- Samsung Galaxy A53
- Samsung Galaxy A33
In brief
The Galaxy A53 resembles the devices from the Galaxy A52 series in everything; from the no-nonsense designed housing to the feature set. It is distinctive for the price. For example, the A53 has an IP67 rating for water resistance, which few other mid-range phones have, and the device will receive updates for no less than five years. The screen and camera are also above average. The point is that the A52 also has many of the advantages mentioned, with the A53 being worse rather than better in other respects. The new Exynos soc is slower than the Snapdragon in the fastest A52 version, and the A53 no longer has a 3.5mm headphone port and included charger. The longer battery life compared to the older model is a plus.
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In brief
The Galaxy A33 is a completely different device than last year’s stripped-down Galaxy A32. It is very similar to the A53, but slightly less good. The screen only goes up to 90Hz, while the camera sensors have a lower resolution. The loss of sharpness is noticeable especially with the ultra-wide-angle camera, but it doesn’t turn out badly with the front camera. The A33 also notes a shorter battery life in our tests. However, an IP67 rating for water resistance and no less than five years of updates are present. These are distinctive features that many other midrange devices do not have. As with the A53, there is no 3.5mm headphone port and you don’t get a charger with it. At the moment, the A33 is not much cheaper than the A53, with the A52 devices, which are also more luxurious, even cost less.
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A device from the Samsung Galaxy A series is a popular option among consumers who do not have to go out of their way in the smartphone area. Perhaps even the most popular; witness one recent research almost half of the Dutch population has a smartphone from the South Korean brand in their pocket, and in the middle segment of devices around 300 euros, you end up with a Galaxy A phone at Samsung.
For several years now, Samsung has been focusing on the ‘little frills, good camera’ formula for the A series. Previously, the A devices were not very successful, because the focus was partly on cheaper Galaxy J devices and Samsung apparently did not want to get in the way of the more expensive Galaxy S series. From the Galaxy A50 from 2019, however, the way up was found. With that device and the A51 from 2020 wasn’t much wrong except for the too slow fingerprint scanner of the first one, but it was the Galaxy A52 from last year which became a real hit. Although the housing didn’t look exactly exciting, Samsung had built in a number of distinctive features. There was an IP67 rating for water resistance, the device had stereo speakers and it had a relatively luxurious camera system, in addition to a good OLED screen and fine software. You can still buy the A52, in 4G and 5G variants, with an additional one later in the year. Galaxy A52s appeared, with on top of the other plus points of the A52 series a relatively fast soc for this price range.
Of Galaxy A53 must therefore achieve a lot to become just as recommended as the Galaxy A52 in all its variants. The manufacturer seems to leave nothing to chance. When the Galaxy A53 and A52 are next to each other on the table, it is almost impossible to tell them apart. We had a nice game with it at the Tweakers editors last week. The material and finish of the housings are about the same and the design hardly differs. The featureset is largely the same, with Samsung betting on the same plus points: the waterproof housing, a 64-megapixel camera with OIS, a 120Hz OLED screen, and a very long update promise. The introduction price of 450 euros is also identical, with the device already becoming less than a hundred euros cheaper in the two months that it is now being sold.
Interestingly, Samsung will release another device this spring that will bring almost all of the plus points of the A53 to a lower point in the line-up. The new Galaxy A33 isn’t nearly as stripped down as last year’s A32, and it has the same soc and waterproof housing as the more expensive model. The camera is slightly less good on paper and the same applies to the screen with 90Hz refresh rate, but the A33 is still better equipped than some competitors. You can already buy the A33 for less than 300 euros, so we thought it was high time to subject both smartphones to a thorough test.
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