performance with other CPUs – such as the Exynos 1280 on the A53. Samsung’s new model cuts quite the figure. The Galaxy A54 beats the Galaxy A53 in the single-core test, 1008 to 856 points. The A54 takes an even clearer lead in the multi-core test with 2866 points. Here, the Galaxy A53 only achieves 1902 points.

Opening and switching between apps runs smoothly. The sometimes stalled scrolling isn’t as satisfying. The Galaxy A54 5G also doesn’t perform great in graphically intense games. The phone reaches its limits here. Genshin Impact runs with reduced graphics settings and looks bumpy and pixelated at times. Games with less demanding settings work flawlessly. Take Royal Match, one of three preloaded games.

The Galaxy A54 has 8 gigabytes of working memory and either 128 or 256 gigabytes of internal storage. If that isn’t enough, you can insert a microSD up to one terabyte in the second SIM slot. In addition, the Galaxy A54 5G is the first smartphone in the A series to offer eSIM support.

Decent battery and performance

With its 5000 mAh battery, the Galaxy A54 is on par with Samsung’s current flagship model, the S23 Ultra – and even above other top phones, like the S23 and S23 Plus. It easily lasts for a day and a half with normal use. That’s excellent, provided you have a charging option.

The Galaxy A54 supports up to 25 watts. I charged the phone with my power adapter (the device doesn’t come with one) in 1 hour and 45 minutes. That’s quite a while. At least the Galaxy A54 battery is charged halfway in 30 minutes.

On most smartphones, I’ll very rarely listen to music from the speakers. It’s that bad. The Galaxy A54’s sound is better than expected. It sounds warm and balanced via the two speakers above and below. This pleasant audio feature and 4K playback have a positive effect on Netflix and YouTube videos. Delivering a satisfying combination with the OLED display.

Samsung software gets on Google’s level

The Galaxy A54 5G runs Android 13 and Samsung One UI. This includes numerous preloaded apps, like Samsung’s own App Store, services from Google and Microsoft, as well as Spotify and Netflix. Security updates are available for five years, Android updates for four years.

Samsung offers useful modes that you can individualise. I like Work mode the best. You can customise times for Do not Disturb and when your work apps activate. Leisure mode, on the other hand, can limit when those apps are in use. To better recognise which mode I’m using, I adjust the background image for each accordingly. All in all, a decent feature for me, someone who uses their smartphone during both work hours and free time.

A solid main camera with clear images and bright colours

Samsung installed three cameras on the back of the Galaxy A54. The main camera has 50 megapixels and an aperture of f/1.8. The ultra-wide angle has 12 megapixels and an f/2.2 aperture. The macro camera is at 5 megapixels and f/2.4. Besides pixels, however, sensor size also plays a role. The sensor of the main camera is 1/1.56 inches. What does that mean in practice?

The main camera convinces me the most. Casual photographers will enjoy it. For really good smartphone pictures, you should still pay attention to lighting conditions.

In automatic mode, pixel binning comes into play on the A54. The software combines four adjacent pixels into one. Photos thus come in at 12.5 megapixels and not the full 50 megapixels the sensor is capable of. This is supposed to increase light sensitivity, which in turn improves image quality. And it takes up less storage space.

Overall, the Galaxy A54 sharpens images a lot and captures details well. Colours are relatively natural. The A54 highlights green meadows and blue skies particularly well. The smartphone still manages well under cloudy skies, but produces pale pics at times.

The 12-megapixel wide-angle camera is useful enough. However, structures are somewhat flattened and colours are a bit yellowish – but the latter is only noticeable in a direct comparison.

If you want to get even more into your picture, a 360-degree panorama function is available. This warps buildings and paths slightly, and you have to allow five times more memory for the image. However, details aren’t lost. Just remember to move the camera slowly while shooting. Otherwise, slight shifts will occur, as in my example with the cathedral in the upper right.

Digital zoom is unusable. Only dual zoom produces even slightly useful results. Anything more than that just looks like a cropped section from a dual zoom image.

Images produced by the Macro camera with five megapixels are too blurry for me. It’s useful for a fun, artsy effect on your next WhatsApp profile picture of a flower, though. Sadly, my little spider friend that I spotted while shooting doesn’t look grandiose enough due to the lack of sharpness and detail.

The selfie camera with 32 megapixels is strong and very accurate. However, I do think that filters deliver a better complexion. In portrait mode, the A54 creates the bokeh effect (blurred background) digitally. This is clearly visible in my dishevelled hair and along the edge of my fur jacket. The software does a good job with sharp edges.

If you want to pass the time with selfies, there’s a fun feature. This includes filters from the Snapchat app and requires internet access. You can use it to make a monkey out of yourself or become an angel. The quality is lousy, the pictures quite funny.

Slow-motion videos and hyperlapse

You can record videos in 4K at 30 fps. For its new Slow Motion feature, the Galaxy A54 uses 240 fps – but only in HD. Besides that, you also have Super Slow-Mo and Hyperlapse (time-lapse) available. The latter appears stable on a smartphone. If you do want to watch the video on a larger screen, however, it will look shaky.

Both slow-motion modes produce a lot of image noise in low light, but the effect is extremely satisfying. Again, these videos come out better on the Galaxy A54 than on a computer.

Verdict: a good camera and nice display at an upper mid-range price

The Samsung Galaxy A54 is a good smartphone. With strong cameras, a bright OLED display, eSIM and water protection, you’re well equipped for everyday life. Movies and music look great on it. I wish scrolling was smoother. And it’s only powerful enough for simple games.

As it comes without accessories except for a cable, you’ll have to use a separate power adapter and possibly add a case. The recommended retail price of 459 francs or euros for the Galaxy A54 turns out to be similar to the A53 a year ago. The predecessor is now cheaper at 399 francs or 369 euros. But subtle improvements and longer update runtime make purchasing the A54 more worthwhile.

Otherwise, the Nothing Phone (1) is also worth considering in the mid-range price segment. Maybe the OnePlus Nord CE 3 Lite too. I still have to finish testing that one, though.

Header image: Michelle Brändle