Samsung Galaxy F54 5G review: Cameras shine, design falls short

Name: Samsung Galaxy F34 5G
Item: Samsung Galaxy F34 5G
Author: Divya

Priced at Rs. 29999, the Samsung Galaxy F34 5G has quite a few exciting features and some compromises. Is it worth buying? Find out.

By: DIVYA
| Updated on: Jul 20 2023, 18:02 IST

Samsung Galaxy F54 5G first impressions: All-rounder phone with some big specs

image caption — 1/9 Design: Unlike the recent offerings from Samsung that had a matte-premium look, the Galaxy F54 makes a new design statement with a silver colour variant, which gives a rainbow effect when light strikes it. Yes, it is prone to smudges. (Divya / HT Tech)

Samsung Galaxy F54 5G — 8/9 Price: It comes at a starting price of Rs. 29999 for 8GB RAM and 256GB storage variant. At this price, several notable smartphones are available such as iQOO Neo 7, Oppo Reno8 T, Nothing Phone 1, and Samsung Galaxy A34. (Divya / HT Tech)

Mid-range smartphones are more complex than we generally expect them to be! These smartphones work like a bridge between flagship premium phones and budget devices. In effect, they have to appeal to a finicky market segment. They are affordable for what they have to offer and yet manage to carry some of the premium features to lure buyers. This is the recipe for Samsung's latest F-series version, the Galaxy F54 5G and it is priced under Rs. 30000. The F54 has a lot to offer for that money, but does it manage to impress? Is it just a new camera smartphone? After using it for a couple of weeks as my primary smartphone, here is what its real-life usage was all about.

Samsung Galaxy F54 5G Design

While the Galaxy F54 follows Samsung's design philosophy of premium smartphones, it sets itself apart with a unique shiny metallic-silver appearance on the rear. When light falls on it, the surface showcases a mesmerizing array of rainbow colours. For some reason, Samsung picked this visually striking design choice even though it deviates from the recent matte-premium feel seen in the Galaxy A34 and A54.

Notably, the glossy back of the Galaxy F54 attracts plenty of smudges. Not just that, in these two weeks, the plastic back got a slew of scratches. Long-lasting? I doubt it, unless you add a protective case. Also, the phone lacks an IP rating for water and dust resistance, which is disappointing considering its price. On a positive note, I liked its round edges which make it comfortable to use.

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Samsung Galaxy F54 5G Display

No complaints here! As usual, Samsung delivers a seamless viewing experience with its 6.7-inch sAMOLED+ display. The immersive colours and wide viewing angles make the experience rich for various activities, be it watching movies or playing games. The 120Hz refresh rate ensures swift and seamless transitions, smooth animations, and scrolling through social media, internet browsing, and the gaming is quick and smooth. Even under direct sunlight, the text remains easily legible. While the bezels are slim on the sides, they are slightly thicker at the top and bottom. Nevertheless, once you adapt to it, it doesn't hinder the overall viewing experience.

Samsung Galaxy F54 5G Performance

The Samsung Galaxy F54 is powered by the same chipset that we have seen in Galaxy A54 a few months back. It gets most of the mundane tasks right without any hiccups -- from handling everyday tasks such as messaging, calling, social media browsing, and short photo sessions to graphics-intensive games such as Asphalt 9 and Call of Duty: Mobile. I tried COD: Mobile at max graphics with medium frame rate settings, which turned the device slightly warmer after an hour-long session.

Running Samsung's OneUI 5.1 based on Android 13, the Galaxy F54 comes with some bloatwares such as DailyHunt, BYJU's, and Snapchat apps. Thankfully, you can remove most of these unwanted apps. It offers a smooth, efficient user experience and seamless animations and an ample amount of customisation options. It also has a "Voice Focus" feature which lets you cut the background noise during an audio call, which is quite impressive.

Talking about its audio performance, its single speaker's volume is adequate and clear. Although, some distortion may be experienced when you max it out, especially in rock and pop music. A stereo speakers system may have worked better.

Samsung Galaxy F54 5G cameras

The Samsung Galaxy F54 has three cameras on the back: a 108MP main camera with OIS, an 8MP wide-angle camera, and a 2MP macro camera. The phone takes good photos, especially in well-lit conditions. The main camera captures sharp and detailed shots. The images have a natural look with balanced colours. There are some minor improvements that enhance the overall image quality. The wide-angle camera does its job well with detail and maintains the colours of the scene. The 2MP closeup sensor is like the one on any other smartphone - just for the sake of being there! Instead, I preferred to click closer shots with its main camera, which is quite impressive.

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While Nightography has been one of the main highlights of the smartphone, but much to my disappointment, it wasn't as per my expectations. In low light situations, the main sensor of the Samsung Galaxy F54 may exhibit some noise and difficulty in accurately reproducing colours. However, the detail in the images was satisfactory, keeping the smartphone's price in mind.

One of the favourite aspects of Galaxy F54's cameras is the portrait shot. It offers good detection of edges and effects to make the background editable according to your need such as colour point, zoom, studio light, and more. The phone quite reliable if you want to do some casual videography - the videos are stable to some extent even in moving shots. Also, it has a dedicated Fun mode to record videos along with added Snapchat filters for your social media posts.

Samsung Galaxy F54 5G Battery and charging

Decent performance, good cameras, and a nice display are all fine, but it is the 6000mAh battery that surprises me. These days, when smartphone makers are shying away from bringing 5000mAh battery, this mid-range phone manages to hit a massive shot. Thanks to its powerful battery, you won't need to worry about charging it again for over a day. With general daily stuff like reading, Googling, an hour of calling, short photography sessions, and social media, it survives around 1.5 days without any worries. Even an addition of binge-watching or heavy gaming won't make much difference.

The only downside is its slow 25W charging support. Without a charging brick inside the box, I had to use a non-Samsung 33W charger to juice it up from 0 to 100 percent, which took around 2 hours. Felt like an eternity! Well, this is not just the case with Galaxy F54 5G, even the premium Galaxy S23 settles with 25W charging support. This is sad to witness as most of the mid-range smartphones at this price offer at least 33W or even higher at this price. So, Samsung, when can we expect an actually fast charging support?

Verdict

The Samsung Galaxy F54 5G offers a compelling mid-range smartphone experience with its impressive cameras, great display, powerful battery, and user experience. Overall, the Samsung Galaxy F54 5G is a considerably powerful mid-range option at Rs. 29999. It comes as an alternative option to Samsung Galaxy A54 which is priced at Rs. 38999.

However, some flaws need to be considered before deciding if this smartphone is really worth it. While its shiny appearance is visually striking, the glossy back quickly attracts smudges and scratches. Moreover, its slow charging is a pain, especially if you are in a rush!

If you're willing to use a cover case and don't mind the slow charging, the Samsung Galaxy F54 5G is a fantastic choice. However, if these factors are a concern, there are other alternatives worth considering, such as the iQOO Neo 7, Nothing Phone 1, and Oppo Reno8 T.

Rating

3 out of 5

Price

INR 29,999/-

Product Name

Samsung Galaxy F34 5G

Brand Name

Samsung

Pros