Samsung Galaxy A54 5G specs: Everything you need to know

Samsung’s Galaxy A5x series is one of the most popular mid-range series, selling millions of units around the world. They’re one of the easiest to recommend smartphones, thanks to their good value and feature mix. The Samsung Galaxy A54 5G was the company’s top mid-ranger for 2023, but it’s since been succeeded by the Galaxy A55 5G (at least outside the US). In any event, here’s everything you need to know about the Samsung Galaxy A54 5G, including its specifications and more!

Samsung Galaxy A54 5G specs

The Samsung Galaxy A54 5G didn’t need to change what wasn’t broken. Galaxy A-series phones have been widely appreciated by the audience for their practicality, even if the spec sheet warriors find shortcomings. To that extent, the Galaxy A54 5G didn’t attempt to reinvent the wheel, and it brought refinement to a mature product that was the Galaxy A53 5G.

One of the big highlights of the Galaxy A54 5G at the time of its launch was its rear design. Samsung opted for a glass back instead of polycarbonate. This added 13g of weight to the device over its predecessor. The rear design was also much simpler, with individual camera cutouts instead of the bulging camera island from the Galaxy A53 5G.

The Galaxy A54 5G is actually slightly shorter and wider than the Galaxy A53 5G, a change that is reflected in the 19.5:9 aspect ratio of the display. The display diagonal has also gone down to 6.4 inches for the 120Hz FHD+ Super AMOLED display. The phone also has rounder corners, which makes it easier to grab and rest on your palm.

All-in-all, these exterior changes to the Galaxy A54 5G kept it in line with the flagship Galaxy S23 series. While the mid-frame is still polycarbonate, the rear glass on the back nevertheless lends it a premium feel. We also really like the cleaner look of the phone. Some may find it boring, but the Galaxy A54 5G comes in two colors (Awesome Violet and Awesome Graphite) that are pleasing to the eye. Note that the US did not get the White and Green colors at launch.

On the inside, the Galaxy A54 5G upgrades to the Exynos 1380 SoC from the Exynos 1280 SoC on the Galaxy A53 5G. This is another modest upgrade, although we see an improved 4+4 CPU arrangement instead of the previous chip’s 2+6 CPU setup. There are more powerful Snapdragon chips out there in the mid-range, and more value-focused Dimensity chips too.

For consumers having a mixed usage of daily telephony tasks, long multimedia and social media usage, and light gaming, the Exynos 1380 will serve just fine. However, if you are a gamer, you should be exploring alternatives, as the mid-range Exynos chips historically have not been gaming-oriented processors. Although the A55’s Exynos 1480 is a solid upgrade.

What the Exynos 1380 does bring is support for UFS 3.1 storage, which the Galaxy A54 5G is readily taking advantage of. There’s also microSD card expandability up to 1TB, which is frankly amazing. You don’t need to spend more money on a higher storage variant (Samsung only sells the 128GB variant in the USA anyway), as you can just use a microSD card for storing your photos and videos. There’s also 6GB of RAM, although Samsung has unfortunately not disclosed the RAM technology.

The other big change on the Galaxy A54 5G is the camera setup. The number of megapixels on the primary camera has been reduced from 64MP to 50MP, but it’s actually an upgrade as the sensor is larger. The number of cameras has also reduced from four to three, and this is also a welcome change, as a dedicated 5MP depth camera was a questionable decision on the Galaxy A53 5G.

If you’d like to know about all the changes on the new phone, check out our in-depth comparison of the Galaxy A53 5G vs Galaxy A54 5G.

Other good tidbits on the Galaxy A54 5G include the upgrade to Wi-Fi 6 that will help the phone stay future-proof, the retention of the IP67 rating for water resistance, and the great software update promise from Samsung. You still get four years of Android platform updates and five years of security updates — a promise that is matched only by Apple and Google in the mid-range. If you intend to keep your phone for a long time, which you should, then the Galaxy A54 5G makes a strong argument.

Samsung Galaxy A54 5G specs vs. the competition: How does it compare?

The Samsung Galaxy A54 5G launched at $449 for its 6GB/128GB storage variant. Historically, the mid-range market in the US has been rather dry and uncompetitive. But in the past few years, we have had some great options that have trickled down into the sub-$500 price range. This space also sees older flagships get heavily discounted, which tips the scales in their favor for users who prefer a stronger spec sheet than the Galaxy A54 5G. Here are some great competitive options against the Galaxy A54 5G!

Google Pixel 7a

Looking for a quality sub-$500 smartphone? Then you can’t really go wrong with the Pixel 7a. Google’s 2023 mid-ranger launched at $499 but frequently sees discounts. And you’re getting a lot of phone either way.

The Pixel 7a stands out from the A54 thanks to the addition of wireless charging, Google’s clean software, flagship-tier cameras, and the more powerful Tensor G2 chipset. It also offers an IP67 rating, in line with Samsung’s phone.

The device does lag behind the Galaxy A54 in some areas, though. This includes a slightly lower 90Hz refresh rate, a slightly worse OS update pledge, and a notably smaller battery with slower wired charging. It’s also worth noting that the newer Pixel 8a is on the horizon.

Samsung Galaxy A55 5G

The Galaxy A55 5G is already out, but the bad news is that the phone isn’t available in the US. It’s still worth considering if you’re in Europe, Latin America, or any other market.

Samsung’s 2024 mid-ranger ups the ante over the Galaxy A54 by offering an aluminum frame (making for a more premium feel). It also brings an Exynos 1480 chip that features AMD graphics for the first time, delivering a decent performance boost in some games.

Otherwise, there are some familiar features in tow here. That includes an IP67 rating, a 6.6-inch 120Hz OLED screen, a 5,000mAh battery with 25W wired charging, and a 50MP+12MP+5MP rear camera trio.

Motorola Edge Plus (2022)

The Motorola Edge Plus (2022) was judged rather harshly when it was launched in 2022 for its $999 price tag. But now in 2023, Motorola has discounted the phone to $499 (half the price!), making it a pretty good deal and a fair competition to the Galaxy A54 5G’s $449 launch price tag.

For this price, the Motorola Edge Plus does pretty much everything better than the Galaxy A54 5G. You get a bigger display that refreshes at 144Hz and supports HDR10+. You also get the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, which is still a step up from the Exynos 1380. There are more RAM and storage options as well.

The rear camera mix is also decent, though you’d get practically no utility from the third camera (a 2MP depth sensor). The front camera is also a 60MP shooter. You also get significantly faster 68W charging, as well as support for wireless and reverse wireless charging.

The only two areas where the Galaxy A54 5G trumps the Motorola Edge Plus is with an IP rating and software support. The Motorola device is only splash-resistant, and we don’t have much faith that the phone will receive updates for nearly as long as the Samsung handset. 

Apple iPhone SE (2022)

If you are looking at Android smartphones under $500, then the iPhone SE (2022) is disqualified as it is not an Android smartphone. But for users who want a no-frills experience out of their smartphone, then the iPhone SE (2022) is worth a look at least. The phone isn’t impressive on the spec sheet, but the overall iOS experience on this phone puts it at the center of the Apple ecosystem.

The only spec where the iPhone SE wins out is the SoC. The included A15 Bionic is a top-tier flagship SoC, the same that is used on the iPhone 14 as well. It performs amazingly well, better than any SoC on an Android flagship in 2023.

The rest of the phone is a bit lackluster and dated. But it focuses on getting the job done. To that extent, the iPhone SE (2022) is a good purchase. Apple also has one of the longest software support cycles, and the iPhone SE (2022) will remain supported for many years to come. But Samsung does come close with its update promise on the Galaxy A54 5G too, so it is not as clear of a win for Apple.

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