Weekly Poll: Samsung Galaxy A54 and Galaxy A34, fan favorites or a missed opportunity?

Samsung’s Galaxy A series is a crowd-pleaser: It looks a lot like the pricier Galaxy S models without costing as much. Sure, the cameras aren’t as nice, the performance is inferior, and so on, but the A-series thrives on being ‘good enough’

That’s why the arrival of the Galaxy A54 and A34 is a big deal. Some of the previous entries have managed to become fan favorites and are often cited as recommendations in the comment sections. Can the generation of 2023 live up to these expectations? We’ll let you judge, but first we need to address what’s 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″ display (versus 6.4″) and pairs that with a 120Hz refresh rate (the A33 only has 90Hz). Also, it has a completely different chipset, a Dimension 1080.

Samsung Galaxy A34

The Samsung Galaxy A54 drops the display down a notch, down to 6.4″ (the A53 had a 6.5″ display). Still, the new model isn’t smaller than its 2022 predecessor — it’s a millimeter shorter, sure, but it’s 2mm wider and it’s 13g heavier. Both the A54 and A34 have 5,000mAh batteries with 25W wired-only charging (like their predecessors), both are IP67 rated. The A54 uses a Samsung-designed Exynos 1380 chipset.

Samsung Galaxy A54

Compared to the Dimensity, it uses a different node (5nm Samsung vs. 6nm TSMC) and has twice the number of Cortex-A78 cores (four), although the maximum clock speed is lower (2.4GHz vs. 2.6GHz ). The GPUs are similar enough to make this fight interesting: Mali-G68 MP5 for Exynos and G68 MC4 for Dimensity. These are just the raw numbers of course, more details on performance will have to await the review.

Camera details: Samsung Galaxy A54 • Galaxy A34

Perhaps a more fitting comparison is with 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 A52s had one major flaw, such as limited availability (it just didn’t launch in some regions).

The Samsung Galaxy A54 and A34 will be launched this month in select European and Southeast Asian markets. Below are the prices with a comparison with the launch prices of the A53 and A33.

What else can you buy for €500? The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G has been in stores for over a year at this point and while the Snapdragon 888 has aged poorly, this is still a flagship class phone. The 6.4″ FHD+ 120Hz display compares directly with the A54 panel, plus you get an 8MP 3x telephoto lens plus 12MP main and 12MP ultra-wide cameras, plus 15W wireless charging. of battery capacity (4,500mAh) and there’s no microSD slot like on the A phones.

The Xiaomi 13 Lite made the rare choice to use the Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 chip. It also has a 6.55-inch 120Hz 12-bit AMOLED display and a 50 + 8 + 2 MP camera, it is powered by a Smaller but Faster 4,500mAh Battery with 67W Wired Charging

Samsung Galaxy S21 FE 5G • Xiaomi 13 Lite • OnePlus 11R • Google Pixel 7

What else? You can go bigger with the OnePlus 11R and its 6.74″ 120Hz (1,240 x 2,772px) display, not to mention it’s powered by the capable Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1. And the 5,000mAh battery supports the 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, while still offering a 6.3″ FHD+ 90Hz AMOLED display. The Tensor G2 isn’t the most efficient chip, although it does have an X1 main core. And the 50 MP has a large 1/1.31″ sensor. The battery is small (4,355mAh) and slow to charge at 20W on a cable, but it also runs at 20W wirelessly. It’s not that the A54 is a speed demon when it comes to reloading.

What is your opinion on the Samsung Galaxy A54? It’s a phone worth having or you’ll pass up – vote below or use this page.

Let’s take a look at some phones in the $400 range as alternatives to the Galaxy A34. The Redmi Note 12 Pro uses the same Dimension 1080 chipset and has a 6.67 FHD+ 120Hz AMOLED display. The 5,000mAh battery charges fast at 67W, while the 50+8+2MP camera is comparable to the Galaxy. This one lacks a microSD slot but has a 3.5mm jack.

Carl Pei is trying to capture lightning in a bottle again with the Nothing Phone (1). Its 6.55-inch 120Hz display and Snapdragon 778G+ chipset are comparable to what Samsung has to offer (the chip also enables 15W wireless charging), plus there’s a 50MP ultra-wide-angle camera, with higher resolution than most phones on the market. The 4,500mAh battery charges at 33W. However, you may have to wait for the right discount to get the phone (1) for €400 (but we’ve seen that price a few times).

Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro • No phone (1) • vivo V27 • Google Pixel 6a

The vivo V27 gets even bigger with a 6.78″ (FHD+ 120Hz) display and uses MediaTek’s new mid-range chip, the Dimensity 7200. This phone is obsessed with selfies and has a 50MP front camera with 4K/60fps, plus a 50+8+2MP Trio on the back.The 4,600mAh battery charges at 66W.

If you want something smaller on the other hand, the Google Pixel 6a is relatively compact and offers a decent high-end experience, if you can get past the 60Hz (6.1″ FHD+ AMOLED) display. Which Android skin is your favorite : Pixel Experience or One UI? MIUI or FuntouchOS or NothingOS? This could be a deciding factor, maybe even more than the hardware specs.

Well, how about that Samsung Galaxy A34: a swing and a bust or a potential best-seller? Vote below or using this page.