While Samsung is so confident about the upcoming Galaxy S22 family unveiling that you can actually reserve one without seeing it, the phones are undoubtedly going to be expensive.
For those on a tighter budget, it looks like the company has something more affordable in mind: the Samsung Galaxy A53. And a new TENAA listing for the handset has confirmed what the phone will look like when it finally goes on sale.
As spotted by Android Authority, the images shown are pretty much exactly what was promised by the prolific tipster OnLeaks and Digit.in late last year. If you compare the renders from the leaker at the top of the page, and the pictures from the Chinese regulatory filing below, there’s very little difference between them, with a rear camera bump housing four lenses and a punch-hole camera on the front.
Just as the imminent Samsung Galaxy S22 and S22 Plus handsets are said not to be as big as their predecessors, the Galaxy A53 looks a touch smaller than the A52 with dimensions of 159.5 x 74.7 x 8.1mm (6.3 x 2.9 x 0.32 inches), compared to the previous generation’s 159.9 x 75.1 x 8.4mm.
The listing states the phone will have a 6.46-inch display and maintain the 2,400 x 1,080 resolution. While there’s no mention of refresh rate, the A52 included a 120Hz display, so you’d imagine that would also persist for its successor.
Internally, it’s listed as including 8GB RAM, 128- or 256GB of storage upgradable via microSD and a 4,860mAh battery. While the specific SoC powering things isn’t named, the listing does state that it’s an octa-core chip with a speed between 2GHz and 2.4GHz. Android Authority points out that while this sounds like the Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G, it could equally be the unreleased Exynos 1200.
That quad-camera array apparently features a 64MP, a 32MP and two 2MP sensors. If confirmed, that’s an interesting change from the A52 as it suggests an upgrade to the ultra-wide sensor (previously 12MP) and a downgrade to the macro and depth lenses (previously 5MP).
That may be a sensible shift as in our Samsung Galaxy A52 review, we highlighted the ultra-wide lens as a weak spot in the setup. And while it’s no doubt disappointing to see any reduction in specs, macro and depth sensors are certainly used a whole lot less. Whether or not that means the A53 will rise higher on the list of the best Samsung phones remains to be seen.
There’s no official word on a release date, but given the A52 first appeared in March 2021 and the presence of an official regulatory listing, we wouldn’t be surprised to see the Galaxy A53 emerging in the next month or so. It’s unlikely to get a full launch event like the S22 handsets, but for those on a tighter budget, it could well prove to be an appealing alternative for those looking for one of the best Android phones.
