Samsung Galaxy F54 5G review: Flashy mid-range phone
Last week, Samsung unveiled the new Galaxy F54 5G phone in India.
It is available in two colours-- meteor blue and stardust silver-- for Rs 29,999.
The Galaxy F54 is the most premium model among all the previous F series iterations. It comes loaded with a feature-rich 108MP main camera, a big battery and a premium Exynos chipset.
I have been using the device for a little over a week and here are my thoughts on Samsung Galaxy F54 5G.
Design, build quality and display
This stardust silver Galaxy F54 variant is one of the flashiest phones I have seen this year. Actually, the glossy reflective back panel reminds you of the premium 2019-series Galaxy Note10+ (review). The glassy rear shell reflects psychedelic rainbow colours when looked at from different angles. It instantly gets attention when taken out in public.
However, the phone is a finger smudge magnet and gets stained easily and has to be cleaned more often.
Also, unlike the Galaxy Note 10+, which was offered with the free cover case, the Galaxy F54 doesn't come with any such accessory in the retail box. Even the charger is no longer part of the package. You will only find a Type C data cable and have to save an older charger to charge the phone. This is part of the company's green initiative to reduce the impact on the environment and also incorporate components made of recycled materials. The retail box has less plastic than ever before.
The curvy rail around the edge of the phone, though is very sturdy, it is really smooth and there are chances of slipping out of hand if not careful enough. So, it is advised to have a cover case.
The triple camera islands take inspiration from the premium Galaxy S23 (review) series and they are made of metal. However, the back panel is made of a version of plastic which offers a glass finish and feel.
The display features Corning's Gorilla Glass 5 shield, which works well against preventing scratches due to objects such as coins, pens and keys in the pocket.
The device features a Type-C port at the base along with a speaker and a mic at the base. On top, you will find a just lone microphone.
On the left, there is one hybrid dual-SIM tray slot at the top. It offers one slot for primary nano SIM and in the other, the user has to choose between a secondary SIM or microSD card for extra storage. By the way, Samsung is offering just one storage model- 256GB-- in India.
On the right, there is a volume rocker and a power button, which also houses the fingerprint sensor. The latter works fine as advertised, with less rejection ratio.
The Galaxy F54 flaunts a really good 6.7-inch full HD+ (1080×2400p) Super AMOLED Plus display with an Infinity-O design.
It supports up to 800 nits brightness and a 120Hz refresh rate. Browsing the internet, playing games and reading news or e-books on the Galaxy F54 is a delightful experience.
The super AMOLED display of the phone is great to consume multimedia content. The colours are rich and vibrant, and you would know how great it is while watching nature documentaries.
The Galaxy F54 5G is the first F series phone to boast the Vision Booster feature, which is found only in premium Galaxy S and a less handful of A series models. Once activated, it enhances the brightness of the display so that the users can read messages or any content on the screen more clearly even under direct sunlight conditions.
Performance
The new Galaxy F54 is powered by Samsung's proprietary Exynos 1380 octa-core processor backed by Mali-G68 MP5 GPU, Android 13-based One UI 5.1, 8GB RAM and 256GB storage (expandable up to 1TB).
It works perfectly without any stressful issues to complain about. Even with the thermal performance too, the phone does a good job with heat dissipation. I streamed a lot of content and played games with Wi-Fi on, the phone though gets a tad warm, but was always under control.
The device runs Android 13-based One UI 5.1. Yes, it has a lot of bloatware, but the duplicate worthless apps can be disabled and removed. Even if they are not deleted, there is lot of space for users to add and store memories (photos and videos) in the phone and enough to install hundreds of apps too.
For the first time, Samsung has announced Galaxy F54 will get Android OS support for four years, a first for any F series phone. This means the device will get updates up to 2027 and also, and it is guaranteed to get software security support for the additional year up to 2028. This is a great move by Samsung and will surely get rewarded with strong brand loyalty from the customers.
It houses a massive 6,000mAh battery and can easily deliver more than a day under normal usage. If you use the phone more conservatively, it can even last two days too.
As said before, the company do not offer a charger. The device supports a 25W charger and if you happen to have one, it takes more than one and half hours to fully charge from zero to 100 per cent.
Photography
Samsung's new phone houses a triple-camera module-- main 108MP (f/1.8, OIS: Optical Image Stabilisation) + 8MP ultra-wide angle (f/2.2) sensor + 2MP depth sensor (f/2.4) with LED flash on the back.
Like any premium mid-range phone, the Galaxy F54 does not disappoint when using it in broad daylight. The photos are great with warm colours, liven up even the mundane pictures.
The flowers look vibrant compared to how they look to the human eyes and are worthy to be shared on social media platforms.
Even with people too, the camera does its magic to make faces look smooth and lively.
The portrait mode does its job finely, as advertised. It takes a bit of time to get the distance between the subject and the camera right and once locked, it delivers good edge detection and a bokeh blur effect in the background.
Even the close-up shots have come well. With night mode on, the phone does manage to reduce the noise to an extent. There is also Astrolapse, hidden in Hyperlapse mode. Unfortunately, the weather hasn't been good in Bengaluru lately and has been mostly cloudy for the last several days. I hope to capture it soon and post it in the near future.
It also supports high-resolution video recording up to 4K at 30fps (frames per second) and full HD 1080p at 30/60fps. The video quality is good and stable, on par with most phones under Rs 30,000.
With the ultra-wide angle too, the phone does justice by managing to accommodate a wide area of the landscape in the frame.
On the front, it comes with 32MP (f/2.2) sensor. It takes brilliant selfies and even videos too. It can stream high-quality videos during video calls, provided there is a stable internet connection.
Also, with the AR Zone, it offers AR Emoji Camera, AR Emoji Studio, AR Emoji Stickers and AR Doodles. Add to that, the native camera also offers creative Snapchat-quality filters to further enhance the photography experience. It is incorporated to entertain youths and let them have fun interactions with friends and loved ones.
Final thoughts
Samsung's latest Galaxy F54 is not just a glamourous-looking phone, but also a fine performer.
It works perfectly in terms of day-to-day tasks, and can support most graphics-rich games and icing on the cake is the battery life. It can last more than a day even with extreme usage and if used conservatively, it can go for two days.
The camera too, is good and on par with rival brands. Value-added features such as Nightography, AI noise reduction and more, give Galaxy F54, an edge over the rival brands.
Considering the overall features, Samsung Galaxy F54 5G is a really good value-for-money mid-range phone.
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