When it comes to a mid-range smartphone, it is all about the choices that a manufacturer makes. Unlike flagships, there are price constraints that dictate what you can and can’t have. With the Galaxy F54, Samsung seems to have made the right choices.
Samsung’s F series of smartphones have always been equipped with sizeable batteries. The F54 5G is no exception. It gets a 6000mAh battery that should keep even the most demanding users happy. But Samsung claims that there is much more to it than just the impressive battery life. We have had the device for a fair few days now and we set out to examine if the tall claims about the F54 do stand up to scrutiny.
Available in a solitary storage variant with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage, the Galaxy F54 is priced at Rs. 29,999. At this price, it offers a 108MP primary camera, an Exynos processor and a design that draws inspiration from the flagship S23 line.
With rounded corners, a glossy plastic back and a three camera array, the Galaxy F54 stays true to the tried and tested Samsung smartphone design template. And that is not a bad thing at all. I am not a big fan of the glossy finish though but I guess a lot of people don’t mind that at all in their smartphones. At 8.4mm thick and tipping the scales at 199g, the Galaxy F54 is easy to hold and the weight feels well balanced too. The Meteor Blue and Stardust Silver are the two colour options with the Silver being the flashier of the two. The fingerprint scanner is integrated into the power button and works flawlessly. Some reviewers are criticizing the move but I actually like the fingerprint reader on the side.
The 6.7-inch full-HD Super AMOLED display with a refresh rate of 120 Hz, a brightness of 800 nits, and Gorilla Glass 5 protection is easily one of the highlights here. As with other Samsung displays, this one takes the cake for how bright, responsive and vibrant it looks. It is easily among the best diplays in this price range. The single downward firing speaker is a let down though.
The Exynos 1380 chipset paired with 8GB of RAM and a Mali G68 MP5 GPU stand up to the everyday entertainment and productivity tasks that you would expect the Galaxy F54 to do. Performance in the UI is snappy and the high refresh rate display definitely adds to that.
The 108MP main camera is the star of the show when it comes to the imaging department. Pictures taken from this camera have great detail with accurate colour reproduction as well. Images are crisp even in relatively low light conditions. The Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS) comes to the fore when clicking images of pets and works very well with the main sensor to retain sharpness even in difficult shooting conditions.
There is an 8MP ultra-wide and 2MP macro that complement the main sensor. The ultra-wide gets the job done and does produce images with sufficient detail. The 2MP macro however isn’t something that will prove very useful to most people.
The battery life is very impressive, and most people can get halfway through to the second day on just a single charge. The 25W charging speed (adapter is not bundled together though) is a bit of a concern and is way off some of the faster charging phones in the price range.
The Galaxy F54 has a number of pros and not too many cons. It comes across as a good package with all the key essentials – battery, display, build and camera – getting the attention they deserve.
