The Samsung Galaxy A53 5G and the cheaper Galaxy A33 5G have a lot in common. These include a large AMOLED display, four cameras on the back, a lavish 5,000 mAh battery and even the Exynos 1280 processor. In our group test, one of the cell phones is more convincing – and both have a hard time getting past an older model .

Design & processing: Partner look with matt pastel colors

Samsung uses a very similar look for the Galaxy A53 5G and A33 5G. This is especially true for the minimalist, rounded design of the plastic back. It has a camera dome that protrudes only slightly from the housing and is flush with the housing.

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The metal-looking frame is also made of plastic. Although there are cell phones in the middle class with an elegant glass back, plastic is more stable. If the smartphone falls on the floor, the back does not break so easily. In addition, the matte plastic back fits securely in the hand.

Practical: The IP67 certification, which means protection against the ingress of water such as rain. The matte pastel colors like Awesome Peach on our Galaxy A53 5G and Awesome Blue on our Galaxy A33 5G have become a trademark of the series. The association with baby toys, which I addressed in the test of the Galaxy A52 , is still obvious, especially with the blue model.

The display bezel is slightly thicker than flagships, more so on the Galaxy A33 5G than on the Galaxy A53 5G. The cheaper cell phone has a teardrop-shaped notch for the selfie camera, while the Galaxy A53 5G has it in a hole in the display. Although the Galaxy A33 5G has a 6.4-inch display and the Galaxy A53 5G has a 6.5-inch display, the devices have almost identical dimensions – this is due to the more generous display frame of the cheaper model.

Conclusion : The Galaxy A33 5G and the Galaxy A53 5G offer an independent, elegant design as if made of one piece. Despite the plastic housing, the cell phones impress with good workmanship and sit securely in the hand. The Galaxy A53 5G has advantages due to the thinner display edges and the lack of a notch.

Displays: Bright AMOLEDs with high refresh rates

The Galaxy A33 5G has a 6.4-inch AMOLED display with a 90 Hertz refresh rate, while the Galaxy A53 5G offers a slightly larger 6.5-inch AMOLED display that has a 120 Hertz refresh rate. To save electricity, you can switch to 60 Hertz. Both displays are bright enough for use in sunlight. However, they cannot withstand a comparison with the super-bright screen of the flagship Galaxy S22 Ultra , and the HDR display is also less impressive.

To test the different refresh rates in practice, I went through the same website with my Galaxy Note 9 (60 Hertz), the Galaxy A33 5G (90 Hertz) and the Galaxy A53 5G (120 Hertz), my comparison test of the Galaxy Tab S8+ and of the S8 Ultra , and scrolling through the photo gallery on my Note 9.

With the Galaxy A53 5G, scrolling is the smoothest, the text remains sharp even when scrolling through. Scrolling with the Note 9 makes a jerky and blurred impression, the Galaxy A33 5G is in the middle. While it's not bad to scroll at 60 Hertz, the smoother 90 Hertz and buttery 120 Hertz feel more comfortable.

Conclusion : Both smartphones have high-contrast AMOLED screens with good brightness. The Galaxy A53 5G offers smooth scrolling thanks to 120 Hertz, the 90 Hertz of the A33 5G also ensure a smoother display.

Technology & equipment: leisurely performance, long-term updates

The two smartphones can be unlocked with an optical fingerprint sensor in the display. This is less secure and takes longer than unlocking with a traditional capacitive fingerprint sensor like my Galaxy Note 9 has. Accordingly, you always have to wait a moment until the device is unlocked. Or you use the face unlock, which works faster but is even less secure.

The two smartphones offer 6 GB of RAM. Only the Galaxy A53 5G model with 256 GB of internal storage has 8 GB of RAM on board. The internal memory can be expanded via a microSD card. The two smartphones have a useful trick up their sleeve: With "RAM Plus" you can set up additional RAM in the settings. A part of the internal memory is converted for this purpose.

If that didn't have any disadvantages, Samsung wouldn't need to install conventional RAM, but there is one: the repurposed RAM is much slower. This is not wild in practice, because the important system apps can use the conventional working memory. The bonus RAM is only there so that you can open more applications and browser tabs at the same time without apps crashing.

An optional 25-watt power adapter can charge the two smartphones "quickly", but this takes a while due to the large 5,000 mAh battery. In my test with a 60-watt power supply, which, according to the mobile phone display, enables "super fast charging" like a 25-watt power supply, the smartphones took their time. Even cheaper smartphones like the Xiaomi 11T can be charged with electricity much faster, this smartphone comes with a 67-watt power supply. Unfortunately, wireless charging is not an option for the two Galaxy devices. However: The 5,000 mAh battery ensures a good runtime, you don't have to worry about a power supply unit on day trips.

The smartphones both work with the Samsung Exynos 1280 processor. However, it has weaker CPU and GPU performance than the Snapdragon 778G in the Galaxy A52s 5G. It feels like apps open rather slowly, and there are brief loading jerks again and again.

In addition, the smartphones only offer Wi-Fi 5 and no Wi-Fi 6 or even 6E, which Samsung only grants its flagships. Bluetooth 5.1 is quite up to date, but the UWB chip for finding devices in the immediate vicinity is also reserved for the Galaxy S series. Unfortunately, there is no longer a headphone jack. Pleasing: The smartphones will receive Android updates by 2026 and security patches by 2027. This is by no means a matter of course for Android devices.

Conclusion : Unlocking, charging and everyday use could work a little faster with both smartphones. The omission of the headphone jack will bother some users. The good runtime and the four promised Android updates are pleasing.

Cameras & Sound: Good main cameras

The two phones have four cameras on the back. However, the technology differs here – and more importantly: the photo quality. The Galaxy A33 5G has a main camera with a resolution of 48 megapixels and optical stabilization, an ultra-wide-angle camera with a resolution of 8 megapixels for architecture and landscapes, a 5 megapixel macro lens for detailed shots of subjects and a 2 megapixel depth of field sensor Portrait photography helps. The selfie camera has a resolution of 13 megapixels. Here are some sample photos taken with the Galaxy A33 5G:

Overall, the Galaxy A33 5G takes decent photos and can hold its own in the mid-range. Unfortunately, there is no real zoom, the "optical zoom" is a section of the photo taken by the main camera. From four times the zoom, there are mediocre quality photos with many artefacts. The low contrast range of the ultra-wide-angle camera and the only acceptable night photos are further weaknesses. Macro shots look passable. The main camera snaps sharp, detailed photos with decent contrast.

The Galaxy A53 5G features an optically stabilized 64-megapixel main camera, a 12-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera, a 5-megapixel macro lens and a 5-megapixel depth-of-field portrait camera. The selfie cam has a resolution of 32 megapixels. I also took sample photos with the Galaxy A53 5G:

Thanks to a superior main camera, the Galaxy A53 5G takes better photos, and the double and quadruple zoom are also superior with this camera. There are also better portrait photos with more contrast and detail and a fancier bokeh effect. This and the exposure can be set individually for the two cell phones. Night photos, selfies and ultra wide angles are on a similar level to the Galaxy A33 5G.

On both devices, Samsung has slightly tweaked the saturation and exposure to give the images more "pop". They also tend to be overexposed. The photos should look better on social media, but users can also edit more realistically tuned shots themselves if they wish.

The Galaxy A53 5G has good stereo speakers. Voices in particular are clearly intelligible, treble and bass are also present, and the speakers can reproduce the sound quite loudly. The Galaxy A33 5G has rather functional stereo speakers that sound thin and slightly tinny. Practical: the two smartphones offer a function called "separate app sound". You then play an app's sound on an audio device such as a Bluetooth speaker, while the smartphone plays a different sound through its speakers. For example, you can listen to music in the background while watching a YouTube video on your phone.

Conclusion : The Galaxy A53 5G is ahead with the better main camera and the better speakers. But the Galaxy A33 5G also shows good photo performance for its class.

Which smartphone for whom?

The Galaxy A53 5G offers a better main camera, better speakers and a display with a higher refresh rate for an additional price of 70 euros (available from 369 euros compared to 449 euros RRP). In addition, the design is more modern with a slightly thinner display frame and no notch in the display (notch) for the selfie cam. However, the two new Galaxy A smartphones have a strong competitor in their own ranks.

Benefits Galaxy A53 5G	Benefits Galaxy A33 5G
+ Better main camera	+ 70 euros cheaper (RRP)
+ Display with 120 instead of 90 Hertz
+ Thinner display edges, no notch
+ Better speakers

One of the predecessors of the Galaxy A53 5G suggests itself: the Galaxy A52s 5G, an improved model compared to the Galaxy A52 5G from my review . The device costs similar to the Galaxy A33 5G. It scores with an optically stabilized 64-megapixel camera – in fact, all cameras are the same as on the Galaxy A53 5G – a 120 Hertz display and a headphone jack. In contrast to the newer Galaxy A53 5G, the smartphone offers Wi-Fi 6, and it also has a faster processor.

The Galaxy A53 5G shines with longer Android updates (5 instead of 4 years from the market launch) and with Bluetooth 5.1 instead of 5.0, which offers an approximate indication of the direction when searching for lost Bluetooth devices. The battery is larger in the new model, but the runtime is not longer according to the GSMArena measurements. Also, the Exynos 1280 has superior AI image processing, which means prettier portrait photos with adjustable exposure and customizable bokeh. Overall, given the much lower price point, the Galaxy A52s 5G is a strong competitor to the Galaxy A53 5G and is probably a better choice than the A33 5G.

Conclusion: New smartphones should be new

The Galaxy A33 5G and A53 5G are both good mid-range phones. The fact that one of the predecessors, the Galaxy A52s 5G, sometimes even has better equipment than the Galaxy A53 5G, shouldn't happen. A successor model should always clearly outperform the previous model.

Maybe that's a philosophical question. Nietzsche wrote, "you must become good to yourself and to life in order to desire nothing more than this last eternal confirmation and seal" ("The Happy Science", Fourth Book, Aphorism 341). In other words, maybe the Galaxy A52s 5G was already so good that we couldn't ask for anything better than the same model over and over again. Has Samsung achieved timeless perfection?

At least with smartphones, this principle does not work, the manufacturers have to keep up with the times and cannot stand still or even go backwards just because of technical developments – for example from Wi-Fi 6 to Wi-Fi 5. The few advantages of the Galaxy A53 5G, above especially in AI image processing, should not be enough for most users.

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