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For people who are still using wired headphones, you can still use them with the Galaxy A54 through a 3.5mm to USB-C dongle adaptor. Unfortunately, dongles like these aren’t the most convenient way to use wired headphones since they can be a little buggy. Additionally, you won’t be able to use wired charging while the headphones are taking up the USB-C port. It’s not the optimal way to listen to audio on the Galaxy A54, but it can be a last resort if need be. The Samsung Galaxy A54 5G has had quite the upgrade in the design department compared to its predecessor, the Galaxy A53 5G, though you might not notice it by looking at it front-on.
The Samsung Galaxy A54 has a lot going for it, but as the new high-end of the Galaxy A series it’s creeping closer to the Galaxy S series in terms of features and pricing – especially if you’re prepared to look at the previous generation of S series handsets. You could be forgiven for dubbing the A54 the S23a. All that said, my final impressions of the display are largely positive; it’s big enough to comfortably watch YouTube videos and movies on Netflix, colours are vibrant and punchy (if not a little too vibrant) and it’s easily legible in direct sunlight with a maximum brightness of 1000nits. I did miss elements like HDR10+ when watching Netflix though, features you can find on the likes of the Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus 5G and Google Pixel 6a. Camera When it comes to entertainment, the screen supports HDR10 and HDR10+, yet HDR works with YouTube but not Netflix (although this might just require Netflix to whitelist this particular handset for HDR streaming). Frustratingly there’s no Dolby Vision, because Samsung insists on going its own way when it comes to HDR formats.That’s because most of said change is happening on the rear of the phone. The most immediately noticeable is that Samsung has ditched the contour camera housing present on last year’s model, instead opting for the same minimalistic design as the flagship Galaxy S23 line. The Samsung Galaxy A54 next to the Galaxy S23 With a great 6.4-inch display, sturdy premium build, and triple camera array, the Samsung Galaxy A54 certainly makes a great first impression for a mid-range handset. You can see how Samsung is working to unify the design language of the A and range-topping S series handsets. Still, results across the board are fairly acceptable for the price tag. What isn’t acceptable, however, is the autofocus performance.
When it comes to software, the phone ships with Samsung’s latest OneUI 5.1 based on Android 13. It’s very much the usual affair with Samsung’s signature UI design and heavy reliance on Samsung-branded apps, but with small new features like the ability to use certain Snapchat filters within the native Camera app thanks to a new partnership between the two companies. Battery lifeThe Galaxy A54 is also IP67 dust/water resistant certified, which means you can take a dip in a pool up to 1 meter deep for 30 minutes, and your phone will stay protected. When it comes to longevity, the IP67 rating also offers some reassurance with a waterproof and dustproof design that should survive a dunking. Low-light photography has improved compared to last year’s A53 with a larger sensor and improved OIS, but it’s still not quite up there with the best around. Images are relatively detailed overall, and there are decent amounts of light captured, but they can still look a little dark and flat compared to what I was seeing in the moment.
That’s also without using the phone to listen to music and otherwise kill time on the two-hour trip from London to Paris via Eurostar, so I thought I’d put that to the test on the way home. Reader, I was very disappointed. I took the phone off charge at around 10:30am, used it for maps, listening to music and playing a couple of games on the Eurostar and the battery dwindled to just 30% by 3:30pm. Safe to say it didn’t make it until that night without a top-up. The rear camera array is strong, with Samsung opting for a: new 50MP f/1.8 OIS main sensor, a 12MP ultra-wide f/2.2 and a 5MP f/2.4 Macro lens. Charging isn’t quite up there either, especially when powering such a large-capacity battery, capping out at just 25W – and you don’t get a charger in the box either. That means that even once you’ve sourced a charger, the process is slow, reaching just 41% in half an hour of charging, with a full charge taking 1 hour and 33 minutes. The display is dynamic, dropping between 60Hz and 120Hz depending on what you’re doing, though you can also force a 120Hz refresh rate at the expense of battery life. It won’t drop down to a battery-saving 1Hz, but what mid-range phone does?Yes, the megapixel count has dropped from 64MP to 50MP with the Galaxy A54, but it’s worth noting that it’s a completely new camera with a larger sensor, larger pixel size (0.8um to 1um, or 2um if you pixel-bin) and an enhanced OIS. It also sports the more rounded corners of the Galaxy S23 range, which helps the phone stand out from a sea of similar-looking mid-range alternatives, and IP67 dust and water resistance should protect it from most accidents. The selfie cam is 32MP (f/2.2) and Samsung says that it has deep integration with Snapchat, meaning that some of the filters found on that social network are baked into the Galaxy A54 which is a really nice move. The 6.4-inch AMOLED panel sports an ‘Infinity O’ design that, to you and I, simply means it has a single hole-punch camera cutout in the middle of the display. It’s the easiest way to tell the difference between it and the Galaxy A34 with its ‘Infinity U’ design. Unlike the Galaxy A34 which has ditched Samsung’s own processor for a MediaTek equivalent, Samsung’s Galaxy A54 sports an upgraded Exynos 1380 chipset – the latest one in the company’s roster having been revealed just a few weeks prior to the phone’s announcement.
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