Samsung’s latest smartphone features interesting hardware, such as a 120Hz Super AMOLED display, a MediaTek Dimensity 900 SoC with vapor cooling, and a 108-megapixel primary camera. The Galaxy M53 5G is now at the top of Samsung’s M series, which spans a wide price range. My first impressions of this device were positive, and now it’s time to see how it stacks up against the competition. Is it a worthy successor to the Galaxy M52 5G, and should it be your first choice under Rs. 30,000? Let’s find out.
Samsung Galaxy M53 5G price in India
The Samsung Galaxy M53 5G starts at Rs. 26,499 in India and comes with 6 GB RAM and 128 GB storage at this price. The higher-end variant offers 8 GB of RAM with the same 128 GB storage and costs Rs. 28,499. In addition to my Mystique Green color, the Galaxy M53 5G is also available in a Deep Ocean Blue color.
Samsung Galaxy M53 5G Design
The Samsung Galaxy M53 5G is mainly made of plastic and feels sturdy but not the most premium. In my first impressions, I had praised the Mystique Green finish of my device. I maintain that it helps this phone to stand out from the competition. However, after using it for a week, I noticed that it picked up stains easily, even though they weren’t visible. As this is the most expensive M-series device, Samsung could have thrown a case in the box.
Regarding missing accessories, Samsung doesn’t bundle a charger either, and you only get a USB Type-C to Type-C cable. If you have a USB Type-C charger, you can use it to charge the Galaxy M53 5G. You need a compatible 25W charger for fast charging, and the official one from Samsung costs around Rs. 1200.
The Mystique Green color is an eye-catcher.
The side-mounted fingerprint scanner is easy to get to, but I can’t say that about the volume buttons. The Samsung Galaxy M53 5G is a large device and can be tricky to use with one hand. It has a large 6.7-inch Super AMOLED Plus screen similar to the Galaxy M52 5G, with a small hole at the top for the selfie camera. I did not find this camera cutout disturbing while using the phone. The Galaxy M53 5G weighs 176g, which I found manageable.
Samsung Galaxy M53 5G specifications and software
The Samsung Galaxy M53 5G is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 900 SoC. This smartphone has a vapor cooling chamber to keep the temperature under control. You get dual-SIM functionality with support for 12 5G bands and 4G VoLTE. Samsung also includes an automatic data switching feature for the Galaxy M53 5G that can automatically switch between the two SIM cards to ensure that the phone always has an active data connection.
I think Samsung could have offered an even more expensive variant with more storage. Since the Galaxy M53 5G has a hybrid dual SIM tray, the storage expansion comes at the expense of the second SIM card. A small amount of storage space can be used as additional RAM when using the RAM Plus feature. With my 6 GB variant, I could allocate up to 6 GB of storage space as RAM. This can come in handy if you’re a multitasker, or you can dial it up to 2GB and free up some storage.
The side-mounted fingerprint scanner quickly unlocks the Galaxy M53 5G.
The Super AMOLED Plus panel on the Samsung Galaxy M53 5G has a full HD+ resolution and a maximum refresh rate of 120 Hz. Only a few other smartphones, like the Xiaomi Mi 11i HyperCharge 5G (Review), Mi 11i, and the Realme GT Master Edition (Review), offer AMOLED displays with a high refresh rate at this price. The screen refresh rate on the Galaxy M53 5G was set to 120Hz by default. I could also choose between Vivid and Natural color modes in the display settings and adjust the color temperature of the panel.
Samsung has committed to two years of Android OS updates and four years of security updates for the Galaxy M53 5G, which should keep the phone running smoothly for a while. For software, you get Android 12 out of the box with Samsung’s OneUI 4.1 skin on it. OneUI is easy to use, but much third-party bloatware exists. You can uninstall most of these apps. The Galaxy M53 5G also lets you copy and transfer text and images to Samsung devices, much like Apple’s Continuity features, provided you’re signed in with the same Samsung account on all your devices. Finally, the Galaxy M53 5G has a few experimental features, such as multi-window, which allows you to run multiple apps in customizable pop-up windows.
Samsung Galaxy M53 5G performance and battery life
The Samsung Galaxy M53 5G delivers good performance for a casual user. The bright Super AMOLED display has good viewing angles and enough options to adjust the color profile to your liking. There is support for Dolby Atmos for the single speaker, but stereo speakers would have made the experience better.
The Samsung Galaxy M53 5G could keep up with my daily use without problems. Apps and games loaded fairly quickly, and multitasking was a breeze. The side-mounted fingerprint scanner was accurate and rarely required a second attempt to unlock the smartphone. The 120Hz refresh rate also made the user interface super smooth.
The Galaxy M53 5G has a 108-megapixel primary camera on the back
The gaming performance of the Samsung Galaxy M53 5G was very good. The phone ran Asphalt 9: Legends very well at 60Hz, and I didn’t notice any hiccups. After playing for about 15 minutes, I saw a three percent drop in battery level, which was acceptable. The phone didn’t feel warm either.
As for synthetic benchmarks, the Samsung Galaxy M53 5G scored 424,426 points in AnTuTu. Geekbench 5’s single-core and multi-core tests scored 731 and 2,264 points, respectively. These scores were lower than the Realme GT Master Edition and the Xiaomi Mi 11i HyperCharge 5G, which have lower starting prices and slightly better SoCs.
The Samsung Galaxy M53 5G delivered a good battery life. The 5,000 mAh battery easily lasted more than a full day with my use. In our HD video loop test, the phone managed to run for 18 hours and 24 minutes. Since there is no included charger in the box, I used the USB Type-C charger from a MacBook Air (2020) (Review), and the Galaxy M53 5G said ‘Fast Charging’, but it’s hard to tell if it will charge. It was charging at its full 25W power. I could set the phone to 31 percent in half an hour and 58 percent in an hour.
Samsung Galaxy M53 5G Cameras
The Samsung Galaxy M53 5G has a quad-camera setup on the back, consisting of a 108-megapixel primary camera, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide-angle 2-megapixel macro, and a 2-megapixel depth camera. The Xiaomi Mi 11i HyperCharge 5G, a direct competitor to the Galaxy M53 5G, also has a similar camera setup.
Samsung Galaxy M53 5G camera samples; examples of primary and ultra-wide angle cameras (tap to view full size)
The Samsung Galaxy M53 5G quickly locked in focus and didn’t mess around getting the right exposure. It also managed close-up shots, but I had to be patient when using portrait mode as it takes some time and notifies you when it’s done. Daylight shots were good and reasonably detailed. The ultra-wide camera had a similar hue to the primary camera, which was a plus, but its pictures weren’t as clear. Ultra-wide photos had very little barrel distortion at the edges of the frame.
Samsung Galaxy M53 5G portrait preview (tap to view full size)
Samsung Galaxy M53 5G camera previews in low light and night mode (tap to view full size)
The macro camera took decent shots, and I could get close to the subject while shooting. The low-light camera performance was proper, and nearby objects in landscape shots were recognizable. However, these shots lacked good detail in the dark areas of the frame. Night mode helped improve this, but the phone took 3-4 seconds to take a picture. The night mode was a hit, as some photos turned out to be soft.
Samsung Galaxy M53 5G selfie portrait previews (tap to view full size)
The 32-megapixel selfie camera took standard 8-megapixel photos with pixels. Daylight selfies looked great, with natural colors, and portrait mode provided good edge detection. The camera’s low-light performance was average in comparison.
Video recording peaked at 4K 30fps, and this phone relies on electronic stabilization (EIS) to stabilize footage. The colors looked great in daylight, but the video was shaky and poorly stabilized. Low-light images had too much jitter in the output for my taste. The camera app does have a SuperSteady mode that uses the ultra wide-angle camera, but this crops the frame quite a bit to improve stabilization, and the resolution is limited to 1080p.
verdict
The Samsung Galaxy M53 5G is an incremental upgrade over the Galaxy M52 5G. It looks premium and has sporty hardware. One of the main things that work in favor of the Galaxy M53 5G is the Android OS warranty and security updates, which should keep it relevant longer than some of its direct competitors. I think the 6GB RAM variant offers much better value for money than the 8GB variant. I also think Samsung should have bundled a 25W charger, given the phone’s price.
If you are still not convinced by the Galaxy M53 5G, pay attention to its competitors in this segment. The Xiaomi Mi 11i HyperCharge 5G (Review) could be a great alternative as not only does it have a 120Hz AMOLED display and a 108MP camera, but also the more powerful Dimensity 920 SoC and a significantly faster 120W charger are included in the package. Box. Those looking for a great smartphone camera should consider the Realme 9 Pro+ (Review). If you have budget constraints, the Mi 11i and the Realme GT Master Edition are good alternatives to the Galaxy M53 5G.
