The new Galaxy A trio will receive four OS updates and up to five years of security patches – that’s the same level of support as Samsung offers for its flagships and better than any Android vendor (yes, even Google). So if you bought one now, you can use it until 2027 while enjoying new features and up-to-date security. But will you buy one?
Right now we don’t know the pricing of the Samsung Galaxy A73 5G. And it may not matter anyway, because there’s no indication that the phone will be available in Europe, the US, India – the press release only mentioned that the A73 will launch on April 22, so it may be a month before we get answers.
Still, considering that the base A53 5G costs €450, while a Galaxy S21 FE 5G is €660 right now (and the older S20 FE 5G is €540), there isn’t much room for the A73 5G to land on.
The phone offers a larger display than the FEs, 6.7” Super AMOLED+ 120 Hz, but is powered by an all new chipset, Exynos 1280, that doesn’t seem as powerful as the Snapdragon 778G, let alone the Snapdragon 865 and 888 that the FEs have. It does offer 5G connectivity though, while the A72 never got a 5G variant.
The 108 MP main camera is another selling point, even compared to FE duo (which has 12 MP main cams). Samsung is making big promises about the image processing capabilities of the new chipset, but that’s something that we will have to test. Also, the A73 doesn’t have a telephoto camera (that was a key advantage of the A72 over the A52), so the high resolution sensor has to pull double duty.
The Samsung Galaxy A53 5G is an odd one. How is it better than the Galaxy A52s 5G? As mentioned, the chipset seems less powerful than the 778G (two Cortex-A78 vs. four, but 5 nm vs. 6 nm) and the 3.5 mm headphone jack is gone. The battery has 500 mAh more capacity, but that’s not much.
Also, the A52s 5G is cheaper, you can easily find it for just over €300 (6/128 GB unit), whereas the A53 5G starts at €450. Do note that the A52s 5G is officially eligible for only 3 OS updates (and 4 years of security patches) and it is already a year old (it launched with Android 11).
6.5″ 120 Hz Super AMOLED display on the Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
But here is the real catch, the A52s 5G never officially launched in the US. There are some gray imports, but those have issues, so you’re really only looking at the non-s A52 5G and that one has the weaker Snapdragon 750G. Plus, the non-s model costs $500 in the US vs. $450 for the Galaxy A53 5G, so it’s not really a contender.
Samsung Galaxy A53 5G camera setup
There’s also the matter of the Samsung Galaxy A33 5G, which is very similar to the A53 5G. It has slightly thicker bezels so its screen is 6.4” (instead of 6.5”) and it refreshes at 90 Hz (instead of 120 Hz). The cameras are downgraded too with a 48 MP main and 8 MP ultra wide (vs. 64+12 MP), plus a 13 MP selfie camera (vs. 32 MP).
However, you get the same chipset, same 5,000 mAh battery with the same 25W fast charging support, same Gorilla Glass 5 and the same IP67. And the starting price is lower, €370/£330 (vs. €450/£400).
Samsung Galaxy A33 5G (left) and Samsung Galaxy A53 5G (right)
Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like the Galaxy A33 5G will be launching in the US, so the A33 vs. A53 question is for the rest of the world to ponder.
So, do you see a Samsung Galaxy A73, A53 or A33 in your future?
PS. if you have trouble voting using the embedded poll above, try casting your vote here.
Haslinda has worked with some of the largest telcos in North America and Asia. She loves tech and doesn’t like iPhone
