CNET’s expert staff reviews and rates dozens of new products and services each month, building on more than a quarter century of expertise. Samsung’s best phone, the Galaxy S23 Ultra, offers huge performance and amazing photography prowess. The Galaxy A54 packs a 6.4-inch display, an octa-core processor that offers enough power for daily essentials (including light gaming) and a camera that does a decent job of handling your out-and-about snaps. And it’s often on sale for even less: While writing this review, I saw a $375 price on Best Buy and Amazon (sadly, though, I didn’t see it when publication time rolled around).
We gave the Pixel 6A a CNET Editors’ Choice award for its combination of solid all-round performance and affordable price, with it remaining one of the best budget phones money can buy. Still, the A54 is slightly larger and offers microSD card storage expansion, so it’s not a total victory for the Pixel. The lime green version of my A54 5G is really quite pretty with its glossy glass back and metallic-looking edging (that’s actually plastic). It’s IP67 rated for water resistance (as are the Pixel 6A and 7A) which will keep it safe during phone calls in the rain or around clumsy friends carrying beer.
The Galaxy A54’s vibrant screen is quite a bit brighter than the Pixel 6A’s and 7A’s, making it more easily readable outdoors under direct sunshine. It produced fair scores on benchmark tests considering its low price, coming in a bit below the Pixel 6A. Still, there’s enough power to make everyday web browsing, WhatsApp texting and emailing feel swift. I managed to play both Genshin Impact and Asphalt 9: Legends at default settings with fairly smooth gameplay.
By contrast, the Pixel 6A’s default interface is neat, clutter-free and has only the basic Google essentials like Chrome, Gmail and Drive installed as standard, with no third party services forced on you from day one. Both Samsung and Google promise security updates five years from launch in order to keep them safer to use for longer.
Perhaps due to the larger screen though, battery life was pretty much the same on both phones during my YouTube streaming drain test and in general use throughout the day. I found shots from the main camera to be generally decent, although the software optimizations often result in quite oversaturated images which look quite unnatural to my eye.
The wide lens typically produces slightly warmer colors, which I mostly prefer against the often cool-looking images the main camera captured. Low light images are decent, with the main lens capturing bright, sharp shots that are roughly on par with what we found from the Pixel 6A.
While the A54’s camera setup won’t appeal to photographers among you who want true-to-life images, it’ll do the job well if you just want vibrant shots of your kids on your next beach vacation. The A54’s combination of decent performance, fun design, vibrant cameras and low price make it a potentially great budget option.
We push the processor’s performance to the extremes using both standardized benchmark tools like GeekBench and 3DMark, along with our own anecdotal observations navigating the interface, recording high-resolution videos and playing graphically intense games at high refresh rates.
Samsung Galaxy A54 5G
The Samsung Galaxy A54 5G is a mid-range Android-based smartphone developed and manufactured by Samsung Electronics as a part of its Galaxy A series. [11] It is glossy on the back, unlike the matte glass on the Galaxy S23. The Samsung Galaxy A54 5G removed one camera compared to its predecessor.
Quantum 4 (SM-A546S), a localization model released in South Korea, has a built-in quantum random number generator (QRNG) chipset developed by SK Telecom.
Samsung Galaxy A54 review
But don’t get all riled up just yet – the A53 5G’s launch pricing was, in fact, fairly similar to the A54’s, but the numbers do tend to drop sharply in just a month or two, so we’ll be somewhat inclined to treat them with more of an open mind. Examining the specsheet to find the differences in the substance, we’re noticing there’s more of it – the new model has passed the 200g weight threshold, if only just.
The slightly reduced screen diagonal makes that all the more surprising, particularly since battery capacity has remained the same.
Gone is the depth sensor (unlikely to be missed), and the triple camera setup on the back is now headlined by a 50MP unit in place of the 64MP one of the A53 5G.
Take for example the IP67 rating – Galaxy A-series midrangers have offered dust and water resistance for a few generations now, and the A54 continues along that path. Misc: Fingerprint reader (under display, optical); stereo speakers; Virtual proximity sensing.
The A54’s retail package is barebones as last year – the A52(s) were the last ones to include a power adapter in the box. For what it’s worth, the fact that you still have a cable in the box means you can ‘save’ on buying one when getting a charger – that’s as close as we’ll get to a silver lining.
Samsung Galaxy A54 5G and F04s spotted on Geekbench
Two of Samsung’s upcoming smartphones have been spotted in the Geekbench online database today, which most likely means they’re due to become official very soon. According to past rumors and leaks, the Galaxy A54 5G will have a 5,100 mAh battery with 25W charging support, a 50 MP main camera, and a 6.4″ 120 Hz screen. Moving on to the Galaxy F04s, this will be an entry-level model offered exclusively by Flipkart in India, as that’s what the F series is all about.
Samsung Galaxy A34 vs. Samsung Galaxy A54
The Samsung Galaxy A54 puts the A5x series back on the right track after a super-successful A52s was followed by more of a meh A53. The Galaxy A34, on its part, elevates the A3X models to new heights and starts to encroach on the territory of its more expensive sibling seriously.
You can compare the full specsheets or check our editor’s assessment in the following video or in the text further below.
Samsung decided to model both of these handsets after the Galaxy S23 series this year.
That includes the signature trio of separate camera rings on the back. The more expensive A54 does sport a Gorilla Glass 5 back as well, whereas the A34 settles for a plastic sheet instead.
It is potentially worth noting that both the A34 and A54 have a virtual proximity sensor, which is not ideal in terms of precision and versatility. As already mentioned, the Galaxy A34 experienced a growth spurt this year and now comes with a 6.6-inch display.
For this year, Samsung decided to go with a 19.5:9 aspect ratio instead of the 20:9 one, which makes for a slightly wider display. We found that its MediaTek Dimensity 1080 chipset is extremely efficient at both on-screen and off-screen tasks.
Definitely not the fastest around, but still respectable, especially on the Galaxy A54, which charges notably faster to 100% than its cheaper sibling. As we mentioned, neither is particularly quick to charge by modern standards, but the A54 definitely squeezes out a win.
Do check with your local retailer, though, since in many countries, Samsung and various carriers and stores do still bundle a charger with the purchase of either an A34 or A54. Even so, in practice, they create a convincing stereo effect with a nice sound stage. There is no noticeable distortion, even at high volumes, and the sound stage is fairly rich. The mid-tones could have been presented a bit better, but the highs sound great, and there is even some bass. The Exynos’ CPU has a 4+4 core configuration vs. the Dimensity’s 2+6 setup, though the powerful 4xCortex-A78 cluster in the A54 is capped at 2.4GHz, while the A34’s 2xA78s can reach a little higher at 2.6GHz. The A54 does outscore the a34 by some 15-20% in multi-core CPU testing, though the difference under single-core load is negligible.
Both of these phones are shipping with the latest Android 13 and One UI 5.1 on top, with practically the same set of features. This list of these has gotten very extensive and sans for a few niche things here and there like Samsung DeX, both Galaxy A series phones now offer most of the additional goodies of their flagship S family counterparts. If both turn out to be true, prospective buyers are looking at amazing long-term software support on both the A34 and the A54. The Galaxy A34 and A54 have similar camera setups with an OIS-equipped main cam, ultrawide, a macro on the back, and a fixed-focus selfie on the front.
Quality-wise, both phones capture excellent daylight photos with high contrast and wide dynamic range. Both phones also have that characteristic Samsung color science which includes cranking the saturation up a bit to get that signature “poppy” look.
More samples and a detailed analysis can be found in our Galaxy A54 camera review. More samples and a detailed analysis can be found in our Galaxy A34 camera review.
Neither will fool you into thinking it can capture flagship-grade low-light images, but both do a decent job, particularly if you stick to the main cameras. Instead of plastic, it has a Gorilla Glass 5 back, HDR10+ support and automatic refresh rate switching on its 120Hz 6.4-inch Super AMOLED display. Its Exynos 1380 chipset has the edge in performance over the Dimensity 1080 inside the A34 and also offers slightly better connectivity options, notably Wi-Fi 6. It also has an overall higher-resolution camera setup, which does fair ever so slightly better in terms of quality than the A34.
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