First Impression: Samsung Galaxy A54 5G

After the successful launch of the Samsung Galaxy S23 series earlier this year, it is now time for the Galaxy A Series refresh. The all-new 4th Generation Samsung Galaxy A series is joined by the Galaxy A34 and A54, priced at RM1599 and RM1899 respectively.

Today what we got in the studio is the Samsung Galaxy A54 in Awesome Violet colour. There are also 3 other colour variants – Awesome Lime, Awesome Graphite and Awesome White. The product manager sure loves the “Awesome” term right there.

Samsung Galaxy A54 5G Awesome Violet Unboxing Experience

While the Galaxy S series has a black-out box with just the phone model name printed on it, the rest of the Samsung Galaxy devices still retains the standard colour on white packaging that showcases the device on the box.

In this case, it is perfect for showing which colour model we have chosen – Amazing Violet.

Ever since Samsung’s commitment to reducing its carbon footprint, the packaging is getting more compact by the day. I can reuse my existing PD charger without having an extra charger thrown into the drawer.

What you get in the box:

• Samsung Galaxy A54 5G
• USB-C to USB-C cable
• paper documentation

Booting up the devices and we’re greeted by Samsung’s One UI 5.1 on top of Android 13. Full specs of the 2023 Samsung Galaxy A series:

The back panel design is a carbon copy of the Samsung Galaxy S23 series. This means that Samsung has streamlined its phone design into this flat back with individual camera protrusion.

While the Galaxy A34 uses a plastic back panel, the Galaxy A54, on the other hand, uses a public-perceived premium glass back.

This is how the Awesome Violet lines up against the Awesome White A54 and Awesome Lime A34.

I must say the camera protrusion is quite high on this phone, presumably due to the use of a higher aperture lens on the cameras.

Triple rear-facing cameras:

• Main: 50MP f/1.8; 23mm; PDAF; OIS
• Ultrawide: 12MP f/2.2; 13mm; fixed focus
• Macro: 5MP f/2.4; fixed focus

I don’t use the macro lens that much which warrants a dedicated camera for it. The general public should drop this perception of “more camera is better”. Samsung could have saved money and used it on offering a better primary camera or reduce the phone price. But hey, at least they removed the depth-sensing camera which was present in the Galaxy A53.

The front 6.4-inch Super AMOLED display has a full HD resolution and supports a 120Hz refresh rate. While it may not seem to have any significant change in this aspect, on paper, Samsung did bump up the maximum brightness from 800 nits to 1000 nits.

The punch-hole style front-facing camera sports a 32MP f/2.2 camera which is the same as its predecessor.

What you may not notice is the use of a plastic frame throughout the phone. The matte colour finish is spectacular and it goes to show we don’t need expensive material to make a good-looking phone. Besides, most of the users are going to use the phone in a case anyway.

Dual SIM slot at the top.

USB-C charging port and speaker grille. No 3.5mm audio jack, unfortunately.

Review Coming Soon

Overall, Samsung’s Galaxy A series has been doing well so far with its decent feature and performance offering. Just Samsung will not be introducing the A74 into the Galaxy A series trio, presumably to keep the price under RM2000. Nonetheless, the Galaxy A series is an excellent choice for those who want the Samsung OneUI experience without spending an arm and a leg for flagship devices.

Full review to follow after we complete the test.