Samsung Galaxy A53 release date, specs, rumours and news

Samsung's Galaxy A range of smartphones sits below the flagship Galaxy S and Galaxy Z lines, but it borrows many of the Galaxy S premium features, delivering great performance and value for money.

The Samsung Galaxy A53 is expected to succeed the excellent Galaxy A52 and while it is currently not official, there have been multiple rumours suggesting what specifications it might offer.

Here is everything we have heard so far about the Samsung Galaxy A53. 

Release date

• Early 2022 - prior to Galaxy Unpacked?

It's been claimed the Samsung Galaxy A53 has gone into production at Samsung's factory in Noida, which combined with a Geekbench listing, suggests we might see the device earlier rather than later - the current thinking that it'll appear ahead of the flagship Galaxy S22 launch on 8 February.

That said, the Galaxy A52 launched in March 2021, so perhaps its arrival could fall later than the Unpacked main event.

Design 

• Similar to Galaxy A52
• More refined
• New colourway

According to the rumours, the Samsung Galaxy A53 will feature a similar design to the Galaxy A52 with a punch-hole camera centralised at the top of the display and a quad rear camera on the back, positioned in the top left corner.

Based on renders, it looks like the A53 will have a more seamless camera housing that blends with its rear better, and more refined edges to the housing. There also appears to be no headphone jack. 

It's claimed the Samsung Galaxy A53 will come in white, black, blue and a new orange colourway. An IP67 water- and dust-resistance rating is also expected - just like the A52 offered - and it is said to measure 8.14mm thick, which is a little slimmer than its predecessor.

Display

• 6.4-inch, AMOLED
• Full HD+ resolution
• In-display fingerprint sensor

The Samsung Galaxy A53 is expected to feature a 6.4-inch AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. This refresh rate isn't expected to be variable like you'll find in the Galaxy S21 range (and, presumably, forthcoming S22 range).

It's thought to have a Full HD+ resolution though - circa 2400 x 1080 pixels - and feature an in-display fingerprint sensor.

Hardware and specs 

• Exynos 1200/Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G
• Rumours of MediaTek Dimensity - unlikely
• 8GB RAM minimum / 128GB storage
• 5000mAh battery, 25W charging

It's thought the Samsung Galaxy A53 will run on a new Exynos 1200 chipset. However, this often isn't the case for all markets, so anticipate that Qualcomm's Snapdragon 778G chipset could feature instead. There's also some rumour that it could house a MediaTek chipset instead - but with Dimensity 9000 able to go head-to-head against Qualcomm's top-end Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, this seems highly unlikely.

It's claimed there will be no 4G model this time round, with a 5G-only option. 

According to a benchmark test, the Galaxy A53 will offer 8GB of RAM minimum, and while no storage has been detailed as yet we'd expect 128GB minimum. We'd hope the microSD expansion offered by the A52 will remain - but it's not clear as yet, and as there's no 3.5mm headphone jack we wouldn't be surprised if the card expansion slot has been cut too.

The battery is expected to be upgraded on the Galaxy A53 to a 5000mAh cell instead of 4500mAh. Fast-charging support at 25W is also expected, but there's no word on wireless charging support - we wouldn't expect it in a mid-range handset.

Camera 

• Quad-rear camera
• 64MP main sensor (with OIS)
• 12MP wide, 5MP macro, 5MP depth?

The Samsung Galaxy A53 is said to come with a quad rear camera and it's claimed it will sport the same 64-megapixel optically-stabilised (OIS) main camera as its A52 predecessor.

Rumours have not yet detailed other camera specifications, though the Galaxy A52 offers a 64MP main sensor, 12MP ultra-wide, 5MP macro sensor and 5MP depth sensor. The thinking is that the A53 will echo this specification.

It's also said to have a 32-megapixel front-facing camera peeking out of that punch-hole opening.

Samsung Galaxy A53 rumours: What's happened so far?

Here is everything we have heard so far about the Samsung Galaxy A53.

25 Jan 2022: A53 5G, A33 5G expected imminently - ahead of Galaxy S22 February reveal?

The A53 and A33 appear on Samsung's support pages, suggesting an imminent launch.

15 December 2021: Samsung Galaxy A53 leaks on benchmark, revealing some specs

The Samsung Galaxy A53 appeared on a benchmark, seemingly with the upcoming Exynos 1200 chipset and 6GB of RAM.

18 November 2021: Samsung Galaxy A53 should get a battery upgrade

A report on the Galaxyclub.nl suggested the Samsung Galaxy A53 will come with a 5000mAh battery, which is a slight upgrade from the A52.

8 November 2021: Here's what the Samsung Galaxy A53 is expected to look like

Leaker OnLeaks and Digit published some renders of the Samsung Galaxy A53 showing a similar design to the Galaxy A52, though more seamless.