Samsung’s Galaxy A series is a crowd pleaser – it looks and feels like the much more expensive Galaxy S models without costing nearly as much. Of course the cameras aren’t as great, the performance is lower and so on, but the A-series feels “good enough”
That’s why the arrival of the Galaxy A54 and A34 is such a big deal. Some of the previous entries managed to become fan favorites and are often brought up as favorites in the comments section. Can the 2023 generation live up to these expectations? We’ll let you be the judge, but first we need to look at what has changed and what hasn’t.
The Samsung Galaxy A34 is no longer just a cheaper version of the A5x model. This year it’s bigger with a 6.6-inch display (vs. 6.4 inches) and matches it with a 120Hz refresh rate (the A33 only has 90Hz). Also, it has a completely different chipset, the Dimensity 1080.
The Samsung Galaxy A54 drops the screen down a notch to 6.4 inches (the A53 had a 6.5-inch screen). However, the new model is not smaller than its 2022 predecessor – sure, it is a millimeter shorter, but it is 2 mm wider and 13 g heavier. Both the A54 and A34 have 5,000mAh batteries and 25W wired-only charging (same as their predecessors), both are IP67 rated. The A54 uses the Exynos 1380 chipset designed by Samsung.
Compared to the Dimensity, it uses a different node (5nm Samsung vs. 6nm TSMC) and has double the number of Cortex-A78 cores (four), although the maximum clock frequency is lower (2.4GHz vs. 2.6GHz). The GPUs are similar enough to make this an interesting battle – Mali-G68 MP5 for Exynos and G68 MC4 for Dimensity. Of course, these are only raw numbers, more detailed information about the performance will await the review.
Perhaps a more apt comparison is the Galaxy A52s and its Snapdragon 778G, one of the fan-favorite phones we mentioned above. The 778G is old, but still gives the Dimensity 1080 a run for its money. How it compares to the Exynos 1380 remains to be seen. The A52 had a big shortfall due to limited availability (it just didn’t hit the market in some regions) .
The Samsung Galaxy A54 and A34 will launch in select European and Southeast Asian markets this month. Below are the prices and a comparison with the release prices of the A53 and A33.
| 6/128GB | 8/256GB | |
| Samsung Galaxy A33 | €370 | – |
| Samsung Galaxy A34 | €390 | €460 |
| Samsung Galaxy A53 | €450 | €510 |
| Samsung Galaxy A54 | €500 | €550 |
What else can you buy with 500 euros? The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G has been in stores for over a year at this point, and while the Snapdragon 888 has aged badly, this is still a flagship phone. The 6.4-inch FHD+ 120Hz display can be compared directly to the A54 panel, and you get an 8MP 3x telephoto lens in addition to a 12MP main camera and 12MP ultra-wide cameras, and 15W wireless charging. You lose some battery capacity (4,500 mAh) and there’s no microSD card slot like the A phones.
Xiaomi 13 Lite made the rare choice to use the Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 chip. It also sports a 6.55-inch 120Hz 12-bit AMOLED display and a 50+8+2MP camera, powered by a smaller but faster 4,500mAh battery with 67W wired charging.
What else? You can go bigger with the OnePlus 11R with its 6.74-inch 120Hz display (1,240 x 2,772 pixels), not to mention it’s powered by the capable Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1. And the 5,000mAh battery supports 100W charging. However, the 11R is not available in Europe.
Google Pixel 7 is available in Europe, at least in some countries. And it’s a few millimeters smaller than the Galaxy A54 and offers a 6.3-inch FHD+ 90Hz AMOLED display. The Tensor G2 is not the most powerful chip, even though it has an X1 prime core. And the 50-megapixel main camera has a large 1/1.31-inch sensor. The battery is small (4,355mAh) and charges slowly at 20W wired, but it also charges 20W wirelessly. It’s not like the A54 is a speed demon when it comes to charging.
What do you think of the Samsung Galaxy A54? Is the phone worth getting or should you skip – vote below or use this page.
Let’s take a look at some €400 phones as alternatives to the Galaxy A34. The Redmi Note 12 Pro uses the same Dimensity 1080 chipset and has a 6.67 FHD+ 120 Hz AMOLED display. The 5,000mAh battery charges quickly with 67W, while the 50+8+2MP camera is comparable to a Galaxy camera. It lacks a microSD card slot, but has a 3.5mm jack.
Carl Pei tries to capture lightning in a bottle again with Nothing Phone (1). Its 6.55-inch 120Hz display and Snapdragon 778G+ chipset are comparable to Samsung’s offerings (the chip allows for up to 15W wireless charging), and it has a 50-megapixel ultra-wide camera, higher resolution than most phones on the market. The 4,500 mAh battery charges 33 watts. However, you may have to wait for the right discount to get the Phone (1) for €400 (but we’ve seen this price a few times).
The Vivo V27 is even bigger with a 6.78-inch screen (FHD+ 120 Hz) and uses MediaTek’s new mid-range Dimensity 7200 chip. Obsessed with selfies, this phone packs a 50MP 4K/60fps capable camera on the front and a 50+8+2MP trio on the back. The 4,600 mAh battery charges with 66 watts.
If you want something smaller instead, the Google Pixel 6a is relatively compact and offers a reasonably high-end experience if you can get past the 60Hz display (6.1-inch FHD+ AMOLED). Which Android skin is your favorite – Pixel Experience or One UI? MIUI or FuntouchOS or NothingOS? This might be the deciding factor, perhaps more so than the hardware details.
And what about that Samsung Galaxy A34 – rock and roll or potential bestseller? Vote below or using this page.