Samsung recently expanded the Galaxy A-series in the Philippines with the introduction of the Samsung Galaxy A54 5G and Galaxy A34 5G.
The Galaxy A54 5G is the successor to the Galaxy A53 5G introduced last year but introduces pretty minor upgrades like the glass back and the Exynos 1380 chipset.
We were given a review unit in the Awesome Graphite color option and here’s how my experience was after two weeks with the device.
Samsung Galaxy A54 5G – Full Specifications
| Display | 6.4-inch FHD+ Super AMOLED 120Hz refresh rate |
| Processor | Exynos 1380 |
| RAM | 8GB |
| Storage | 128/256GB |
| Rear Camera | 50MP main 12MP ultrawide 5MP macro |
| Front Camera | 32MP |
| Battery | 5000mAh 25W fast charging |
| OS | One UI Core 5.1 (Android 13) |
| Colors | Awesome Graphite Awesome Lime Awesome Violet |
| Price | PHP 24,990 (8/128GB) PHP 26,990 (8/256GB) |
Samsung Galaxy A54 5G – Build and Design
The Galaxy A54 5G is built around a 6.4-inch FHD+ Super AMOLED panel. This makes it surprisingly smaller than the Galaxy A34 and last year’s A53 5G, but I think the size of the A54 5G is pretty comfortable even with one-handed use.
I always appreciate Super AMOLED panels, the extra oomph of color just brings liveliness to the device, especially while watching K-Pop music videos on YouTube or series and movies on Netflix.
As I mentioned, the Samsung Galaxy A54 5G has a glossy glass back which brings a very nice premium feel to the Galaxy A-series. The series is pretty known for using a glasstic back. That said though, the Awesome Graphite color option was quite the fingerprint magnet, which isn’t too surprising given that darker-colored devices with a glossy back tend to be but it’s still worth pointing out.
If you decide to pick one up, maybe the lighter-colored Awesome Violet or Awesome Lime is worth checking. Of course, you can always slap on a case to avoid fingerprints.
The rest of the body of the device is built from polycarbonate with a matte finish. The sides of the device have a nice curve to them which helps contribute to the device being pretty easy to handle.
Around the back, it ditches a camera module bump and instead has a design that we first saw on the Galaxy S22 Ultra and carried over to the Galaxy S23 series with a flat back, and the cameras and their cutouts just separated from everything.
The Galaxy S-series-inspired simplistic design coupled with the aforementioned glass back just helps elevates the Galaxy A-series and is a good step forward for the mid-range series.
The volume rocker and power button of the Galaxy A54 5G are found on the right-hand side and positioned perfectly. I hardly had to adjust my hand when using the device to adjust the volume or open the device.
On the top of the device are the SIM tray and a microphone, while at the bottom are a USB-C port, speaker grille, and microphone.
Samsung Galaxy A54 5G – Performance
The Galaxy A54 5G has an Exynos 1380 under the hood coupled with 8GB RAM and either 128GB or 256GB of storage. It also gives you the option to expand the expansion via a microSD card of up to 1TB.
Before I get to my personal experience, here are the results of the device on Geekbench 5 and 6 as well as the 3DMark Wild Life test.
While we’ve seen less and less of the Exynos chips, especially in the Galaxy S-series more recently, it’s nice to see the company use them, at least in the Galaxy A-series.
With day-to-day use of scrolling through social media, watching videos, and occasional gaming, the experience was very smooth. The 120Hz refresh rate on the display also contributes to this as well as the stereo speakers.
To no surprise, the Samsung Galaxy A54 5G can handle games like Mobile Legends: Bang Bang and League of Legends: Wild Rift with great ease. It can also handle Call of Duty: Mobile pretty well regardless if you opt for High graphics and a Very High frame rate setting or Low graphics with a Max frame rate setting.
Surprisingly, it managed to run Diablo Immortal at 30 fps, High resolution, and Very High quality selection, albeit a bit of lag while going in highly-populated areas like towns as well as noticeable heating. Sure, you can lower it, but I was just impressed that it ran at these settings.
As far as the graphical and performance raid boss, Genshin Impact goes, the A54 5G ran pretty smoothly on High setting, but do note that you will get a temperature increase in longer playtime. I did try it on the Highest setting but immediately saw lag and just went back to High. This in itself is pretty impressive.
Samsung Galaxy A54 5G – Camera
As far as cameras go, the Galaxy A54 5G has a triple rear camera setup headlined by a 50MP main camera partnered with a 12MP ultrawide lens and a 5MP macro snapper. Yes, it dropped the 5MP depth camera that its predecessor had, but I prefer the trend of 2023 of having fewer cameras that you’ll more likely use.
The main camera does unsurprisingly impressive in brighter settings. Because it is a Samsung phone, you get bright colors when taking photos of the sky and plants. I generally don’t mind the oversaturation, but you may think otherwise.
The ultrawide camera, like the main, performed well outdoors. One thing I did appreciate is that the ultrawide camera was able to produce photos without washing out the colors too much.
Both lenses though were a hit or miss at night. You can really tell the difference between the two lenses at night with the ultrawide struggling to maintain color and the sharpness of the photos.
The macro lens isn’t the best but it also isn’t as bad as other macro lenses. Although, you still get grainier photos in comparison to the other lenses.
On the front, it is equipped with the same 32MP front camera as its predecessor and is as impressive as it sounds. Whether it be in well-lit settings or in dimmer places, it offered good details. It also has an ultrawide mode which should come in handy if you want to include friends or family in your shot or even the scenery behind you.
Samsung Galaxy A54 5G – Battery
We ran the Samsung Galaxy A54 5G through the PCMark Battery test which simulates going through tasks like photo and video editing, web browsing, and data manipulation.
Despite packing a 5000mAh battery, which is pretty much the norm in 2023, it surprised me by reaching 16 hours and 37 minutes with the 60Hz refresh rate mode and 12 hours and 51 minutes with the 120Hz refresh rate mode on the test.
My day-to-day use though was just a little under the 12 hours of the 120Hz refresh rate but still enough to get me through a day with light to medium use. This of course went even lower with longer gaming sessions and heavier use but still pretty impressive.
The device is listed to support 25W fast charging however, the review unit didn’t come with a charger so we really couldn’t test that.
The Verdict
The Samsung Galaxy A54 5G brings a nice premium look to the mid-range Galaxy A-series while also offering a formidable chipset, a good display, and a pretty decent camera setup.
However, it comes with a PHP 24,990 price tag for the 8GB+128GB variant, while the 8GB+256GB configuration goes for PHP 26,990.
So I think the question is, is it worth it? If you’re coming from the Galaxy A53 5G, I think it’s worth skipping out on as it doesn’t get any big upgrades (aside from the premium aesthetics). But if you’re looking for an upgrade and you’re coming from a Galaxy A-series device from even two years back and want to stay within the ecosystem, it’s definitely worth a go.
If you’re looking for a mid-range device in general, I think it’s worth checking out albeit there are more affordable options in the market.
Ram found his love and appreciation for writing in 2015 having started in the gaming and esports sphere for GG Network. He would then transition to focus more on the world of tech which has also began his journey into learning more about this world. That said though, he still has the mentality of "as long as it works" for his personal gadgets.
