Weekly poll: would you pick the Samsung Galaxy M53 5G over its A-series siblings?

The Samsung Galaxy A73 5G is ₹42,000, the A53 5G is ₹35,000. What if there was something in the middle? This will probably be the new Samsung Galaxy M53 5G, which was announced this week. However we still don’t know how much it will cost. We had to wait for the A73 price as well, so we guess this is how Samsung rolls these days.

Still, the M53 will surely cost less than the A73, due to a few downgrades. But those aside, you get the same 6.7” Super AMOLED Plus display with 120Hz refresh rate, almost the same 108MP main camera (sans OIS) and identical 5,000 mAh battery with 25W charging.

Compared to the Galaxy A53, the Galaxy M53 comes with a larger screen (6.7” vs. 6.5”), but not as good protection (no IP rating vs. IP67 for the A-series duo). It also has a lower resolution ultrawide camera (8MP vs. 12MP). The video recording capabilities are the same with 4K resolution capped at 30 fps (a 60 fps mode is available at 1080p).

Samsung Galaxy M53 5G in Blue, Green and Brown

Perhaps the most important change is the chipset – the Dimensity 900 for the M53 is notably slower in the CPU and GPU tests than the Snapdragon 778G. We haven’t seen how the Exynos 1280 inside the A53 performs, but its hardware make-up is quite similar to the Dimensity, so we don’t expect major differences in computing power.

Given that there is no telephoto camera on the Galaxy M53 and A73, the high-resolution main sensor is a key selling point since it promises not just high-quality photos, but also zooming in.

5G is another key point in the M53 spec sheet. There are quite a few 4G phones equipped with a 108MP sensor, e.g. the new Realme 9, which costs just ₹16,000, well below even the most optimistic guesses for the M53 price. It has a smaller 6.4” Super AMOLED display with a lower refresh rate (90Hz) and the Snapdragon 680 is no one’s favorite, but the 5,000 mAh battery charges faster (33W, 0-50% in 31 min, 100% in 75 min).

The Redmi Note 11S is another 4G option, which costs ₹17,500 for the same 6/128 GB configuration as the M53. This one also has a smaller 6.43” 90 Hz Super AMOLED display and a 5,000 mAh battery with 33W fast charging (which is more efficient, the 0-100% time is under an hour). However, the Helio G96 is quite old for a 2022 phone.

Realme 9 • Xiaomi Redmi Note 11S

The new Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G is available in India as the 11i HyperCharge 5G at ₹28,000 or so. This one gives you a big 6.67” 120Hz AMOLED display, similar Dimensity 920 chipset Gorilla Glass 5. The 120W charging for the 4,500 mAh battery is definitely a stand-out and our testing shows that a full charge takes a mere 16 minutes.

A Moto Edge 20 Fusion can be had for under ₹22,000, but we don’t love its Dimensity 800U chipset. The Moto G200 5G will be comparable in price with the M53, however, it offers a Snapdragon 888+ chipset and a 144 Hz 6.8” LCD, plus a 5,000 mAh battery with 33W charging. Note that the Moto lacks a microSD slot.

The Honor 50 has a curved 6.57” OLED display (120 Hz) and the faster Snapdragon 778G chipset. Its 4,300 mAh battery may be on the small side, but 66W fast charging offsets that partially.

Xiaomi Redmi Note 11 Pro+ 5G • Motorola Moto G200 5G • Honor 50

We should mention that all of these phones can’t match Samsung’s software support program, even when you consider that support for the M-series isn’t as good as that of the A-series (the Galaxy M53 should still get 4 years of security patches, but it might miss out on the 3 OS updates).

So, Samsung Galaxy M53 5G, yay or nay?

PS. if you’re having trouble voting using the poll widget above, try casting your vote here.