Should you save some money and buy the much improved Galaxy A54 5G? Or should you go all-out and get the flagship Galaxy S23? We explore the differences and whether they are worth it.
Should you buy the flagship Samsung Galaxy S23 and spend a lot of money on it, or should you save some money and get the now improved mid-range offering, the Galaxy A54 5G?
With a starting price of around $500, the Galaxy A54 5G is nearly 40% cheaper than the flagship, yet it has similar looks, a similarly brilliant AMOLED display, same charging speeds and it even takes microSD cards that the flagship Galaxy S23 does not and has longer battery life!
However, of course, it’s more compromised. The screen does not get as bright, it lacks adaptive refresh rate, its cameras are not quite as good, there is no zoom camera at all, and the processor even if improved is a far cry from the amazing Snapdragon 8 Gen 2.
Ah, tough choice! Let’s see if we can help you find the better phone for you among these two!
The Galaxy A54 5G has clearly drawn some inspiration from the flagship S23 with that camera styling where each lens protrudes on its own, and it’s a clean look we like on both of them.
Samsung has stepped up the quality of the mid-ranger by adopting a glass back, a change from the plastics it used before, but the Galaxy S23 still uses a newer and more durable type of glass, the Gorilla Glass Victus 2.
The S23 is clearly the more compact phone, but the A54 5G is not extraordinarily giant either.
There is also a small difference in the water and dust protection rating: both phones have it, and both have a high level of protection, but the S23 goes a bit higher at IP68 compared to IP67 on the A54 5G. You probably don’t need to worry about that, but if you care about the details it means that the S23 is certified to withstand immersion in deeper water.
Both also come with a flat screen, but the borders around the screen are just giant on the A54 5G, while the Galaxy S23 looks way more elegant with its thinner bezel size.
In terms of screens, the A54 5G is equipped with a 6.4″ OLED screen with a 1080p Full HD+ resolution, while the S23 comes with a smaller, 6.1″ Dynamic AMOLED 2X display with the same resolution.
Both are high quality screens, but if you care about the detail, the S23 display gets brighter outdoors, it has adaptive refresh rate (both have 120Hz but only the S23 can adapt it), and color calibration should be better on the flagship model.
