Which price range telephone do you have to purchase?

• 

  Samsung Galaxy A54 5G

  $410 $446 Save $36

  The Samsung Galaxy A54 5G is a superb mid-range telephone. It presents a glossy design, a stupendous 120Hz show, loads of energy below the hood, and a triple digicam setup on the again.

  Execs

  • Lovely OLED panel
  • Lengthy-lasting battery

  Cons

  • Gradual charging speeds
  • Macro sensor is common at greatest

• 

  Google Pixel 6a

  $299 $449 Save $150

  The Pixel 6a is not the latest telephone on the block, but it surely packs a strong set of cameras and Google’s in-house Tensor chipset to go towards the competitors.

  Execs

  • Nice software program expertise
  • A superb set of cameras

  Cons

  • Google’s Tensor chip tends to run
  • Solely a 60Hz show

Google’s Pixel 6a was among the finest telephones to return out of 2022. It was a simple suggestion in its worth vary final 12 months, and it continues to retain the hallmarks of a strong price range telephone in 2023.

There wasn’t a lot within the title of competitors for the Pixel 6a within the U.S. final 12 months, aside from possibly the Galaxy A53 5G that put up a terrific present in our Google Pixel 6a vs Galaxy A53 5G comparability. However Samsung has now adopted up its common Galaxy A53 with a refined Galaxy A54, which looks as if it has what it takes to knock the Pixel 6a off its dominant place. Let’s stack the Samsung Galaxy A54 5G vs Google Pixel 6a to seek out out which price range telephone is best to purchase.

Samsung Galaxy A54 5G vs Google Pixel 6a: Pricing and availability

The Samsung Galaxy A54 made its debut in March and it is now up for grabs for $450. You possibly can solely purchase the 6GB + 128GB configuration of the telephone within the U.S., and you may select between Superior Graphite and Superior Violet colours. It is nonetheless comparatively new to the market, so that you may be capable of discover some nice presents for it.

Google’s Pixel 6a, however, has been out for some time now. Which means it is closely discounted lately, and we have seen it for as little as $299. It comes with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage out of the field, and also you get to decide on between Sage, Charcoal, and Calk colours.

• 	Samsung Galaxy A54 5G	Google Pixel 6a
  Model	Samsung	Google
  SoC	Samsung Exynos 1380	Google Tensor
  Show	6.4″ FHD+ AMOLED @ 120Hz	6.1-inch FHD+ OLED, 60Hz
  RAM	6GB	6GB
  Storage	128GB + microSD as much as 1TB	128GB
  Battery	5,000mAh	4410mAh
  Ports	USB-C	USB Sort-C (USB 3.1)
  Working System	Android 13 with One UI 5.1	Android 13
  Digicam (Rear, Entrance)	50MP principal + 12MP ultra-wide + 5MP macro, 32MP selfie	12.2MP principal + 12MP ultrawide, 8MP selfie
  Dimensions	158.2 x 76.7 x 8.2mm (6.22 x 3.01 x 0.32 inches)	152.2 x 71.8 x 8.9mm (5.99 x 2.82 x 0.35 inches)
  Colours	Superior Graphite, Superior Violet	Chalk, Charcoal, Sage
  Weight	202g (7.12 ounces)	178g (6.27 ounces)
  Charging	25W wired charging	Wired: 18W
  IP Ranking	IP67	IP67

Design and construct high quality: Samsung’s telephone feels extra premium

Samsung and Google have accomplished a fairly good job on the subject of design, making certain these telephones look just like their flagship siblings. The Galaxy A54, for instance, bought a brand new design this 12 months that makes it look just like the Galaxy S23 fashions. Samsung has ditched the digicam island on the again in favor of a extra minimalist look with three particular person cutouts as an alternative. You will have a tough time distinguishing between the Galaxy A54 and the similarly-sized Galaxy S23+ at first look. The Pixel 6a additionally appears similar to the trendy Pixel flagships with a digicam bar on the again.

So far as the size are involved, the Pixel 6a is a little more compact and likewise weighs lower than the Galaxy A54 5G. It’s, nonetheless, price noting that the Galaxy A54 options Gorilla Glass 5 panels on the back and front, whereas the Pixel 6a has a plastic again and Gorilla Glass 3 on the entrance. Not solely does this make the Galaxy A54 extra sturdy, but it surely additionally provides it a sublime really feel. This is not essentially a dealbreaker, particularly if you happen to use your telephone with a case, however needless to say the Galaxy A54 makes use of extra premium construct supplies. Each gadgets carry an IP67 score for mud and water resistance, and so they each have an aluminum body operating alongside the edges.

One factor to notice in regards to the Galaxy A54 5G is that it comes with a hybrid SIM slot that allows you to add a microSD card for storage enlargement. Having the ability to add extra storage to your telephone is a big benefit, and it positively earns some brownie factors for the Galaxy A54 within the price range area. Total, it’s secure to say that the Galaxy A54 5G feels a bit extra premium, and it is also extra sturdy thanks to higher construct supplies.

Show: The Galaxy A54’s brighter 120Hz OLED wins

Shifting over to the entrance, you get a 6.1-inch and a 6.4-inch show on the Pixel 6a and the Galaxy A54 5G, respectively. They’re each OLED panels with FHD+ resolutions, however the Pixel 6a’s show is not in the identical league because the Galaxy A54.

The Galaxy A54’s show has a most 120Hz refresh price, whereas the Pixel 6a’s panel tops out at 60Hz. The Galaxy A54’s show can also be brighter at its peak in comparison with the one on the Pixel 6a, so it is simpler to make use of below direct daylight. The Pixel 6a’s show is barely smaller that means it has a slight pixel density benefit going towards the Galaxy A54’s 6.4-inch show, however you are not going to note an enormous measurement distinction in day-to-day utilization.

The Pixel 6a’s show is not in the identical league because the Galaxy A54.

The Galaxy A54’s show, as we talked about in our assessment, is gorgeous to take a look at, and it is a pleasure to make use of for media consumption. Watching movies and enjoying video games on a high-refresh-rate panel feels nice.

In the meantime, each telephones have sizable bezels across the show, and also you additionally get issues like an on-screen fingerprint scanner and a punch-hole cutout in direction of the highest of the show for selfies.

Inside {hardware} and efficiency: Exynos vs Tensor competitors heats up

The Galaxy A54 5G is utilizing Samsung’s in-house Exynos 1380 chip, which performs higher than the Exynos 1280 chipset in final 12 months’s telephone. It additionally comes with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of inside storage. It isn’t probably the most highly effective telephone in the marketplace proper now, but it surely managed to carry up fairly nicely throughout our testing.

In the meantime, the Pixel 6a is powered by Google’s flagship Tensor chip, which is similar one because the Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Professional. It is nonetheless a good chip, particularly for Google’s machine studying duties, but it surely’s been usurped by the Tensor G2 launched within the Pixel 7 sequence. The Pixel 6a additionally comes with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, however the Galaxy A54 has a bonus within the storage division with a microSD card slot.

Is the Tensor chip considerably higher than the Exynos 1380? Probably not as a result of the Samsung chip did a commendable job dealing with even probably the most demanding duties with out breaking a sweat. Sure, we did expertise occasional lags and stutters whereas utilizing the telephone, but it surely wasn’t a typical incidence, and it did not have an effect on the general expertise.

As you may see within the Geekbench scores, the telephones carry out equally. Nonetheless, the Galaxy A54 5G additionally feels lots smoother due to the upper refresh price panel. It stays to be seen how the Exynos 1380 holds up over time, but it surely does a fairly good job of competing with its competitors for now.

Samsung’s mid-ranger additionally has a much bigger battery — a 5,000mAh unit contained in the Galaxy A54 5G versus a 4,410mAh unit contained in the Pixel 6a. It isn’t a major distinction, but it surely’s sufficient to present you a couple of extra hours of display time. Each telephones on this comparability will comfortably get you thru a day with sufficient battery to spare for the following morning. Nonetheless, the Galaxy A54 helps 25W wired charging whereas the Pixel 6a tops out at 18W, so you’ll high up the Galaxy A54 quicker. You aren’t getting assist for wi-fi or reverse wi-fi charging with both of those telephones, so you will must depend on wired charging. Neither of them is bundled with a charger, so you will must buy one individually whatever the telephone you choose.

Each smartphones are operating on the most recent model of Android. The Galaxy A54 ships with One UI 5.1 primarily based on Android 13, and the Pixel 6a has additionally been up to date to the most recent model of Android. The Galaxy A54, nonetheless, is promised to obtain extra platform updates. Samsung is promising 4 main OS updates and as much as 5 years of safety updates, whereas the Pixel 6a will solely obtain two extra platform updates and 4 extra years of safety updates.

Digicam: A good set of optics on each telephones

The Galaxy A54’s digicam system could seem like a downgrade on paper in comparison with Galaxy A53, however that is not the case. Samsung’s new mid-ranger comes with a 50MP f/1.8 principal sensor together with a 12MP f/2.2 ultrawide and a 5MP f/2.4 macro digicam. As compared, the Pixel 6a sports activities a dual-camera setup that features a 12.2MP f/1.7 principal sensor and a 12MP f/2.2 ultrawide digicam. If you’re score the cameras by the variety of sensors, then the Galaxy A54 is best. However a macro digicam is not as helpful as, say, a telephoto lens, so that you’re most likely not going to make use of it as usually as you assume.

Each telephones can seize handsome images in the course of the day or in scenes the place there’s loads of mild. The 50MP principal digicam on the Galaxy A54 does a fairly good job of capturing a number of particulars so that you can zoom into. The identical might be stated in regards to the 12.2MP principal digicam on the Pixel 6a. Despite the fact that it has a low-resolution sensor, Google’s top-notch picture processing helps it take nice pictures. There is no devoted telephoto lens on both of those telephones, however you may digitally zoom into your scene to seize close-ups.

If you’re score the cameras by the variety of sensors, then the Galaxy A54 is best, however the Pixel 6a has Google’s top-notch picture processing.

Each telephones will battle a bit in low mild, however you will get away with some good images utilizing the devoted evening modes. The ultrawide digicam on each telephones additionally captures some good images in the course of the day, but it surely begins to fall flat in low mild. The Pixel 6a has a slight benefit right here because it lets you use evening mode whereas utilizing the ultrawide.

The selfies are dealt with by an 8MP and a 32MP digicam on the Pixel 6a and the Galaxy A54, respectively. We’ve not been capable of seize the identical set of images utilizing each telephones, however we’ll go away some digicam samples from every under so that you can get a greater understanding of what to anticipate from them.

Samsung Galaxy A54 digicam samples:

Google Pixel 6a digicam samples:

Each telephones will allow you to seize movies at as much as 4K decision, however the Galaxy A54 tops out at 30 FPS whereas the Pixel 6a can report at as much as 60 FPS. However the selfie digicam on the Pixel 6a tops out at 1080p decision whereas the Galaxy A54 can report at 4K decision.

Which telephone is best to purchase in 2023?

The Samsung Galaxy A54 vs Google Pixel 6a is a tricky matchup as a result of you’re looking at two strong mid-range telephones at interesting worth tags, however the Galaxy A54 5G presents a extra well-rounded bundle general. The truth that you will get a beautiful-looking telephone with premium construct supplies and a 120Hz Tremendous AMOLED show makes it a simple suggestion at $450. However what actually seals the deal in favor of Galaxy A54 is software program assist. The Galaxy A54 might not be the primary in line to obtain the brand new software program updates, but it surely’ll get two extra platform updates and an extra 12 months of safety updates in comparison with the Pixel 6a.

The Pixel 6a can also be a strong telephone, but it surely leaves lots to be desired whereas going towards the newer mid-ranger on the block. It lacks a excessive refresh price show, does not assist expandable storage, and likewise has a barely smaller battery that expenses solely at 18W. It is a good different for $300, however we advocate choosing up the newer Galaxy A54 5G except you’re actually making an attempt to avoid wasting cash by going with the cheaper choice.

We have additionally began listening to some rumors in regards to the Pixel 7a, so that you may wish to look forward to that except you’re in dire want of an improve to your present telephone. Google’s subsequent mid-ranger is predicted to have some strong enhancements, but it surely will not be right here for some time.