Forward-looking: As promised, Samsung unveiled the new Galaxy A series phones, revealing three models: A73 5G, A53 5G, and A33 5G. All three feature Super AMOLED displays of different sizes, 5G connectivity, four rear cameras, and a massive 5,000mAh capacity, offering up to two days of battery life.
Starting from the top, the Galaxy A73 5G is the biggest of the three, featuring a 6.7-inch Super AMOLED Infinity-O display with a 120Hz refresh rate and FHD+ resolution. Based on Android 12 (One UI 4.1), this phone features an unnamed octa-core chip with two types of cores running at 2.4GHz (performance cores) and 1.8GHz (efficiency cores).
The rear-facing camera array has four sensors--a 108MP primary lens, a 12MP ultra-wide, a 5MP depth sensor, and a 5MP macro shooter. A 32MP punch-hole selfie camera complements this system.
Available in black, light green, and white, the Galaxy A73 5G will come with either 6GB of memory and 128GB of storage or 8GB of memory and 256GB of storage. In both cases, users can increase capacity via SD card expansions up to 1TB. The phone is IP67-rated and features a 5,000mAh battery supporting 25W fast charging.
As the midrange model, the Galaxy A53 5G packs a 6.5-inch Super AMOLED Infinity-O display with an FHD+ resolution and 120Hz refresh rate. Like the A73 5G, it's rated as IP67, packs a 5,000mAh battery supporting 25W fast charging, and runs Android 12 with the One UI 4.1 skin. Samsung only lists it as having eight cores running at 2.4GHz and 2.0GHz, but we already know which SoC this might be.
Days before Samsung's announcement, reports regarding an unannounced Samsung chip claimed that two of the new Galaxy A phones would feature the Exynos 1280. Based on Samsung's description of the octa-core featured in the A53 5G, it looks like they were correct. This 5nm chip features eight cores (two Arm Cortex-A78 at 2.4GHz and six Arm Cortex-A55 at 2.0GHz) and a 4-core Arm Mali-G68 GPU clocked at 1,000MHz.
The A53 has a rear camera array with a 64MP primary shooter, a 12 MP ultra-wide module, a 5MP depth sensor, and a 5MP macro camera. It uses a 32MP sensor for the front-facing camera. New image processing technology blends up to 12 images to create better low-light shots. Portrait mode uses two cameras and AI to capture depth and subject better. Similarly, the AI enhances videos by choosing the best frame rate based on ambient light.
The Galaxy A53 5G will be available with two memory/storage options (6GB/128GB and 8GB/256GB) and comes in light blue, black, white, and peach. It too supports SD expansion up to 1TB.
Finally, the Galaxy A33 5G looks similar to the A53 5G. It uses the same chip, has the same battery capacity (supporting 25W charging), and is available in the same colors. It supports the same 6GB/128GB and 8GB/256GB RAM/Storage options and is even IP67 compliant and uses Android 12 with the One UI 4.1 skin, like the A53 phone.
Where it differs is the display and cameras. The screen is slightly smaller, using a 6.4-inch Super AMOLED Infinity-U display with FHD+ resolution and a 90Hz refresh rate. The camera system is also somewhat inferior, using a 13MP selfie camera accompanied by a 48MP primary shooter, an 8MP ultra-wide camera, a 5MP macro shooter, and a 2MP depth sensor in the rear array.
Samsung guarantees up to four years of Android OS updates and five years of security patches for the Galaxy A53 5G and A33 5G. We expect the same for the A73 5G.
The Galaxy A53 5G will launch on April 1, starting at $450 for the 6GB/128GB model. European pricing of €510 suggests the 8GB/256GB variant runs slightly over $500. Based on EU prices, the Galaxy A33 5G likely starts at around the $350 mark (€370). It's slated to arrive on April 22.
The Galaxy A73 5G will also launch on April 22. Pricing remains disclosed, but considering its specs, both the 6GB/128GB and 8GB/256GB models should put you back upwards of $500, with the latter likely going for nearly $600.